According to Sister Felicitas Hunkler’s unpublished history of the community, they arrived with a total cash fund of seventy-five cents. Arriving in Pocahontas on December 13, 1887, in the evening twilight, Father Eugene Weibel welcomed the Sisters and held Benediction in the Church before taking them to their quarters, where the ladies of the parish had prepared their meal.  The ladies had made beds and had everything ready in the modest log and frame convent, named Maria Stein.

Mother Beatrice Renggli and Sister Felicitas Hunkler

     The Sisters spent most of the next day unpacking and planning the daily order of prayer, work and relaxation.  The Sisters tried as closely as possible to adhere to the Rule of St. Benedict, the constitutions and schedule they brought from Maria Rickenbach.