Sister Mary Benet McKinney, OSB papers

Ellyn Patricia Mckinney was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 23, 1929. She attended St. Scholastica High School and entered into the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago following her graduation in the fall of 1947. She received the name Sister Mary Benet and her first vows were professed on June 26, 1949. Sister Mary Benet then began her career in education, going on to teach at many different parochial schools within the Archdiocese of Chicago. In 1960, she became principal of St. Joseph School at Orleans and Hill. She recieved a Bachelor of Arts from DePaul University, a Master's in Education at Chicago's Loyola University, and a Doctorate of Ministry at the University of St. Mary of the Lake. In 1966, Sr. Mary Benet co-founded the Urban Apostalate of Sisters. Sr. Mary Benet authored Sharing Wisdom: A Process For Group Decesion Making and Shared Decesion Making Revisited. Later she co-authored the book, Changing Pastors: A Resource for Pastoral Transitions. Sr. Mary Benet was elected Prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago from 1986 until 1995. In 1981, she was awarded the O'Neil D'Amour Award by the National Association of Boards of Education. Sr. Mary Benet was deeply rooted in her monastic community amd always actively engaged in various committees and teams. After suffering a stroke, Sr. Mary Benet died on September 2, 2014.