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Local Benedictine sisters score needed funds during Super Bowl
By Ambria Hammel, The Catholic Sun
February 21, 2008
While the NFL and advertisers used Super Bowl XLII as a chance to further their enterprises and increase profits, some Benedictine sisters in Phoenix used the big game as an opportunity to further the work of the Catholic Church in spreading the Gospel.
By turning their Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery and Retreat Center into an affordable hotel for football fans, the sisters raised much-needed funds for expansion, increased awareness of and promoted religious life, and established vocation and retreat contacts.
“Really, we did it as a fundraiser,” said Sr. Linda Campbell, prioress of the monastery.
Sr. Linda, a season-ticket holder for the Arizona Cardinals, knew football fans would appreciate the 3.5-mile drive from the Phoenix monastery to the Super Bowl’s playing field at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
The sisters opened their 10 retreat rooms — each features twin beds, a shared bathroom and no TV or phone — to 20 fans, who filled the rooms.
The football fans — who included a blend of New England Patriots and New York Giants fans — got a decent deal on a room and the sisters raised $10,000. Their income stemmed from lodging fees and raffle tickets for a large, flat-screen TV to be given away Feb. 24.
Guests at the monastery included three fathers and their sons, another father and son who brought two college-age friends, two couples and a Bernardine Franciscan sister and her sister.
The sisters treated them to a welcome dinner and a continental breakfast each morning. They also had access to a full kitchen for other meals and snacks, a cozy living room, a large backyard and a small chapel, where at least a handful of the guests attended Mass before the big game.
During his homily at the Mass, Fr. David Donnay likened the beatitudes to a pre-game pep talk. He said just like a coach huddles his players, Jesus probably gathered His disciples and talked to them about how to spread the Gospel.
“If they can come away with a really positive experience about religious life, I couldn’t ask for anything better,” Sr. Linda said about the guests.
They seemed to enjoy themselves, saying the game was secondary to their experience at the monastery.
“It’s a win-win situation for everybody,” Nick Schiarizzi, a Catholic and a Patriots fan from Massachusetts, said of the sisters’ offer for lodging.
The money will help pay what the sisters owe for roughly 2.75 acres of land they purchased near their home. The two sisters and an associate living at the monastery said they have outgrown the current two-acre property.
The new land will ultimately expand the monastery’s services. The Benedictine sisters offer meeting and retreat space, spiritual direction and a weekly Mass.
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