Sisters of Benet Hill Monastery moved by the spirit

Tears of grief over leaving Benet Hill Monastery near Palmer Park have given way to tears of joy as the Benedictine sisters begin moving today to their new home in northeast Colorado Springs.

"We have to say goodbye in order to say hello," said Sister Anne Stedman, head of the Benedictine order that will be living, worshiping and teaching at 3190 Benet Lane in Black Forest.

"We feel excitement, anticipation and gratitude," said Sister Rose Anne Barmann, organizer of the move, which is expected to last through June 8.

Spiritual programs offered to the public by the Catholic order will resume at Benet Hill's new location in several weeks, Barmann said. Economic and practical considerations drove the move from the old Benet Hill at 2577 N. Chelton Road.

With its 100,000 square feet of buildings, including a former Catholic girls school, the North Chelton Road campus was too big for the sisterhood, which has dwindled from 77 sisters to 37 since the monastery opened in 1963.

Much of the monastery's space had been leased to various educational institutions since 1982, when the order's all-girl Catholic school closed because of declining enrollment.

The Colorado Springs Charter Academy bought Benet Hill's educational building in December 2007, but its chapel and campus housing on North Chelton Road are still for sale.

The Benet Hill in Black Forest is a self-contained center of 33,000 square feet sitting on 10 developed acres. The center features a chapel, library, dining area, classrooms, offices and living space. A separate building will provide independent living for eight semiretired sisters.

Many sisters had lived at the North Chelton Road monastery for decades, and the order was offering quarterly communal grief counseling to those in need.

But over the last six months, counseling has rarely been sought.

"We've come to realize that this is where the future is," Barmann said of the Black Forest monastery.

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