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By Katrina Genereux

With great joy, on October 9, 2025, the Opening Mass and First Session of the Diocesan Inquiry of the Servant of God Annella Zervas was held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston, Minnesota.

Kathy McKee attended with her mother, Kathleen Zervas Miller.

“I attended the opening Mass for the cause of the canonization of Sister Annella because she is my great aunt and her life has always held a special place in our family’s story,” McKee said. Her mother’s father [Hubert] was Sister Annella’s brother.

“Growing up I heard how Sister Annella embraced tremendous suffering with deep faith, strength and grace. Sister Annella has always held a special place in our hearts not only as a member of our family, but as a spiritual example whose life continues to inspire us,” McKee said.

Related: The Gospel of Suffering: Bishop Andrew Cozzens’ Homily at the Opening Mass for the Cause of the Servant of God Annella Zervas

She said it was a deeply moving and a historic moment, especially witnessing the signing of the documents officially opening the cause.

“Seeing so many people gathered together to celebrate the Mass showed how much Sister Annella’s life has touched others beyond our family,” McKee said. “As her great-niece, it was incredibly meaningful to witness the Church take this step…”

“At Mass when Monsignor Sarno announced Sister Annella as a Servant of God, it was very touching, and now she may be the first saint of Minnesota,” said Patrick Norton. He has been working and praying to make Sister Annella known and further her cause since 2010 when she appeared to him at St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota.

Related: How Patrick Norton Resparked Devotion to Sister Annella Zervas

“It is overwhelming to look back at the start fifteen years ago when she appeared to me in the grotto and not having anything to work with … to this,” Norton said.

He began hosting prayer gatherings at the grotto to pray for her canonization and distributed copies of Ticket for Eternity, a booklet about her life that he had received permission to reproduce and share. He printed just ten copies at a time—the most he could afford.

Norton, who lives in the Diocese of St. Cloud, met with Bishop Donald Kettler, who was serving as the diocesan bishop at the time, to seek approval to give presentations about Sister Annella at local parishes. He shared his story and his deep conviction to promote Sister Annella’s life and holiness, hoping she might one day be declared a saint. Norton recalled that Bishop Kettler asked him whether he had ever done anything like this before—and how he planned to go about it.

“I answered, ‘I want to live the Catholic faith and let the Lord work through my simplicity and my nothingness. That is how the Lord’s work gets done.” Norton said.

Norton has given ninety-eight talks sharing his story and the story of Sister Annella. His most recent presentation took place just before the Opening Mass, when Sister Annella was officially declared a Servant of God, marking the beginning of the diocesan inquiry into her life. Norton spoke to a large crowd gathered in the Cathedral School Gym, where a display of artifacts from Sister Annella’s life was also on exhibit.

Heidi Biermaier, who attended the Opening Mass and volunteered at the Sister Annella Guild’s booth, helped welcome visitors at two display tables offering Guild memberships and devotional items such as rosaries, t-shirts, and the official biography of Sister Annella. Biermaier first learned about Sister Annella after attending one of Patrick Norton’s talks, where he shared his story with students and staff in their newly established chapel named in honor of Sister Annella at the Cathedral School.

A wife and mother of six, Biermaier teaches at the Cathedral School in Crookston, where she also serves as the coordinator for First Reconciliation and First Communion preparation.

“We chose to attend the opening Mass with our baby Ella Ann,” she said. “When we had our twenty week ultrasound, we learned that Ella had fluid on her brain, and not knowing what this would entail or mean at the time we traveled to Fargo for a higher level ultrasound.”

On the way, Biermaier’s husband, Luke, suggested that they ask Sister Annella to intercede for their baby. They had received Anointing of the Sick in her chapel and then realized the name they selected for their child, Ella Ann, was Annella flip-flopped.

“From that moment on, we have asked Sister Annella to pray for us on Ella’s journey and we have seen nothing but little miracles the whole way,” said Biermaier. “Though the fluid remains present, we have not had to intervene with a shunt and have had minimal developmental delays. We fully believe and have felt the power of Sister Annella’s prayers in the last year.”

Related: Is Moorhead, My Hometown, the Birthplace of Minnesota’s First Saint?

She said a highlight from the Mass and their family’s entire experience with Ella has been the power of intercessory prayer and the beautiful gift of the Communion of Saints.

Patrick Norton has heard from many people about favors believed to have been granted through the intercession of Sister Annella. He encourages everyone to help support her cause in whatever ways they can.

“Anything people can give for the cause of Sister Annella to go forward is wonderful. The Lord will reward people for whatever they can give. If you cannot give, pray for her cause,” he said. “Prayers and sacrifice are what makes it possible for her to move forward.”

Amanda Zurface, the Diocesan Postulator for the Cause of the Servant of God Annella Zervas, OSB, has been working on Sister Annella’s cause since 2020.

She explained: “I was deeply moved by how tirelessly Patrick had been working — seeking every possible avenue for help to open her Cause. I have a real passion for helping those who approach the Church, especially when they feel unheard. I felt convicted that Patrick’s voice, and Sister Annella’s story, needed to be heard and responded to by the Church.” The Mass and First Session of the Diocesan Inquiry was an incredible moment, said Zurface. She described it as an affirmation of the faithfulness of so many who have shared Sister Annella’s story through the years.

“When Monsignor Sarno presented Sister Annella as a Servant of God, it felt as though time stopped. It was profoundly moving to stand among so many who love the Church, desire God’s will and have personally been touched by Sister Annella’s story,” Zurface said.

She encourages everyone to read Ticket for Eternity.

“James Kritzeck did something extraordinary in writing this book — Sister Annella shows us what to do with our suffering and reminds us that Jesus is our truest and surest friend,” Zurface said. “Please also consider getting involved with the Guild of Sister Annella Zervas. We have membership options, and your participation — through prayer, financial support, and helping tell her story — is vital to advancing the Cause. Together we can help more people encounter Sister Annella’s witness of friendship with Jesus and love for the Church.”

Amy Camacho traveled from Texas to witness the historic moment. She prayed at Sister Annella’s grave more than a decade ago while visiting friends in the Twin Cities area, and has returned about a dozen times through the years. Her daughter Ava feels particularly connected with Sister Annella.

Camacho said that witnessing Bishop Andrew Cozzens celebrate the Opening Mass for the Cause of Canonization of the Servant of God Annella Zervas is a moment she will never forget.

“She suffered so much, yet did so with incredible humility and a desire to help others,” Camacho said.

She expressed deep gratitude to all who have supported the opening of Sister Annella’s cause—especially for Norton’s steadfast and heroic efforts over the years—and joined many others in thanking Bishop Cozzens for officially opening the cause.

Related: Introducing My Brother, Bishop Cozzens, to Sister Annella

Katie Rutter is an owner of Hundredfold Video in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

“I have been capturing the unfolding of this story before it was even a cause,” she said. “I am really grateful that we were asked to document this historic moment so that others, both now and for decades, would be able to know what it was like to live through it.”

“Yes, I thought I knew the importance of what we were capturing, but the gravity didn’t hit until that moment. We literally just captured Church history,” said Rutter.

She said the event and Sister Annella’s cause is incredible and definitely God-directed, considering no canonized Saints have been born in Minnesota and there are less than a dozen Saints from the United States.

“By human perspective, it seems much more likely to find a Saint someplace big and well-known,” Rutter said. “Crookston is small. Very small. … but the same God who chose a ‘little town’ as his own birthplace picked the Diocese of Crookston to call forth a servant. Maybe she will be canonized in our lifetime, maybe not. But what matters is that a small group of people … heard His call to examine Sister Annella’s life, and are willing to put in the incredible amount of effort it takes to submit her as an example to His Church for consideration.”

“I chose to attend the opening of the cause for canonization of Sister Annella Zervas because I believe that her journey of holiness is worth the investment of time and resources into a cause for canonization,” said Father Dan Tracy of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin. He currently serves as associate pastor at Saint Patrick Parish in Hudson, Wisconsin. He came to know Sister Annella Zervas and her story while living in Saint Joseph, Minnesota, and serving as a FOCUS missionary at Saint John’s University from 2015 to 2017.

“I believe that Sister Annella stands as a unique figure who experienced intimacy with Christ both in the school of discipleship and in the school of suffering,” he said.

He noted the strong influence Benedictines have had on Catholicism in the upper midwest over the last century.

“It was a great consolation for me, personally, to see such a great turnout of Benedictine monks and sisters who made the trip to Crookston,” Father Tracy said. “The presence of the Benedictines there gave the celebration a true feeling of universality in the Church with priests, religious, and laity all praying and rejoicing together.”

Benedictine Sisters representing the communities of Saint Joseph and Crookston, Minnesota, take part in the Opening Mass.

Sister Karen Rose, OSB, Prioress of Saint Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, was in attendance. Also present were Abbot Douglas Mullin, OSB, and Father Cyril Gorman, OSB, of Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, along with Sisters from Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Crookston. Sister Annella Wagner, OSB, and her community watched the livestream from Saint Scholastica Monastery in Duluth.

Sister Kathy Kuchar, OSB, of Mount Saint Benedict, read Sister Annella’s book, Ticket to Eternity.

“I was so gratified to learn she’d turned such intense suffering into praise to God and asked not only for even more suffering but the strength to endure it,” Sister Kathy said.

She was struck by Bishop Cozzens’ homily and encouragement that we can say yes to suffering and learn that we are not alone in it and it has meaning, as Sister Annella did.

She said another highlight was the piano and organ concert prior to Mass and the music provided by the musicians and singers from Fargo and Moorhead area parishes.

Prior to Mass, a concert was held in tribute to Sister Annella’s love of music and her skill as an organist and pianist. The concert featured organist Patrick McGuire, Director of Music at Sts. Anne and Joachim Parish in Fargo, along with choir members from St. Joseph’s and St. Francis de Sales Parishes in Moorhead and Sts. Anne and Joachim in Fargo.

Musicians and choir members from the Fargo/Moorhead area perform at the Opening Mass.

Following the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Opening Session of the Diocesan Inquiry was held. Monsignor Robert Sarno, longtime official of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and Canonical Consultant for Sister Annella’s Cause, presided over the solemn celebration.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, together with those appointed to instruct the inquiry—Monsignor David Baumgartner, Episcopal Delegate; Father Andrew Obel, Promoter of Justice; Hope Bach, Notary; Teresa Cymbaluk, Assistant Notary; and Anna Kliner, Copier—took oaths to faithfully and diligently fulfill their duties in accordance with the law of the Church.

The members of the Cause’s Historical Commission also took their oaths: Father Cyril Gorman, OSB, Chairman; Father Adam Hamness, Member; and Deacon Stuart Longtin, Member. Member Peter Cary will take his oath at a later date. Amanda Zurface, Diocesan Postulator for the Cause of Canonization of the Servant of God, and Janelle Gergen, Chancellor of the Diocese of Crookston, who served as Notary for the Opening Session, likewise took their oaths.

With the Opening Mass celebrated and the Diocesan Inquiry formally begun, the oaths have been taken and the list of witnesses to be interviewed submitted by the Postulator. The Tribunal—composed of several of those who took their oaths at the Opening Mass—will now commence the interviews (known in canon law as interrogatories) to gather evidence in the Cause of Canonization of the Servant of God Annella Zervas.

The Cause has now officially begun, and the work proceeds to investigate the Servant of God’s life, virtues, and reputation of holiness in order to present the findings to the Holy See.

About the Author

Katrina Genereux is a wife and mother living in the Diocese of Crookston. Katrina has served the diocese in communications for more than ten years and now chairs the Communications Committee for the Guild of Sister Annella. She has developed a spiritual friendship with Sister Annella and treasures the opportunity to share her story and the canonization process with her children.