Ann Kessler

Sister Ann Kessler, O.S.B., Ph.D. joined the Benedictines of Sacred Heart Monastery, Yankton, South Dakota in 1945, and professed her religious vows in 1947. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Marty College, a Master of Arts from Creighton University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in history from the University of Notre Dame. Contributing to numerous books and writing articles for several publications while teaching at Mount Marty College for over 40 years, she also was an active advocate of social justice and applied her political acumen to South Dakota state policy on several commissions. Research tours on all five inhabited continents over a span of decades preceded the publication of the first edition of Benedictine Men and Women of Courage: Roots and History, fulfilling the requests of many formation directors, oblates, historians, monastics and other academics wishing for an inclusive and comprehensive Benedictine history in a single volume. Sister Ann continues her legacy of inspiring others’ love of world and monastic history with the book’s 2014 revision with Neville Ann Kelly.