Knights of Columbus donate to Benedictine Monastery

In a world where war, rising gas prices and illegal immigrant issues are getting the focus of attention it’s rewarding to learn how the Knights of Columbus, the largest Catholic lay organization in the world, is helping the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Tucson.

Local knight and district deputy Doug Cameron said the Tucson chapter, which extends from Nogales to Marana, has 26 councils and about 3,000 members. There are 14,000 members of different races and cultures in Arizona and 1.7 million worldwide.

In the past 15 months Cameron, along with local knights Ralph Montijo and Don Kelch, have coordinated 23 of the 26 Tucson councils to donate and get much needed work done for the 24 aging Sisters at the Benedictine Monastery.

Located on 7? acres, the monastery has been running at a deficit, and Cameron said the Sisters can no longer get up on ladders to do much of the needed maintenance and repairs. The numbers of sisters are diminishing because families aren’t bringing their children up to become sisters or priests.

Knights are committed to making the world a better place to live for everyone. In choosing to help the Sisters, Cameron said, “They had need… We consider the Benedictine Sisters a national treasure; they’re beautiful, almost saintly people.”

With the help of Montijo and Kelch the three men coordinated teams to get a list of major work done and have raised $50,000. About $20,000 is cash from fundraisers and $30,000 is in donated man hours computed at $7 per hour.

Work has ranged from roof and electrical repairs to picking oranges from the trees on the monastery property and making enough juice to last a year to extensive landscaping.

Built in 1939, the monastery was having electrical failures; a Knight who is an electrician did pro bono work and installed a new electric panel, Cameron said.

Past Grand Knight Montijo said overgrown oleander trees needed to be cut down and trimmed.

“Ten to 20 men at a time have come on six Saturdays to do the work and are about two-thirds finished; the Sisters need the oleanders for privacy,” he said.

In another endeavor Cameron approached Jensen Concrete for car stops needed for parking control at an adjacent lot and what Cameron needed was generously donated.

He said the sisters lead a semi-cloistered existence, meaning they leave the monastery occasionally to shop for their daily needs. “They lead an unassuming life in a contemplative atmosphere… it’s a life of perpetual prayer; they pray for others and hope donations will be made.”

As a reward for their donated manual labor, Cameron said once in a while the Sisters will feed the men.

“What they serve is cooked with love. They’ll chant a prayer that will move you to tears… there’s an aura about them that’s almost magical. There’s nothing negative.”

Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net.