[2] They took up lodging beside Atchison's Benedictine monks, who had established a monastery in the town in 1856 and had built a small convent for the sisters.

[1] In April 1864, two more sisters joined the group, arriving after being delayed in Hannibal, Missouri by Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession.

[3] In 1877, the sisters, then numbered 28, moved to their current site after purchasing Price Villa at public auction, which they renamed St. Cecilia’s.

Their only current dependent priory is Mosteiro Santa Maria Mãe de Deus in Mineiros, Goias, Brazil, which was established in 1964.

[10] In May 2024, the sisters criticized the remarks of football player Harrison Butker during his address at the Benedictine College commencement ceremony.

In their released statement, the sisters said the remarks "fostered division" and "do not...represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that our founders envisioned and in which we have been so invested".

They also specifically drew attention to "the assertion that being a homemaker is the highest calling for a woman," noting that the women the group has taught over the years "have made a tremendous difference in the world in their roles as wives and mothers and through their God-given talents in leadership, scholarship and their careers".