Carmelites pack for first time in 82 years

The "rules of enclosure" that have isolated Carmelite sisters in Schenectady from the outside world for 82 years have been relaxed lately.

Mother John of the Cross, prioress of the Monastery of St. Teresa of Jesus, described helpers trooping into the monastery to pack boxes into vans and drive them to Pittsford, New York -- the sisters' new home.

"What's necessary must be done," Mother John shrugged -- an adage that also fits the Discalced Carmelite community's move to the Diocese of Rochester.

Time to leave

It's been three years since the sisters at the cloistered monastery began discerning whether to leave the Albany Diocese.

Their inner-city Schenectady neighborhood had been rezoned for business purposes, said the prioress, and the resulting traffic and noise made it an inappropriate place for a contemplative religious community.

Meanwhile, another community of Carmelites in Pittsford was undergoing its own discernment process. Down to just five sisters, they had been forced to leave their own property and live with Sisters of St. Joseph in the Rochester Diocese.

Coming together

It seemed like God's will that the two communities merge, said Mother John.

"The [Albany] Diocese offered us land in Rotterdam, but the cost of building was prohibitive," she explained. "I can't say that we're happy to leave the Diocese; we've been here for 82 years. But nothing else opened up for us. This is what God wants us to do."

The Vatican approved the proposal on Sept. 9, a month earlier than the sisters expected. The sisters in Pittsford immediately began renovating their 58-acre property to accommodate themselves and their new members -- painting, updating plumbing and installing an elevator for the elderly sisters.

The St. Teresa community currently numbers 11 sisters, ranging in age from their 40s to 90.

Much to pack

Although cloistered life technically means the sisters do not leave the monastery's grounds, Mother John said that today's rules are "not quite as tight as they used to be. If we have medical needs, we go out, or if there's something related to our work."

However, she noted wryly that spending most of one's life within four walls makes for a surprising amount of packing when one has to move.

"I wish we had less than we did!" she stated. "A monastery is not like a convent. It's a self-contained unit. We make our own habits, do sewing and art, make altar bread. All of these things have their own equipment."

In fact, it took a lay Third-Order Carmelite with a flatbed truck to move the sisters' tractor to Pittsford.

New tenant

Rev. Peter Young, who runs Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment (PYHIT) for addicts and former prisoners, has bought the Carmelite monastery for use as a rehabilitation center for alcoholics and drug addicts. He sent men and trucks to help the sisters move.

Mother John was impressed with their efficiency. "In two hours, they filled a van and drove it to Pittsford!" she exclaimed.

Moving, said the prioress, is "kind of an awesome thing for us. Once you make your final profession in a cloistered community, you never think moving is going to be part of God's plan."

Seventeen deceased Carmelites buried on the monastery's grounds will also be moved. Their remains will be disinterred and reburied at Holy Cross Cemetery in Rotterdam.

'Sad' to leave

The merger will mean that the Rochester Diocese has four contemplative religious communities living within its boundaries. But, "once we leave, there will be no contemplative presence in the Albany Diocese," said Mother John. "That's sad. But we'll have to take the Diocese with us in our hearts and prayers."

Besides, she noted, "it's not like we're going to Alaska! It's in the same state -- and prayer has no boundaries. Love has no boundaries."

(Mother Victoria, prioress of the Pittsford Carmelites, will serve as prioress for the merged community. Mother John said the new community will hold elections for a new prioress eventually, but she's not worried about filling her own time without having prioress duties: "It'll take that long [until the elections] to unpack all the boxes!" Bishop Howard J. Hubbard will celebrate the final liturgy for the Discalced Carmelite sisters in the Albany Diocese on Oct. 9, 2 p.m. Write the sisters at 1931 West Jefferson Rd., Pittsford, NY 14534.)

(10/6/05) [[In-content Ad]]