Sister Jayne Erickson made her first monastic profession on Friday, Sept. 17, in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at evening prayer.
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The duration of first monastic profession is three to six years. It is a time of fuller immersion in the Benedictine way of life, a time for the sister to deepen her spirituality, to study the rule of St. Benedict and the monastic profession, and to become more fully integrated into the community, which in this case is St. Scholastica Monastery of Duluth.
Sister Jayne grew up in Cloquet as a middle child of five. She and her family belonged to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish (now Queen of Peace) in Cloquet. As an older teenager, she was active in Catholic youth group, where she first got to know Sister Barbara Higgins, her first introduction to the Duluth Benedictines. Following high school, Sister Jayne explored her talents by working and going to college at University of Wisconsin-Superior and the College of St. Scholastica. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in youth ministry from St. Scholastica.
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After college she worked in a variety of ministry jobs in Minnesota and Iowa, then returned to college for a teaching degree and taught for 15 years in Iowa schools. She retired early and came home to Cloquet. She became an associate in December 2017. Sister Jayne became an affiliate on July 8, 2018, and on Dec. 2, 2019, she was officially welcomed as a postulant in a special service with the community.
Sister Jayne’s ministries include helping in liturgies as sacristan, eucharistic minister, cantor, and lector, working at the information desk, and helping on Benet Hall. One of her passions is writing music. She develops her talent by composing songs for liturgical celebrations for the monastic schola and contemporary group to sing or as a quiet meditation during Communion.
