Recent Articles

Mankato Life Magazine

Mary Ann Osborne, a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame for 46 years, believes working with wood is a spiritual practice, a connection to the Holy Spirit himself. In the multiple years she has devoted herself to the craft, she has learned to follow her inner voice and when she has, she has created pieces which whisper peace and hope. “My job is to create something from stories in life,” Sister Osborne stated with equal conviction, love, and passion.

Click to view entire article

Pastoral Liturgy Magazine

Mary Ann Osborne, SSND, began her career in education decades ago in the grade school classroom. She has continued it for the past thirty years through wood carvings and woodcuts she does in her studio on the grounds of the School Sisters of Notre Dame campus in Mankato, Minnesota.

Click to view entire article

Basilica Magazine

Scripture encourages us to love God with every fiber of our being, finding God's love in every facet of our life. As we open our life to God's love, we resonate deeper with love — knowing ourselves in new and unique ways. The way we feel, the way we pray, the way we act, and the way we think are shaped and changed by God's love.

Click to view entire article

PAX CHRISTI NEWS

During my first year of youth ministry at Pax Christi, I was told that every room in the building is home to a unique cross and that all of the crosses are gathered and displayed in an exhibit in the Martin Luther King, Jr., Room during the Lenten Season. However, the Garden Level, the room where most of the youth ministry programs and activities take place, did not have a cross. So I decided to search for a new cross for the youth.

Click to view entire article

Finding Minnesota: The Woodworking Nun

The sawing and chipping sounds coming from a wood shop in Mankato mean another work of art is in progress. Detailed wooden sculptures come out of the shop, many with religious symbolism. The surprising part, though, is who’s making them. 

Click to view entire article

SSND Woodcarver to be Featured on WCCO

Instrumental Christmas music at a low volume sets the mood as Sister Mary Ann Osborne prepares for her 10th annual exhibition on the campus of Good Counsel. The School Sisters of Notre Dame nun often plays religious music while she carves sculptures and designs wood-block prints.

Click to view entire article

River Valley Woman: Her Story

This feature highlights the lives of our sisters, mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers in whose footsteps we follow. River Valley Woman feels that what our senior women in the river valley have to say is vitally important and that we have much to learn from them. 

Click to view entire article

From one sister to another

Sister Mary Ann Osborne's exhibit in St. Pauls' Gallery at the Benedictine Center in St. Paul is, in a word, inspired. Osborne has been a School Sister of Notre Dame in Mankato for nearly 40 years.

Click to view entire article

Carving her Niche

In Mankato Women 2013, Mary Ann Osborne, SSND was recently honored among five women. She describes her journey from being an elementary school teacher for 13 years to becoming a wood carver over the last 25 years. She shares her journey in Carving her Niche.

Click to view entire article

An Artful Calling

Mary Ann Osborne, SSND has a calling beyond her profession as a School Sister of Notre Dame (SSND). In her studio, located on Good Counsel Hill, she listens to God and follows her heart as she carves and sculpts images into wood.

Click to view entire article