It was an ordinary day. The year was 1956 and I was riding the school bus for the first time. The previous six years I had walked the twenty minutes to Brecht Elementary School which is in the Manheim Township School District. Riding the bus was an all new experience for me and I loved it. The more I rode the bus the more I remembered the businesses and houses that lined Route 501N, also known as the Lititz Pike, on our way to and from school. About a month into the school year I took notice to this one building complex that sat on the west side of the highway and seemed to be brand new. Resembled a church, but with more than one building that sat side by side. One day after I got home from school I told my mom and dad about the place and said it had a sign that read "Monastery" in front of it. Found out later that it was the "Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" and was home to close to a dozen Catholic Nuns. The building was beautiful and I often wondered what it looked like inside.
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| The construction of the Monastery in 1955. |
Never did get a chance to see the interior and never will...since the Monastery is now for sale. A recent newspaper article told about Sister Mary Veronica who has dedicated herself to a life of prayer strictly centered at the Monastery on Lititz Pike. A reporter talked to Veronica who said she rarely left the the property where the chapel was open to the public, but the living quarters of the nuns was off limits to the public. Well, today I decided it was time to stop and take a few photographs of the beautiful chapel and out-buildings on the property. The parking lot was empty when I arrived. I grabbed my camera and began to snap a few photographs as I walked from one end of the property to the other end. Knocked on a few locked doors, but no one answered my knocking.  |
| Some of the original nuns in the Monastery. |
I then remembered reading that Sister Veronica had left the property a few days ago to say her prayers at the Corpus Christi Monastery in Bronx, New York. It was during her interview with the paper a few days ago that she said, "The main thing is the life, it's not the building. I guess maybe our mission has been fulfilled here in any case. Hopefully."  |
| A bedroom in the Monastery; no frills. |
It's been over two years since any new nuns have joined the Monastery on the Lititz Pike and during that time a few have died and the remaining nuns have become increasingly frail. At the time of the closing of the Monastery only four nuns remained. They lived on the five acres of land along Lititz Pike by themselves.  |
| The sign that stands in front of the property |
So, it was decided to close the Monastery in Lancaster. The property is up for sale along a very desirable stretch of land. The realtor, long time real estate agent Marilyn Berger, said they didn't want to market it until all the remaining nuns had relocated. All the nuns feel the closing and their relocation is a calling from above.  |
| The Monastery |
The Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary was founded in France in 1880 and was an offshoot of the order established in 1206 by St. Dominic, a Spanish priest who started communities of nuns and monks. The local order was established in South Enola, Pennsylvania in 1926 and moved to Lancaster in January of 1953 after the building in Enola deteriorated. It initially consisted of 18 sisters who came to Lancaster and lived in a farmhouse until their new Monastery was built.  |
| Another photograph of the Monastery |
The nuns removed themselves from worldly life to the cloister, devoting their lives to the search for God through prayer. The new Monastery was completed at a cost of $450,000 and dedicated in 1955. The buildings are beautiful with plenty of weeping cherry trees surrounding the property. Only the "public chapel" was for use by the public. The remainder of the property was for use by the 18 sisters. Their daily schedule saw them rise for 6 a.m. prayers followed by mass at 6:45 a.m. The noon meal was eaten in silence with recreation following. Mid-afternoon prayer began at 3 p.m. with prayers and rosary continuing until the 6 p.m. supper.  |
| A few small rosebuds that brighten the Monastery. |
Night prayers commence at 8 p.m. with one nun praying all through the night. I think they must have known about my friends and I who lived closeby and knew they needed to pray a bunch for us. The local Monastery was well supported financially, but continued to lack new members. They did try to recruit new members, but weren't successful. With their shrinking community they thought it best if they move to another Monastery. They have now moved to the Bronx Monastery. Local volunteers at the Monastery are heartbroken that the sisters have moved to another location. The property will now be listed for sale with the asking price of $3.5 million. It includes all the buildings as well as a cemetery with 24 graves in it. The new buyers can move the graves if they find it necessary. One person suggested a rehab center. Great place for that with the housing and the church. For me, the place was a well kept secret. The buildings are beautiful and I would hate to see them demolished to build something different. Perhaps Marilyn Berger will be able to find just the right client that can use the property as it now stands. I would hate to see all those neat buildings that I have seen for close to 65 years be torn down. Time will tell. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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