Sister Kimberly Porter, a Benedictine nun at St. Walburg Monastery in Villa Hills, has been elected to lead 17 monasteries across the country and Mexico.
Porter now serves as president of the Monastic Congregation of St. Scholastica, one of three national congregations for Benedictine sisters in the United States. Delegates from the 17 member communities voted to elect her after she received nominations, the Diocese of Covington reported on Thursday, Sept. 24.
The role puts Porter in charge of overseeing canonical elections for new leadership at member monasteries, conducting monastery visitations and serving as the congregation's liaison to the Vatican. She succeeds Sister Lynn McKenzie of Cullman, Alabama, who had held the position since 2014.
Porter was about one month into the job as of Thursday, Sept. 24. The role required her to step away from her full-time career as a family and child therapist.
"It's one of those jobs that you get called to," Porter told the Diocese of Covington. "I really think how I landed here was through a series of small yeses and just getting to know communities."
Porter said her years as a therapist prepared her for the work of leading the congregation, noting that both roles center on listening and walking alongside people as they make decisions.
Her first term lasts four years. She can be re-elected twice, for a maximum of 12 years in the position.
St. Walburg Monastery, located at Villa Madonna in Villa Hills, was founded in 1859 when three Benedictine sisters traveled from Erie, Pennsylvania, to teach German-speaking children at St. Joseph Parish in Covington. The community operates Villa Madonna Academy, a private Catholic K-12 school on the same campus.
The 17 monasteries in the congregation are spread across the United States. Each community maintains its own monastic norms while sharing a common constitution.
One early priority for Porter's tenure: the Benedictine Jubilee, a four-year global celebration marking 1,500 years of Benedictine life that culminates in 2029.
