Photo Caption: Sister Stefanie professed perpetual monastic vows with the Sisters of St. Benedict at St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island on July 11.

ROCK ISLAND — Working her way through college in the infirmary of the Franciscan Sisters in Dubuque, Iowa, Sister Stefanie MacDonald found peace. When one of them called her to ask if she’d ever considered religious life, she found something more.

“I was brave enough to say, ‘Yes, I have,'” Sister Stefanie told The Catholic Post, noting that discernment led her to the Sisters of St. Benedict at St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island. “When I entered this community I became more of who I’m supposed to be, I think.”

On July 11, the Memorial of St. Benedict, Sister Stefanie professed perpetual vows with the Benedictine community. Two of the Franciscan Sisters attended the Mass and provided music, while her father, Deacon Steve MacDonald of Holy Spirit Parish in Dubuque, gave a homily about the meaning of family.

“Over the last six years of coming to visit and getting to know the community, my dad said it’s a new family my family is joining. The hospitality of this community has welcomed my family in and put my parents at ease,” she said.

Born in Chicago, Sister Stefanie grew up in Dubuque. She holds an associate degree from Mount St. Clare College in Clinton (now Ashford University) and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and elementary education.

She taught preschool in Chicago for two years and Bellevue, Iowa for two years before going to St. Pius X School in Cedar Rapids, where she worked for seven years while she was discerning her vocation. She entered the Benedictine community at St. Mary Monastery on Sept. 9, 2007, and taught at St. John Vianney in Bettendorf, Iowa during her postulancy.

She professed temporary vows of obedience, stability of life and fidelity to the monastic way of life on July 9, 2010.

Sister Stefanie said she especially appreciates the community life and prayer of the Benedictines, both of which keep her grounded.

“It’s how I begin my day and how I end my day,” she explained of their rhythm of prayer. “It’s a wonderful blessing to be able to do that.”

Sister Stefanie will begin her fifth year at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy in East Moline on Aug. 15. Her young students are “always trying to figure out the Sister thing,” so she invites her Benedictine Sisters to come to school and takes them to the monastery to sing at Christmas.

She acknowledged that they may not be able to grasp fully the important step she just took, but said, “I’ll share a little bit with them.”