Nuns March Against Violence In Rogers Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Last weekend, an 18-year-old man was gunned down just steps from a North Side monastery.
Shaken by the news, the nuns who call St. Scholastica Monastery home are now taking to the streets to call for an end to the violence.
Of the three dozen Benedictine sisters who live in the monastery, only six are under the age of 75.
Last month, the peace of their Rogers Park monastery was rattled by a murder near their front door.
"That was a waste that young man's life should not have been taken," said Prioress Judith Murphy of the Order of Saint Benedict.
The response of the sisters at St. Scholastica however, goes beyond what you might expect.
"Pray for guidance, pray for blessing and then do what needs to be done," said Sister Benita Coffey.
The sisters organized a call to action, a peace march along the route where 18-year-old Antonio Johnson was killed by gunfire.
"We have a responsibility, we are citizens," said Sister Benita.
"We have taken corporate stands against exorbitant military spending the death penalty," said Sister Judith.
Since the monastery was established in the 1800s, as educators and more, they've followed the Benedictine order to do what is needed.
"Several of us have been really involved in parts of the city where there was gang activity," said Sister Benita.
"We're not helping the young people in this area to feel that they are wanted, that they have a future and they have a place in the world and that someone cares about them," said Sister Judith.
So tonight they will pray again, for the individual power to enact change.
"We're the ones supposed to be answering the prayers," said Sister Judith. "We're the ones supposed to be doing the work. The world has been left in our charge and we are not doing the best we can do with it."
