Sister Lauren, Mayo Clinic's longest-serving employee, celebrates her 100th birthday
In the backdrop of Sister Lauren Weinandt’s office at St. Marys hangs a clock featuring jumbled numbers and the phrase, “who cares,” written on the front. A committed member of the Sisters of St. Francis, she has had ample time on her hands to foster a productive, fulfilling life devoted to her faith and helping others — while still finding time to crack a good joke.
Recognized as Mayo Clinic’s longest serving staff member for her 65 years of continuous service, Sister Lauren carries on with her work today in development and archives, making good use of her trusty typewriter.
All of it at the young age of 100.
“It doesn’t feel any different than it did when I was 99!” she told us in a recent interview. “It’s just a figure.”
On Monday, Sister Lauren hit the century mark. In addition to a festive gathering with the other Sisters, a mass was held to honor her continued success and devotion. And, to her excitement, two donations were made to the Poverello Foundation, a fund established in 1983 by Sister Generose aimed at providing financial aid to those in need of medical assistance.
Beginning her career in 1956 as a secretary for Sisters Mary Brigh and Generose Gervais, two administrators dedicated strongly to helping others, it was not long before Sister Lauren found her calling as a missionary.
“I wanted to help the poor, the handicapped, and people in foreign countries because there’s so much need,” she said.
After a mission in Guatemala that left her overwhelmed with compassion, she decided to raise money and supplies by holding rummage and furniture sales. Soon after, she was able to put the money to good use.
“I sent enough equipment for a 21-bed hospital,” she said.
Since the start of the sales in 1968, the Sisters of St. Francis have raised over one million dollars for the Poverello Foundation and to aid the Sisters in their missions. Putting in countless hours of work dedicated to her missions and projects, Sister Lauren has both inspired and learned from all kinds of people throughout her life.
“People come from all over the world … people ask me to bless them or pray with them or to just be with them for a little bit,” she said.
With no plans to retire anytime soon, Sister Lauren intends to continue her work with Mayo Clinic for the time being, and she has made sure that the Sisters’ values and legacy will stay part of Mayo in the future.
“We’ve embedded [our values] into our employees … they’re gonna have to take over when we’re not here, so we’ve tried to instill in them our values and have them carry on what we have started,” she explained. “They say there’s a spirit here [at St. Marys Hospital] that is so different, and I think it is the presence of the Sisters and a lot of the employees, too, because I think they’re very spiritual — a lot of them are.”
Grace Sprecher is an incoming NYU freshman planning to study percussion performance and journalism. Aside from experimenting with any musical instrument she can find, she enjoys camping, baking, and traveling to new places.
Cover photo courtesy Mayo Clinic
