Mother Gertrude McDermott (1846–1940) was a member of the

Order of St. Benedict , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

from 1879 until her death on September 22, 1940. McDermott began her life's work on an Indian reservation in the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

where she was a teacher as well as a friend and adviser to Sitting Bull. She went on to be the founder of several educational and medical institutions in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

. McDermott also established a religious community which continues as the Benedictine Women of Madison in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Early life

Mary Ellen McDermott was born in 1864 in

Gallitzin, Pennsylvania Gallitzin is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is bordered by Gallitzin Township and Tunnelhill, all of which sit astride the Eastern continental divide. Tunnel Hill and Gallitzin both are pierced by railroad t ...

. She entered a Benedictine convent in

Conception, Missouri Conception is a census-designated place in eastern Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. It is located about southeast of Maryville on U.S. Route 136. It is very near Conception Junction (which was the rail intersection). Conception is hom ...

at the age of 15 where she became Sister Gertrude.

Career

In 1881, she traveled to the Dakota Territory where she worked as a principal of the Indian agency parochial school on Standing Rock Indian Reservation. It was there, in 1883, she met Sitting Bull who knocked on her door during a snow storm looking for shelter. This meeting began a long friendship which resulted in Mother Gertrude traveling to Sitting Bull's headquarters where she encouraged him to surrender before the coming conflict with the U.S. military. Mother Gertrude is said to have been the last white person to see Sitting Bull before he was killed in battle in 1890. One year later, she left the reservation and traveled to

Elkton, South Dakota Elkton is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 755 at the 2020 census. Some of Elkton's population also have Minnesota addresses since the city is located so close to the state line. History Elkton was pla ...

where, with two other

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

, she founded St. Gertrude's Academy. She served as the superior for St. Gertrude's which functioned as a convent, a school, an orphanage and a hospital until it burned down in 1894. In 1897, she moved to Sioux City, Iowa with six other sisters, where she established the Sisters of St. Benedict of Sioux City and served as their prioress. In this capacity she supervised the opening of Villa Maria, a home for working girls in 1901, St. Vincent Hospital in 1907, St. Vincent School of Nursing in 1910, St. Monica's home for orphans and unwed mothers in 1914, and the Benedictine Hospital in Sterling, Colorado in 1925. St. Vincent Hospital merged with St. Joseph Hospital in 1977 to form a health care center currently named Mercy Medical Center. In 1952, the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict in Sioux City, at the request of Bishop William P. O'Connor of the Madison Wisconsin Diocese, started a high school which eventually became the Academy of St. Benedict. The community eventually moved its monastery to Madison. They are currently known as the Benedictine Women of Madison. Here the community, founded by Mother Gertrude McDermott, continues its legacy of service and innovation as the first ecumenical Benedictine community of sisters in the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Gertrude Benedictine nuns People from Cambria County, Pennsylvania 1846 births 1940 deaths 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Catholics from Pennsylvania 19th-century American Roman Catholic nuns