For nearly 170 years, the Benedictine Sisters of Erie have been a visible force in that region’s community.
They took to the streets for anti-Vietnam and civil rights marches in the 60s and 70s. Since then, they have taken up causes that include racial justice and climate change.
The sisters — who run a soup kitchen, neighborhood art house, day care and education center — are also now working with the local immigrant community amid the federal government’s sweeping deportation campaign.
Despite their longstanding prominence, the religious order was the subject of false claims of voter fraud last October, just two weeks before the presidential election. Erie was a swing county in a pivotal state and the allegation — that no one actually lived in the monastery where more than 50 voters were registered — went viral.
But the women did live in the sprawling Mount Saint Benedict Monastery east of the city, and their response was swift.
The sisters published a news release one day after the allegations hit social media. They also went on record with numerous local, national, and international news agencies to dismiss the claims after they were inundated by calls from the press.
“It was unreal,” Sister Linda Romey, director of communications for the community, said. “The bottom line was: don’t believe what you read on social media.”
On Wednesday, the Benedictine Sisters of Erie were awarded the Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy award for political courage by the National...
For nearly 170 years, the Benedictine Sisters of Erie have been a visible force in that region’s community. They took to the streets for anti-Vietnam and civil rights marches in the 60s and 70s. S...