Susan Hutchens, OSB, was elected Prioress of St. Mary Monastery in June 2020. The fourteenth prioress in the Benedictines’ 145-year history, S. Susan is the fourth to serve in Rock Island since St. Mary Monastery’s relocation in 2001 from Nauvoo, IL.
S. Susan earned a Bachelor of Mathematics from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Indiana and taught Mathematics in the middle grades before entering the Sisters of St. Benedict during her fourth year of teaching. She received a Master’s in Theology from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and taught Math and Religion at the Secondary level, both at St. Mary’s Academy, Nauvoo and at Bergan (now Notre Dame) High School in Peoria, Illinois. While teaching at Bergan, she also served as Academic Dean.
S. Susan also did graduate work in Mathematics Education at Purdue University, Calumet campus and in Financial Administration at the University of Notre Dame. In 1988, S. Susan was appointed Treasurer of her community and continued to serve in that role, until her election as Prioress. Her professional background includes 17 years of teaching and 32 years as community Treasurer and Organist.
For many years S. Susan served on the Finance Committee of the Federation of St. Benedict and was elected as President of the Federation of St. Benedict for the 2009-2015 term. In this position, she represented Benedictine Sisters who minister in 10 monasteries in the United States and its territory of Puerto Rico, in the Bahamas, Taiwan and Japan. During her term, S. Susan completed extensive travel to each monastery as well as to Rome and many other monasteries in the United States.
In her capacity as President, S. Susan participated twice in the Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum Symposium in Rome. This gathering, held every 4 years, brings together nearly 100 Benedictine women from every region of the world to share their experiences as Benedictines, each following the Rule of Benedict in their own culture.
S. Susan also served as a Financial Consultant for the National Association of Treasurers of Religious Institutes (now Resource Center for Religious Institutes, RCRI). She is a current member of RCRI as well as the Illinois Treasurers of Religious Institutes. S. Susan served on the St. Mary’s Academy Board of Directors for many years and currently serves on the Finance Board of the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery in Lisle, Illinois. Within her own community, S. Susan currently serves on the Monastic Council, the Finance Board, and the Vocation/Formation Committee.
During the building process and transition of the monastery from Nauvoo to Rock Island, S. Susan managed the finances and was a member of the Chapel planning committee.
S. Susan has a deep love of theology, Scripture, the Liturgy of the Hours, monastic history, and music, as well as a firm commitment to, and passion for the Benedictine monastic life. She served on the committee that developed the Liturgy of the Hours books for the monastery. For fun and relaxation, S. Susan is an avid reader, loves researching her family’s genealogy, and enjoys gardening and weekly horse-back riding lessons.
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