Assumption Community, Cold Spring, Minn., transfer of membership to Benedictine completed

With song and prayer, Minnesota-based Benedictine welcomed Assumption Community, a senior living community in Cold Spring, Minn., to its family of senior living communities.

Father Tom Knoblach, vicar of clergy and health care ethics for the Diocese of St. Cloud, presided over the blessing and welcoming ceremony on March 5. As part of the ceremony, Benedictine President/CEO Jerry Carley honored the legacy of Assumption Community to the Cold Spring area and welcomed all on campus to Benedictine.

During the ceremonial proceedings, Father Leroy Scheierl, pastor of the Church of St. Boniface, symbolically transferred the mantle of stewardship over Assumption Community to Carley and Benedictine. From the flickering flames of their individual candles, a unified pillar was lit, embodying the fusion of St. Boniface’s healthcare ministry and Benedictine in Cold Spring. The two candles continue to burn, a testament to the enduring legacy of tradition and continuity.

In August 2023, Benedictine reached an agreement with the Church of St. Boniface and the Diocese of St. Cloud to transfer membership in Assumption Community to Benedictine and the Catholic sponsorship to Duluth Benedictine Ministries.

In January 2024, the Minnesota Department of Health issued its approval of the transfer of licenses for Assumption Home, Assumption Court, Asher Haus, Assumption Home Care and Assumption Health Services.

On Feb. 22, 2024, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued their approval for the transfer of ownership of John Paul Apartments. The John Paul Apartments, as a HUD dwelling, required additional approval from HUD.

Assumption Community, located at 715 First Street N, includes Assumption Home, a 76-bed skilled nursing facility; Assumption Court, a 59-unit assisted living campus; Asher Haus, a 28-unit assisted living memory care building; John Paul Apartments, a 61-unit subsidized senior apartment building; and Assumption Community Services, a Medicare-certified home health agency. The campus currently employs 153 people.

Assumption Community will now be known as Benedictine Living Community-Cold Spring. Each of the individual buildings will retain their current names with a Benedictine identity. Individually they will be known as Benedictine Assumption Home, Benedictine Assumption Court, Benedictine Asher Haus, Benedictine John Paul Apartments, Benedictine Home Health-Cold Spring and Benedictine Health Services-Cold Spring. A new website is now available at www.BenedictineColdSpring.org.

Benedictine is a nationally recognized, Catholic, nonprofit senior care organization offering a full spectrum of health and housing services to aging adults. Benedictine now has 34 campuses in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Illinois and Missouri and includes more than 2,100 skilled nursing units and over 2,500 assisted living or independent units.

The transfer brings together a rich Benedictine history of both organizations and a shared mission of caring for seniors. Assumption Home was founded in 1963 by the Church of Saint Boniface, while Benedictine was founded in 1985 by the Benedictine Sisters of Saint Scholastica Monastery, Duluth.

“We are excited to welcome Assumption Community into the Benedictine family and look forward to continuing the Benedictine tradition of care and serving the Cold Spring area into the future,” said Jerry Carley, Benedictine president/CEO. “Thank you to all who worked so hard to complete this process.”