This is a story about pioneers. Not the early settlers of the western United States, or the first moon-walking astronauts or the first women CEOs who ventured into the boardrooms of major corporations. These pioneers are forging new paths in ministry and building upon a long-standing legacy of Christ-centered living. The vision that guides them is a vision of a renewed ministerial culture that focuses first not on what ministers do but rather on who ministers are. Together these pioneers seek to create a culture that calls forth and sustains excellence in ministry.

These pioneers are 30,000 in number and growing. They are the lay women and men who serve as lay ecclesial ministers in parishes, healthcare institutions and schools across the United States. They are educated for ministry and dedicated to those they serve. They are women and men like Rob, a parish business administrator in a large suburban parish and Gina, a campus minister in a small rural Catholic high school. They are Nancy, who is a chaplain at a major mid-western healthcare institution and Susan, a liturgist in a city parish. They are people who have experienced a call from God in
Baptism to be faithful disciples who now serve God’s people in full-time
ministry. They work side-by-side with ordained ministers in large and small parishes, schools and healthcare institutions across the United States.

And these pioneers are the members of a small Benedictine community in St. Paul, Minnesota who decided in 2003 to go beyond the traditional forms of ministry they had known to forge a new path and minister to ministers by providing lay ministers with spiritual renewal and ongoing formation for ministry.

Together these pioneers—lay ecclesial ministers and the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery—are partners in a unique project called ‘iLLUMINARE’. The title of the Project offers insight into the overall vision of this renewal process, for the word illuminare is Latin for ‘to illuminate’. iLLUMINARE illuminates the way of life that fosters and sustains excellence in ministry. This way of life is possible when people come together to listen to who God is calling them to be and what God is calling them to do. This way of life is based on a rhythm of life founded in prayer, study, work and ongoing conversion to Christ. It is the way of life the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery have committed themselves to as Benedictines. It is a way of life that is essential for those who want to serve others in ministry well.

In iLLUMINARE: Called for Service, Formed in Christ—MINISTRY TO MINISTERS AT THE BENEDICTINE CENTER OF ST. PAUL’S MONASTERY, lay ecclesial ministers are brought together with the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery to learn and live a balanced way of life centered in Christ that nurtures and sustains excellent ministry.

In iLLUMINARE ministers join together in groups of 12 called a ‘cohort’. Each cohort meets four times a year at the Monastery for prayer, theological reflection, study, conversation and mutual support. At the heart of the iLLUMINARE experience is the Benedictine value of ‘listening’. For two years, cohort members regularly step away from ministry to listen with their hearts to the One who called them into ministry as they are steeped in the Benedictine values of attentiveness to the presence of God, humility, the dignity of the human person and of work, and the centrality of a rhythm of prayer founded in Scripture and liturgy. Journeying with these lay ministers are the Benedictine Sisters who live these values daily, and who are leading their fellow pioneers, these lay ministers, more deeply into life in Christ.

The journey these pilgrims are taking is transforming their lives. The Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery are discovering new ways to extend their ministry as their community changes from a work-force to a source of spiritual renewal and ongoing formation for ministers. They are exploring the legacy they offer as models and mentors for a new generation of ministers.

The lay ecclesial ministers are realizing more deeply the meaning of their baptismal calls to discipleship and ministry. In that discovery, they are also being renewed and formed as excellent ministers.

Rob has discovered how the work he does with budgets and personnel and facilities is a ministry that serves the Kingdom of God and has learned how to apply that understanding to his work.

Gina discovered that the daily rhythm of prayer modeled on the Benedictine tradition she learned as an iLLUMINARE participant is also something that her high school students would find enriching and life-giving.

Kathleen re-discovered how rich the gift of attentive listening is for the dying she ministers to, and how important it is that she give herself the time to listen to the Word of God speaking to her not only through Scripture but through the powerful experiences she shares with her patients.

Susan discovered her own dignity as a lay ecclesial minister. In her discovery, this experienced minister found she is called not only to a particular ministry in her faith community, but that she is called to share her wisdom and expertise with younger and less-experienced ministers.

Ministers from seven states and Canada have participated in iLLUMINARE since its inception in 2003. Their ministerial skills have grown and they have been renewed in their vocation. As a result, the parishes, schools and health care institutions they serve have also been renewed and strengthened.

The Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery received a grant from the Lilly Endowment to begin this pioneering work in 2003. During its first five years, iLLUMINARE served nearly 150 ministers. The Sisters want to continue and expand this ministry-to-ministers so that more parishes, schools and healthcare institutions will benefit from the service of outstanding ministers whose ministry is being enhanced as a result of their ongoing formation. The Sisters need your help to continue this ministry. The future of iLLUMINARE depends on people who want to join these Benedictine Sisters in calling forth and sustaining excellent ministers for God’s people. To learn more about the Project and about how you can be a partner with the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery in this important ministry, please contact Jacquelyne Witter Ed.D., iLLUMINARE Director, at The Benedictine Center of St. Paul’s Monastery,
651-777-6850, jwitter@stpaulsmonastery.org