Photo: Clyde Prioress Sister Rita Clair Dohn, OSB, welcomes Mother Marie Therese DuBois, OCD to the Sisters' monastery in Clyde, Mo., on Monday.
The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration welcomed the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Jefferson City (Mo.) on Monday, opening their home and their hearts to the religious community.
Mother Marie Therese DuBois, OCD and her two religious sisters have relocated their cloistered community to the monastic grounds of the Benedictine Sisters in Clyde, Mo.
The two communties share a rich past, including the production and sale of altar breads (communion hosts or wafers). Over time, the Carmelites numbers have diminished. According to BSPA Prioress General Sister Pat Nyquist, OSB, they expressed an interested in relocating their community to Clyde. The Benedictine Sisters, after much prayer and discernment, agreed it would be a blessing to host the Carmelites and to share in the richness of religious life together.
"They are a generous and joyful group of women religious," Sister Pat said. "This is St. Benedict's hospitality in its purest form, and we welcome each as if she were Christ himself."
Who are the Discalced Carmelite Nuns? They are a small religious community from Jefferson City, Mo.
To what diocese do they belong? While the Carmelites will physically live within the boundary of the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, they will continue under the jurisdiction and leadership of the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City.
Where will they live? The Carmelites will have their own living quarters in St. Paul's, a former guest house of the Benedictine Sisters.
As Carmelites, is their charism similar to Benedictines? Carmelites and Benedictines pray the Liturgy of the Hours and will often gather for prayer services. |