Heavenly Songbirds Singing Nuns Delight Seniors With Special Concert At Mount St. Michael

The angels were irresistible.

Dressed in blue, white and gold with their eyes raised to the sky, they adorn the chapel at Mount St. Michael in north Spokane.

Along with stained-glass windows and ornate statues of the Virgin Mary and saints, the angels were a welcoming sight to more than 250 visitors Thursday afternoon.

“It’s lovely,” said Catherine Ostby, 77, of Spokane. “Someone said they thought it looked like heaven.”

Ostby’s visit was part of Seniors’ Day, a sold-out concert and open house at the residence of the Marian sisters, also known as the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen. The event, the first of its kind since the order moved in two years ago, helped the nuns raise money for their order.

Mount St. Michael was built in 1915 by the same Jesuits who founded Gonzaga University. It was home to Jesuit brothers and seminarians until 1968. Before the Marian sisters came, it was used as a retreat center.

Many of the visitors Thursday had never seen Mount St. Michael, a four-story brick building that remains relatively untouched by the reforms of Vatican II.

Mass here is said in Latin. Women still cover their heads in church.

A traditional order, the Marian sisters wear habits that cover almost their entire body. Only their faces and hands are exposed.

“I like to see the nuns,” said Norma Stewart, 72, of Spokane. “It’s been years since I’ve seen anything like this. It’s like a new beginning.”

The seniors, some who came by bus, gazed with awe at the 20-foot altar in the chapel, its center a life-size Christ on a cross. Some lit votive candles and said a short prayer to statues of Jesus, Mary and Saint Philomena. Others wandered through the long, echo-filled halls, peeking from time to time into the building’s many classrooms.

In addition to the tour, visitors came to listen to the Singing Nuns, a group of Marian sisters who perform all over the country. About half of the 47 sisters who live at Mount St. Michael usually perform with the group.

“Singing is part of the life of a nun,” said the Rev. Mother Katrina. “When you sing, you pray twice. You express an inner joy and a love of God.”

When they’re not teaching, working or praying, most of the sisters sing all the time, she said, both for recreation and worship.

On Thursday, they entertained their guests with music they wouldn’t normally sing during liturgy. Accompanied by two nuns playing Yamaha keyboards, the sisters sang songs like “The Lonely Goatherd” from “The Sound of Music” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.”

“This is a great place for us to meditate,” said Myrtle Kaul of Spokane. “The view is very spiritual.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo