When it was built in 1902, the monastery of St Joseph and St Anne stood in farmland in the Oak Lane district of Philadelphia. But sometime later the sprawl of the city meant that 66th Street bisected their property, leaving it on the edge of a busy road. There it stands today, surrounded by granite walls, an oasis of contemplation separated from the world not just by physical boundaries, but also by the desire of those within to seek above everything else the face of the crucified Christ.
Founded within five years of the death of St Thérèse of Lisieux, it was from this monastery of Discalced Carmelites that devotion to her spread right across the United States even before she was beatified. One of the foundresses, Sister Stanislaus of the Blessed Sacrament, had corresponded for several years with Mother Agnes of Jesus, Thérèse’s older sister, in the Lisieux Carmel, and from her received one of the earliest French editions of The Story of a Soul. She translated it and introduced the “Little Way” not just to her Sisters but to those who visited too (she was the portress).
Like her inspiration, Sister Stanislaus was to die at an early age. The Philadelphia Carmel’s contact with Lisieux meant that it could import thousands of pictures and booklets promoting devotion to the young French Carmelite. A letter dated 1910 from the Carmel speaks of “devotion to Sr Thérèse among rich and poor, priests and bishops”, which is cited in the cause for beatification as evidence of her cult.
Nevertheless, the Philadelphia Carmel had reached a low ebb with just three Sisters left in it, until two expanding Carmelite monasteries in other parts of the country sent Sisters to revive the foundation. At the request of these Sisters, the chaplain is from the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, and Mass is celebrated exclusively in the Extraordinary Form.
The reinvigorated Philadelphia Carmel has celebrated the solemn professions of three new Sisters in the past year alone. (Go figure, as they say round here.) In contrast to the apostolic order I stayed with who, for all their attempts to be relevant, haven’t had a vocation in 25 years, this Carmel attracts large numbers of young women who seek a life of self-sacrifice and who recognise in all that “old stuff” a wisdom greater than that of contemporary fashion.
The monastery chapel is beautiful, in an Italianate style with fine stained-glass windows of Carmelite saints designed by a disciple of the New York artist Tiffany. In a side chapel stands a new shrine containing relics of St Thérèse and her parents. It is the only reliquary which is known to contain the relics of a family. Made of gold, its design intertwines the Little Flower’s roses and the parents’ wedding rings. The high altar is decorated with mosaics of Elijah and Elisha on one side and Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the other. To the side of the altar is the grill into the enclosure which opens for the Sisters to receive Holy Communion.
The external parts of the monastery are typical of Carmel. Contact with the community for visitors, or even the chaplain, is made by pulling on a bell rope. Their enclosure is strict. The convent walls are whitewashed and unadorned. All the woodwork shines. The place is spotlessly clean and smells of beeswax.
I have the great privilege of a meeting in the parlour. Behind a double grill are three Sisters, one in her 50s and two who might be 30. They all look so serene. They are quick to smile and laugh as we engage in the easy conversation which is always the concomitant of knowing you have neither time nor need for trivia. In fact, I recognise the older nun from meeting her years ago when she belonged to another order in England. She asks me to convey greetings to many people on my return.
All this, and the conversation – which touches on their community news, the work that has taken me to the US, the monastery’s new dog and the state of the Church – leaves me feeling that it is not just what has been said, but what has not needed to be said which connects us so powerfully. As a bell sounds for Vespers, a Sister asks: “Will your Reverence give us a blessing?” And I do, full of reverence for the hidden treasure of this community.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.