Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (Tonapah, AZ.)

UPDATE: The construction of the new monastery building has begun as of January 2020
The Poor Clares of Tonapah, Arizona are a group of contemplative nuns dedicated to perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. These cloistered nuns journeyed from Alabama to the desert of Arizona in 2005 to start a new foundation of the Poor Clares called Our Lady of Solitude. They were  originally part of the community of Our Lady of the Angels in Alabama (Mother Angelica's community) before heading out West, and are fondly known as the 'Desert Nuns"

Update: The monastery building is completed and the nuns have moved in. There is room for 16 nuns so there is 8 to 10 cells still empty. Did I say 'cells' ? 😊

The Poor Clares are Franciscan nuns, and are followers of St. Clare (a spiritual companion of St Francis of Assisi). In 2005 these 'Desert Nuns' literally started from scratch. Today a large chapel has been built as well as retreat houses. A large monastery is in the works that will house 16 nuns and then later expanded to house an additional 12- that is the plan. My understanding is that the nuns occupy the retreat house until the monastery is built. Interested parties should go directly to the Poor Clares site online at  http://desertnuns.com/  

Some of the vocational guidelines include the following:

Have a high school diploma.
Be between the ages of 18 and 35.
Strong devotion to the most Blessed Sacrament.
Good physical, emotional, and psychological health.

For more information one should contact the nuns directly by clicking on the link provided above where you can email them. Or write to the abbess by post at:

Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration
Mother Marie Andre PCPA Superior
Our Lady of Solitude Monastery
PO Box 639
Tonapah, AZ. 85354

Tonapah is about an hour west of Phoenix, Arizona. To get precise directions one should contact the nuns directly.

                                                                    

                                                                              
                                                                                      
                                                                            
                                                                              

Children Of Mary (Newark, Ohio)

Children of Mary is a traditional community- situated on a large tract of wooded land in central Ohio. They are considered semi-contemplative. This is a rather new community (under 20 years old) in Newark, Ohio, and is under the guidance of Bishop Campbell in the Diocese of Columbus.
This is a young and very traditional group of sisters, whose spirituality is centered on the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

At the head of this community is Mother Margaret Mary (photo above), who lived for years as a solitary hermit before forming the Children of Mary (order and rule approved in 2002). Chosen as patron saints of this order are Saint John Paul II, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (the Little Flower), Saint John Vianny, and Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

The daily schedule includes daily mass at 9am, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and chanting morning, evening and night prayers. You rise at 6:00 am, and lights out at 10:00 pm. For the full schedule and much more information on this fast growing community please go to their website located here: www.childrenofmary.net    

                                                                              

            

        
Contact information:

Children Of Mary Sisters
8353 Pleasant Chapel Rd.
Newark, Ohio 43056               Telephone: 740-323-1977

e-mail: childrenofmary@juno.com

                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Benedictine Abbey Of Regina Laudis (Bethlehem, Connecticut)

                                                                

The nuns of the Abbey of Regina Laudis are a contemplative community of about 37 members. Founded in 1947 the abbey is based on the rule of St Benedict and is located in Bethlehem, Connecticut.


                                                              

This is a contemplative community whose abbey rests on 400 lovely acres in west-central Connecticut. It is a lively and well organized community and functions somewhat like a little town (in a sense) with everything it needs to operate smoothly. It has it's own dairy and sheep herds which provides for the needs of the nuns, and to complete the 'little town' they also engage in the following:
Blacksmithing & metalworks
Sculpture
pottery
candle-making
gardening and composting
cheese-making
making jams, jellies, herbal teas, wooden objects, stained glass ornaments,
making CD's of Gregorian Chant
Leather goods, etc...

                                                                

                                  








This is the community of Dolores Hart- the former movie actress who was at the top of her profession when she shocked Hollywood by becoming a Benedictine nun at the age of 24. One of her first roles was opposite Elvis in the 1950's but, like she wrote in one of her published books- "God Is the Bigger Elvis". Yes she's still at the Abbey and is known as Mother Dolores.


                                                            
                

                                                               Mother Dolores Hart


Another interesting member of this community is Mother Noella Marcellino who was the subject of a PBS documentary and known- although she hated the name- as 'The Cheese Nun'. She is a cheese expert and has a PhD in Microbiology.

The members of this community:
Pray the Hours
Observe periods of silence
Are assigned work within the abbey or abbey grounds
Sing Gregorian Chant, etc...

One should contact the Abbey for more information which is provided below. Or go to their website online here: abbeyofreginalaudis.org

Bennedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis
273 Flanders Rd.
Bethlehem, Connecticut 06751                      Tel: 203-266-7727

Disciples Of the Lord Jesus Christ (Prayer Town, Texas)

                                                                        

The Disciples Of the Lord Jesus Christ is a Franciscan charismatic community of 30+ nuns from Prayer Town, Texas (about 45 miles NW of Amarillo). They are considered an active-contemplative community. A key word here is 'charismatic' which means they practice the gifts from the Holy Spirit. There are very few charismatic groups of nuns, so I had to include this one because in all respects they are a traditional community who wear full habits, pray the hours, and follow the 3rd Order Franciscan rule. Their daily schedule is as follows:
5:30am   Rise
6:00am   Morning Prayer (sung)
6:30am   Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
7:15am   One hour of Private Prayer
8:15am   Breakfast In Silence
9:00am   Morning Work Areas
12:00pm Angelus and Midday Prayer (sung)
12:15pm Lunch In Silence
1:00pm   Prayer (Exposition Of the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel)
2:00pm  Afternoon Work Areas
4:30pm   Evening Prayer (sung) with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
5:30pm   Dinner with Table Reading or Reflection
Free Time
8:15pm   Night Prayer (sung) Followed by Grand Silence
10:00pm  Lights Out

Requirements:

Ages 18 to 40
High School Diploma
Fidelity to the Holy Father and the Catholic Church
Openness to the Gifts Of the Holy Spirit
Sound physical, mental, and emotional health
etc...
For more information of the sisters activities and mission go to their website: dljc.org

                                                                              

                                                     Four of the novices in white veils



Sister Christine Marie DLJC
Vocation Directress

P O Box 64                                                              
Prayer Town, TX. 79010-0064                                                         Tel:  806-567-3048

                                                                          

Sisters Of Our Lady Of Mercy (Dorchester, MA.)

The Congregation Of the Sisters Of Our Lady Of Mercy is the order of Saint Faustina Kowalska who was also known as the saint of the Divine Mercy devotion. The order was founded in Warsaw, Poland in 1862. The sisters started a congregation in Dorchester (an historic neighborhood of Boston) in 1988 when 3 sisters arrived in the U S at the request of Cardinal Bernard Law.

The congregation now has 8 sisters plus some young women in formation. As you can see in the photo above, these sisters are devoted to the 'Divine Mercy' which is a devotion started by Saint Faustina in Poland in the 1930's, and has since spread throughout the world.

I remember seeing one of these nuns being interviewed on television (I think it was on EWTN), and I was very impressed with her. As you can see, they wear the full habits of their order, and they are considered an active-contemplative congregation.

The photo above is of their congregation house at 241 Neponset Ave, which is set between Pope John Paul II Academy-to the right of it, and Saint Ann's Catholic Church- just off to the left (both out of view).

The Sisters of Our Lady Of Mercy:

*Wear Full Habit

*Pray the Liturgy Of the Hours together as a community

*Pray the Chaplet to the Divine Mercy

*Reach out to male and female prisoners, pray with the dying in nursing homes, and spread the devotion to the Divine Mercy, etc...

Candidates should be 18-35 years old.
In good physical and mental health.
There is much more information available on their website: http://www.sisterfaustina.org

For more information please contact the sisters directly either by mail, e-mail, or phone- all of which are provided below. You can pay them a visit or come to the Divine Mercy devotion in their convent chapel- contact them for the days and hours.

Local Superior & Vocation Director: Sister Donata Farbaniec

Write to:  Vocation Directress
                    Sisters Of Our Lady Of Mercy
                    241 Neponset Ave.
                    Dorchester, MA. 02122                     Telephone: 617-288-1202


E-mail address: vocation@sisterfaustina.org

Starting At the Beginning- Or- Nuns 101

First off- the difference between a sister and a nun can seem a little confusing to the average person. Let  me put it like this: All religious, regardless of the community they belong to, are called 'sisters', but all sisters are not nuns. Nuns are, traditionally speaking, those individuals who wear habits and live in closed communities called 'cloisters'. This is of course historically speaking because at the present time not all nuns are behind convent walls 24/7. In fact, in today's world the term sister and nun are used interchangeably- although technically that's not correct. Some people like to think of it this way: sisters are active, and nuns are contemplative. Sisters can live outside the community, nuns live always in community. Modern day sisters rarely wear habits, nuns always wear some form of habit. A sister blends in with the crowd at the mall, a nun you could spot easily. However, if one is ever in doubt, don't worry- just called them 'sister' because they all answer to the that :o) For the purpose of simplicity,  we will use the terms sister and nun interchangeably- that seems to be the common solution to the problem. Today there are too many exceptions to be able to draw a clear line between the 2 terms.

There is one very important distinction when choosing a religious community however, and that is the 'rule' or rather, the way of life of that particular community. Most people have at least some idea of what they are looking for- either strictly contemplative, or one of a more active lifestyle. Since there are a great many different communities in the United States it is impossible to list the 'rule' for every order here, but when we spotlight a particular community we will make known it's 'rule'- at least in general. Some orders provide more information than others up front, so in some cases we will tell you how to find out more or list direct contact info.

Also, if you have a good idea of the kind of community you would like to join, but are having trouble locating one, just leave a comment on one of the posts and we will let you know what is available in your particular area. If we don't know what part of the country you are from we can list various locations but you should give us at least a state so that we can narrow it down.