A Lifesaving Legacy

Vaccines Protect the Monks of New Clairvaux

Photo Courtesy of the Abbey of Our Lady of New Clairvaux

Sheila McEnany is the reason Enloe Medical Center started vaccinating the monks of the Abbey of Our Lady of New Clairvaux, a Trappist-Cistercian monastery with a vineyard.

“I promised her on her deathbed that we would continue taking care of ‘her guys,’” said Ruthie Cooper, a retired Enloe Medical Center nurse. After nearly 20 years of service between the Cardiac Catheterization Lab, Infusion Therapy at the Enloe Regional Cancer Center and more, Cooper now helps coordinate a flu clinic for the abbey each year through Enloe’s Community Health Services as a volunteer.

A former nun, McEnany was a faithful Enloe volunteer herself until she passed in 2015. Her “guys” are a community of 20 Roman Catholic monks who make their home at the abbey.

“Sheila worked at the monastery in their winery and worshipped at their services,” Cooper said. Her ashes are interred at the Good Shepherd shrine, which is in the guest area of the monastery. Cistercians of the Strict Observance, the men dedicate their lives to personal prayer, communal prayer, and manual labor, and they oversee the vineyard.

But when McEnany hoped Cooper would continue caring for the monks after she was gone, she wasn’t talking about working at the winery. She was asking her to keep them safe from the flu.

“We used to have these outbreaks,” explained Father Paul Mark Schwan, who has been New Clairvaux’s abbot since 2009. Before Enloe started vaccinating the monks in 2007, one of the brothers died when a severe case of the flu turned into pneumonia.

“I remember one year we had to bring a volunteer to do the cooking for us because so many of the brothers were sick. That wasn’t the first time,” he added.

Faithfulness Lives On

For most, getting the flu vaccine necessitates travel. That presents a challenge for the monks, who strive to live separately and without distractions. So Enloe caregivers began bringing the vaccine to them.

The flu vaccine is highly effective in preventing serious illness and hospitalization, according to Wes Matthews, Enloe’s Manager of Community Health Services. To illustrate, he pointed to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, “A 2021 study showed that among adults hospitalized with flu, vaccinated patients had a 26% lower risk of intensive care unit admission and a 31% lower risk of death from flu compared with those who were unvaccinated.”

The day of Enloe’s annual clinic at New Clairvaux, Cooper, plus an employed Enloe nurse, and two to three volunteers head out to the monastery bright and early. They set up in the guest area, where visitors stay for respite visits.

“The monks file in to see us when they are done with their morning worship, before they head out to work,” Cooper said.

As Cooper planned this year’s clinic at the monastery, she said she was looking forward to the visit.

“All my friends want to be the one to go out there and help the monks,” she said. “Father Paul Mark has given us blessings on several occasions. They would say a prayer over us, which was just lovely.”

McEnaney’s faithfulness to the abbey lives on in the impact of her actions. There have been no major flu outbreaks and no flu-related deaths at the abbey since the clinics began.

“We really appreciate what Sheila started and what Ruthie has continued,” Schwan said. “It has made a huge impact on us.”

Get Your Flu Shot

The CDC recommends getting a flu shot every year. Enloe will host a free vaccination clinic that’s open to the public on Oct. 9 at the Chico Elks Lodge.

This year’s vaccine covers four common flu strains. It’s appropriate for ages 3 and up and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Register at www.enloe.org/flu.