Sister Linda serves as the Prioress of the Sisters of St. Benedict at Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery. She entered the Monastery of The Immaculate Conception in August of 1966 at the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana, and in 1973 she was assigned to the Diocese of Tucson.  She began her ministry in the Diocese of Phoenix in 1983 and has served as Pastoral Minister of St. Thomas the Apostle, Director of Youth and Young Adults at the Diocese of Phoenix, Campus Minister and Guidance Counselor at St. Mary’s High School, and Guidance Counselor at Arizona Charter Academy.

​

In 1998 Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery was founded by Sister Linda and Sister Lydia Armenta, with permission from Rome, the Diocese of Phoenix, and the Monastery Immaculate Conception. Presently, Sister Linda is also adjunct faculty at Benedictine University in Mesa and volunteers at Arizona Charter Academy.

​

As Prioress, Sister Linda directs the formation program for new members, heads development and fundraising for the community, oversees the finances, and coordinates the building and maintenance aspects of the Monastery.  In her spare time, Sister Linda enjoys playing golf and scrabble, and walking - especially on the beach.

​

Sr. Lydia began her adult life working as a clerk and receptionist in Tuscon and Phoenix while remaining actively involved with parishes in both cities.  

​

In 1976 Sister Lydia entered the formation program at the Benedictine Community at Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton, South Dakota. After four years she discerned that living in South Dakota was not agreeable with her and returned to Phoenix. She returned to her work in the secular world, this time as a receptionist, insurance billing, and doctors assistant in a medical office, and remained involved in parish life. In 1988 she began a new career with the Perryville Women's Prison as a correctional officer and law librarian officer. 

 

Sister Lydia met Sister Linda Campbell and the Benedictine community from Ferdinand, Indiana in 1985. She became involved with the community, felt that she still had a vocation to religious life, and continued to pursue her vocational call through this community. In 1994, Sister Lydia entered the Monastery as the first postulant and worked with Sister Linda in founding the new Benedictine Community in Phoenix, AZ.  As a postulant, she began a private childcare facility at the Monastery. 

​

Sister Lydia received her certification in Spiritual Direction from the Hesychia School at Picture Rocks in Tucson, Arizona. She is actively involved with the Cursillo Movement as a spiritual director. She is the Retreat Coordinator and Oblate Director of Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery. 

​

Sister Lydia is the eldest of nine children, seven brothers, and one sister. Sister Lydia’s mother, Virginia, is 91 years old and lives in Tucson.

​

Sister Elizabeth Cummins is a Franciscan Sister, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, IA. She has been ministering in Phoenix since 1985 and has been a Spiritual Director at Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery since 2004.

 

Sister Elizabeth has a Masters Degree in Theology and additional studies in Franciscan Spirituality; Certification in Spiritual Direction and Directed Retreats; Certification in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement.

 

She is an herb gardener and desert hiker and is presently studying the art of spiritual direction from the perspective of ecology and Earth Spirituality.

​

​