| Sr. Mary Frances Kluss celebrates 50th Jubilee More than 120 people filled the chapel at the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood, Idaho, on June 24, as Sister Mary Frances Kluss, OSB, m  arked the 50th jubilee of her monastic profession.A festive dinner preceded the special Eucharistic celebration, during which Sister Mary Frances renewed her vows of obedience, stability and fidelity to the monastic way of life. Her cousin, Father Gerald Funke of the Diocese of Boise, presided. A reception followed in the monastery dining room. Sister Mary Frances was born Nancy Ann Kluss and grew up in Lewiston, the oldest of five children. Her parents, Ralph and Eileen Kluss, provided a substantial spiritual influence through Catholic devotions and a strong work ethic. While she’d nurtured a calling to join the religious life since age 14, Sister Mary Frances “kept it under my hat,” she recalled. She entered the Monastery of St. Gertrude in 1971, having known some of the Benedictine sisters at school and through her love of music. She first professed her vows on August 12, 1974. Earning a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Lewis Clark State College, she taught in Nampa, Rupert and Boise before discerning a ministry in health care. She returned to Lewis Clark State College for training as a Licensed Practical Nurse, serving at St. Mary’s Hospital, Cottonwood and, for 20 years, in the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary infirmary, Spokane, Washington. As she worked with the ill and dying, she resonated with an image of St. Benedict being supported by two monks as he died – a statue in the courtyard at the Abbey of Montecassino in Italy, which she’d seen while traveling. Returning to the Center for Benedictine Life in 2023, Sister Mary Frances continues to serve on the Sun Porch/infirmary wing and as organist at Sacred Heart Church in Lapwai. In his homily, Father Funke cited his cousin as an example through her many years of “faithful witness and service.” He added that Sister Mary Frances has been a “young student” in St. Benedict’s “school of the Lord’s service,” with her commitment as a child of God “renewed every morning.” Sister Mary Frances summed up her decades of vowed life: “I have felt very blessed by God in calling me to be a Benedictine sister. Growing in relationship with God and all of God’s creation has been the heart of my vocation – ‘preferring nothing whatever to Christ,’ as St. Benedict wrote in his Rule.” The Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude is a community which includes the Benedictine Sisters, the Oblate Community of St. Gertrude, the Benedictine Cohousing Community, along with the monastery’s employees, friends and benefactors. While offering healing hospitality, grateful simplicity and creative peacemaking to the world, this community shares the Benedictine charism and spirituality through in-person and online programs available at Spirit Center, along with the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude on the monastery campus, and the Inn at St. Gertrude, a bed and breakfast. More information is available on the website stgertrudes.org.  Benedictine Sister Mary Frances Kluss renews her profession of the vows of obedience, stability and fidelity to the monastic way of life during her 50th jubilee celebration on June 24 in the chapel at the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood. Photo provided by Monastery of St. Gertrude. 
Benedictine Sister Mary Frances Kluss signs her profession document on the altar during her 50th jubilee celebration on June 24 in the chapel at the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood. Photo provided by Monastery of St. Gertrude. 
Benedictine Sister Mary Frances Kluss (left) sings the “Suscipe” before the altar as Father Gerald Funke and prioress Sister Teresa Jackson watch, during her 50th jubilee celebration on June 24 in the chapel at the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood. Photo submitted by Monastery of St. Gertrude. |
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