Ursuline presence in Muenster ends after more than a century: Sr. Miriam Spenrath, OSU, moves to Trinity Manor in Saskatoon

Sr. Miriam Spenrath stands in front of the Ursuline residence in Muenster. After living here 49 years she is moving to Trinity Manor in Saskatoon. (Submitted photo)

Posted By: Kiply Lukan Yaworski June 2, 2020

By Abbot Peter Novecosky, OSB, St. Peter’s Abbey, Muenster

MUENSTER – A history of more than 100 years came to an end here June 2.

Sr. Miriam Spenrath, OSU,  moved from the Ursuline residence in Muenster to join the rest of her community at Trinity Manor retirement home in Saskatoon.

The Ursuline Sisters came to Muenster on Sept. 2, 1913. They came at the request of Abbot Bruno Doefler who needed teachers to staff schools in the newly founded St. Peter’s Colony. The first schoolroom was the sacristy of Muenster’s St. Peter’s Cathedral, where the sisters started teaching the day after their arrival.

The Ursuline Sisters staffed many of the school in the Humboldt-Muenster area until they were gradually replaced by lay staff. The Ursuline Sisters established their headquarters in Bruno where they started a girls’ residential high school, St. Ursula’s Academy.

Related: Ursulines of Bruno marked 100 years at a 2013 celebration in Humboldt

Sr. Miriam arrived in Muenster in 1971. She started the St. Peter’s Alternate High School and served as principal until her retirement in 1996. She has continued to live in Muenster since then, engaged in a variety of volunteer activities.

“It’s been a good stay here for me for 49 years,” she commented. “The community has been good to me.”

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