Marie Melanie Schrader (our future Mother M. John) was born in Bastogne, Belgium on the feast of All Saints of the Benedictine Order, November 13, 1854. Her father was a native of Luxemburg, her mother of France. Marie Melanie was named for the Blessed Virgin, who just eight years before had appeared as the Weeping Madonna at LaSalette in France, and for the little shepherd girl Melanie, who was one of the two children to be favored with the vision. She came to America with her parents at the age of four, settling first in Illinois and then moving to Missouri to a new settlement recently established at Maryville.

Melanie entered our convent on Jan. 21, 1876, a month after our pioneer Sisters from Maria Rickenbach opened their first Novitiate at Conception. Along with two other young girls, she was one of the first American postulants, and together with them received the Benedictine habit on March 18, 1876. She offered her first vows on May 3, 1877, as Sister M. John Schrader. Her companions were Sister M. Gertrude Mayer and Sister M. Anselmina Jann. Her two younger sisters joined the community later and became Sisters M. Agatha and Innocent. A niece, Edith Marie Kraus, entered still later and became Sister M. Thiadildis (now Sister Edith Marie). Sister M. John made perpetual vows on Sept. 29, 1884.

For the first few years of her religious life, Sister M. John taught in the public school at Wild Cat, making the daily trip on horseback, or sometimes astride a donkey. She had a good command of French, German and English. She was also a capable seamstress and did the setting for both the convent and the monastery, and later helped with the Church sewing when that department was opened. She was Prefectress of St. Joseph's Academy from the time of its opening until her election as Superior of the convent. In 1883 the community moved to its present location at Clyde.

In the summer of 1883, while Sister M John and Sister M. Gertrude were in Colorado, soliciting alms and recruiting pupils, Mother M. Anselma, who had been very frail, became critically ill and died before they could be notified. One may imagine their consternation when they learned from Sister M. John's father, who met them at the Maryville depot on their return a few days later that their Superior had died and had been buried. Added to this crushing blow, the responsibility of superiorship was placed on Sister M. John's shoulders just a week later on Sept. 3, 1883 when she was chosen to succeed Mother M. Anselma as Prioress. She was then twenty-nine years old and in the 7th year of her religious profession. Grief-stricken and apprehensive for the future, Mother cried so much that the Sisters feared for her health. Nevertheless, she took hold with a firm hand and guided the community faithfully and well for thirty-seven years.

Mother M. John was a gracious person, with a sympathetic and loving heart. She was a staunch character, with firm trust in God's providence and a mature sense of values, and proved herself over the years to be a great and noble woman. During the early years of poverty and hardship, Mother spent many sleepless nights worrying over financial matters. She was a competent administrator and a good disciplinarian, stern but knowing how to temper firmness with kindness at the opportune time. Under the direction of the saintly Abbot Frowin Conrad of Conception and his brother, Father Pius, chaplain and confessor of the Sisters, Mother guided the community along the true Benedictine way. She worked in close cooperation with Father Lukas Etlin from the time he started, as a young chaplain, to take special interest in the spiritual and material welfare of the community.

The Congregation flourished under the direction of Mother M. John. The first buildings and the chapel were erected during her administration; the printery and correspondence departments were placed on a solid basis, the infirmary was established with a registered nurse (Sister M. Euphemia Staudt) and the farm well organized and managed to provide ample and wholesome food. While the building was in process, Mother herself often helped with the manual labor of unloading and scrubbing bricks, etc. Often she had to work till late at night to keep up with the sewing, book-work, etc.

In November, 1920 Mother M. John was succeeded by Mother M. Dolorosa Mergen in the office of Prioress. However, she still busied herself with many things, though in delicate health. In fact, she had much sickness and suffering throughout her life and a few times was at the point of death. Afflicted with diabetes and pulmonary ailments, her health was especially poor the last two years of her life. An attack of pneumonia on February 13, 1923 brought her life to a close the following day, the feast of St. Valentine, at the age of sixty-nine. (The Sisters commented that she was God's valentine, and Abbot Frowin, who died on March 17, was God's shamrock.)