My name is Brenda Posch and my husband’s name is Chip. We have been married 41 years and live in Moorhead, Minnesota. We attend St. Joseph’s Church in Moorhead and sent our four children to St. Joseph’s School in the years 1989-2004. Sister Annella was born in Moorhead in 1900, went to St. Joseph’s Church and attended St. Joseph’s School. She entered the convent of the Benedictine Sisters at St. Joseph, Minnesota in 1915. I teach piano lessons at St. Joseph’s School and enjoy singing. Sister Annella played the piano, enjoyed singing, and was a music teacher in Little Falls, Minnesota, in 1917 and then Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1919. Sister Ignatia, (Sister Annella’s sister) was assigned to the convent at Melrose, Minnesota, the city where I was born. While attending St. Mary’s Catholic Elementary School in Melrose, I took piano lessons from the nuns. One year I participated in a piano music festival at St. Benedict’s. I felt a special connection to Sister Annella the moment I was introduced to her.
Sister Annella O.S.B. Apostle of Suffering in Our Day
In February of 2021, Chip was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer and we were devastated. Chemotherapy, radiation and 2 surgeries followed. In October 2021, while in adoration, I received a booklet titled “Sister Annella O.S.B. An Apostle of Suffering in Our Day” from Gert, a fellow parishioner. I knew instantly that we needed to learn more about her and needed to ask for her intercession. The following Sunday we drove 2.5 hours to St. Benedict’s Cemetery in St. Joseph, Minnesota, to visit her grave. While we were driving, I read the booklet to Chip.
In the booklet we read that Patrick Norton — whom Sister Annella appeared to in 2010 — found her grave by walking toward a cross where a lily was lying on the ground. When we walked into the cemetery, we noticed a bouquet of flowers on one of the grave marker crosses. My husband and I wondered if those flowers were on Sister Annella’s grave cross. Sure enough, the flowers led us right to her grave. We prayed together asking for her intercession that Chip be healed and restored to good health. It was just the two of us and it was very special. Chip took a Miraculous Medal that was on the grave cross. (Patrick touches them to Sister Annella’s grave and has them blessed and available for anyone to take.) Chip has worn this medal every day since. Thus began our journey with Sister Annella. We pray every day for her beatification and canonization and we ask for her intercession for Chip.
This was also the beginning of our friendship with Patrick. We first met Patrick on December 12, 2021, at the grotto at St. Benedicts in St. Joseph. We met him, his wife Sandy and several of their friends to pray. We prayed for Sister Annella’s beatification and canonization and for Chip’s healing. We have visited Sister Annella’s grave many times and have participated in the Sunday afternoon prayer days at the grotto with Patrick and other pilgrims. We have brought our children, my parents and other family members to pray with us. When we visited Patrick’s home, he showed us personal items (prayer book, crucifix, etc.) that belonged to Sister Annella. Chip held her crucifix and her prayer book as we prayed for his healing. I encourage you to read Patrick’s story; it is amazing and we have learned so much from him.
We truly believe that Sister Annella’s intercession is the reason that Chip is still with us today and we are so grateful. It has now been 3.5 years since his diagnosis. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments are still a part of his journey. We continually pray for complete healing but realize that he has already been given the miracle of time. We are strengthened and inspired by Sister Annella’s courage and strength during her immense suffering as we face the challenging moments of Chip’s cancer journey. Sister Annella wanted to bring people closer to God and she has done so with us on this journey.
Patrick gave us the book “Ticket for Eternity” by James Kritzeck. In this book Sister Annella is described as polite, kind, humble, cheerful, obedient and respectful. She had a great love for Jesus in the Eucharist, a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and only wanted to please God. It would be wonderful if we would all seek to imitate her. Her immense suffering is described in detail in this book. To endure this level of physical and mental pain one must possess a superhuman strength. Her body was so disfigured from her disease that even her own parents didn’t recognize her. I encourage everyone to read this book to learn about the extent of her pain, how she bore it with patience so heroically, and always offered it up for souls. This is the life of a saint. When she received the habit of the Benedictine Order in 1918, she was given the name Sister Mary Annella. Often sisters receive the name of a saint. Sister Annella’s response to not being named after a saint was that then she would have to be the first saint with that name. What a remarkable response.
Patrick told us that Sister Annella’s parents are buried in the St. Joseph’s cemetery in Moorhead. We found their gravesites and continue to go there to pray. Patrick told us to ask her mother to pray for us. Sister Annella was told by Jesus that He would not refuse her any request on behalf of her mother. What a blessing it is to visit her parents’ graves right here in Moorhead when we are unable to travel the 2.5 hours to Sister Annella’s grave in St. Joseph.
Key Moments in the Last 12 Months
October 2023 – Bishop Andrew H Cozzens from the Diocese of Crookston, my diocese, expresses an openness to the formal process of studying the life of Sister Annella. I am so grateful for Bishop Cozzens.
August 2024 – First Meeting of the Sister Annella Zervas, OSB Guild in Crookston, Minnesota. I am honored to be a member of this Guild. We will work together to share her story.
November 2024 – U.S. Bishops affirm the advancement of the cause of beatification and canonization of Sister Annella Zervas, OSB by a vote of 206-7. Thank you, Bishop Cozzens, for presenting her cause.
It’s Time for Each of Us to Share Her Story and Promote Her Cause
From the moment I first learned about Sister Annella, I developed my own passion to share her story. She certainly lived a life worthy of consideration for beatification and canonization. I hope to inspire others to embrace the crosses in their lives with patience and trust like Sister Annella did. My husband and I have been inspired to carry the cross of his cancer journey with trust. I believe that God places us exactly where He wants us to do His work and places people in our lives to help us accomplish that work. I can see God’s hand in my life, and I will walk where He leads me for this cause. I’m ready to encourage others to pray for her beatification and canonization.
As of today, Sister Annella is not yet well known in my church community. I’m excited to change that so that others may come to know her and ask for her intercession. I believe that under the leadership of Bishop Cozzens; Monsignor David Baumgartner; Diocesan Postulator Amanda Zurface; and the Sister Annella Zervas, OSB Guild, her cause has the momentum it needs to move forward. I’m so grateful for Patrick Norton’s persistence since 2010 to promote her cause. Coming to know of Sister Annella in adoration when Gert gave me the booklet about her, to developing a wonderful relationship with Patrick Norton, to developing a blessed and personal relationship with Sister Annella as she intercedes for us, is all truly remarkable.
Again, I ask, is Moorhead, my hometown, the birthplace of Minnesota’s first saint? I’m praying for that and am honored to be a part of this journey.
CLICK HERE to hear more about Brenda and Chip’s walk with Sister Annella in an interview they did with Real Presence Radio in December 2024.
About the Author
Brenda and James “Chip” Posch have lived in Moorhead and have been active parishioners at St. Joseph’s since moving there in 1989. Brenda grew up In Melrose, Minnesota, and Chip is from Little Falls, Minnesota.
Brenda graduated from Melrose High School, and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Her most important titles are mom and grandma. She was a banker and taught piano lessons for 35 years. Chip graduated from Little Falls High School and Concordia College. He has been a Cardiovascular Perfusionist since 1986, currently at Sanford Hospital in Fargo.
They met at a Central Minnesota TEC retreat (TEC-Teens Encountering Christ) and were married in 1983. God blessed them with 4 children and one baby in heaven, lost to miscarriage in 2004. They are grateful their children live within 6.5 miles and they enjoy spending time with their 7 grandchildren.