>> The Monastery Immaculate Conception is home to the Sisters of Saint Benedict of Ferdinand.

This is where we live.

It's where we pray.

It's where we follow the rule of Saint Benedict as best we can today.

There are about 106 of us in the community.

We are an active monastic community.

So as a monastic community, that means that living together in community, praying together on a regular, daily basis is central to who we are.

And we're active.

So we also have ministries.

We have sisters who work in education, some in healthcare, some in parish ministry, chaplaincy in a hospital, a variety.

>> The Monastery of the Immaculate Conception was established in 1867.

Four sisters were asked by the parish priest to come to Ferdinand, Indiana, from Covington, Kentucky, to teach the German children.

When they came, they lived downtown by the parish church, and they stayed there until 1886, when they moved up here to the first building which is the Quadrangle.

>> We have four guiding principles: Prayer, community, hospitality, and work.

So prayer, that we come together three times a day to pray together the liturgy of the hours.

We also have mass several times a week that we pray together.

Community, that we are not just living alone or working alone, and that this becomes our family.

So we act as family with one another.

We celebrate birthdays.

We -- we celebrate major events in individuals' lives.

Work, Benedict told his members that they should balance their life with prayer and work and that they should not just be idle.

So sometimes our work is our ministries out with other people.

We do operate a bakery.

The bakery is now known for some artisan cookies and products.

And then the fourth one, hospitality.

Saint Benedict said that we should receive every guest, every person who comes, as if we are receiving Christ.

And we really try to take that to heart, that this could be a place of safety and comfort, a place of quiet, a place where someone could come and just nourish him or herself in the atmosphere that we have.

We have a limited number of overnight rooms.

It is available for anyone who wishes to come for a program.

We have some retreats and workshops that we will schedule.

So many people, I think, at this time, don't even know if sisters are in existence, that we are active and have a life.

They don't understand what that life is.

We welcome individuals to come and visit us and learn more about who we are as sisters of Saint Benedict, and how can we help a person grow in his or her relationship with God, and how do we do that together?