clk Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Does anyone know what happened after the Dominican Nuns left their Doat Street Monastery a couple years ago and moved to Ohio? I can't find anything about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 Here's a link to a federation they belong to: https://www.monialesop.org/our-lady-of-the-rosary-federation Heath (Buffalo) is listed first on that page. And there's a link that should take you to their particular page. However, I have Malwarebytes on my computer, and I get a warning about the website when I click on their particular link (www.opnuns.org), but the link above shows their address and everything - they seem to be doing well in their new location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted July 13 Author Share Posted July 13 Thank you. I was able to click on their website without getting a warning and it was very strange. It said they were no longer accepting prayer requests or making rosaries and asked that the reader "support" other Dominican Monasteries. Made me think they had disbanded or ??? Very strange Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 37 minutes ago, clk said: Thank you. I was able to click on their website without getting a warning and it was very strange. It said they were no longer accepting prayer requests or making rosaries and asked that the reader "support" other Dominican Monasteries. Made me think they had disbanded or ??? Very strange All of that is news to me. Last time I was able to access their page, they looked like they were doing well. However, I will say that I noticed on another Dominican page that a nun from Ohio had recently transferred there. The problem is I can't remember where I read it, and I'm just about to leave the house to attend a wedding, so I can't search for it right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allegra Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 See page 2 of this pdf, right under the "Men's conference": "In spring 2022, the sisters realized during the planning process that the challenges were too great to build a monastery and to continue as an autonomous community. Consequently, a decision was made to suppress the monastery, which required approval from the Holy See ..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted July 14 Author Share Posted July 14 Thank you for this information. What does that mean when a monastery is "suppressed?' and do all the nuns just transfer to other Dominican monasteries or are they released from their vows? It must be so hard to leave a community you have been in for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 The nuns usually transfer to other monasteries. That's what happened when the monastery in Pennsylvania was suppressed, and I believe also when the monasteries in Hollywood, CA, Ortonville MI, and Syracuse NY (I think it was Syracuse - it might have been Schenectady?) were suppressed. A monastery in Wisconsin also closed, but they were a diocesan institution - they all moved to the same nursing home, I believe. There had also been a monastery in Delaware, but it was an offshoot of another monastery; those three or four sisters were called back to the main monastery, which then moved to Girard, IL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nunsuch Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 20 hours ago, Luigi said: The nuns usually transfer to other monasteries. That's what happened when the monastery in Pennsylvania was suppressed, and I believe also when the monasteries in Hollywood, CA, Ortonville MI, and Syracuse NY (I think it was Syracuse - it might have been Schenectady?) were suppressed. A monastery in Wisconsin also closed, but they were a diocesan institution - they all moved to the same nursing home, I believe. There had also been a monastery in Delaware, but it was an offshoot of another monastery; those three or four sisters were called back to the main monastery, which then moved to Girard, IL. Yes, it was the one in Syracuse. They had not had any new members in some time, and were mostly quite elderly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 Thank you, everyone, for the information. I used to go to services at their monastery, and I was sad they had left. Buffalo lost 2 monasteries in the last few years. The Carmelites moved to Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Sr. Mary Agnes, OP, formerly of the Buffalo monastery and currently of the Summit monastery, posted a reflection on her 70th anniversary of religious vows. It includes this paragraph: "Then a major change came into the life of our Buffalo Monastery. Due to the fact that our neighborhood was becoming unsafe, after much prayer and discussion about that and other important matters, we decided to move on June 15, 2020. History holds in its memories why the community had to close a few years later. That is why I transferred to the Dominican Nuns Monastery in Summit, New Jersey, arriving on December 1, 2022. I chose this community because I surmised it had vitality in living Dominican monastic life. So, there I was at the age of 90, ready to begin a new adventurous phase of my life! I thank God for His Providence in leading me to this community where I have found that for which I was searching. In leaving Buffalo, I surely did not leave behind the cherished friendship of those whose lives I’ve touched. I remember them all in my daily prayers." That explains the move from Buffalo, but the reasons for the closing of the monastery after its move to Ohio is not clarified. For the full reflection, you can click on this link: https://summitdominicans.org/blog/2024/platinum-jubilee-of-sr-mary-agnes-op?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3HaPwcDrOZ9jdlDrutiTkJ88XQ_TZLDrnO1Hv1gyWtpU0DhWy2rrgLKYs_aem_rPRAqtR_yYmxkOHR7haUmQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hna.Caridad Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Hmmm...that has me feeling sad. If I remember correctly, there was a phatmasser (passionheart) who had entered that community. I hope that she is at peace wherever she is now (I can't imagine that closing one location and moving to a new location, only to close the whole community just a few years later would be a peaceful experience for anyone). Thank you for letting us know--I'll pray for her and for all of the Sisters who were a part of the Buffalo Dominicans in a special way today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clk Posted July 28 Author Share Posted July 28 Thank you, Luigi and like you HnaCaridad, it makes me sad too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graciandelamadrededios Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 I think the cost of building a new monastery is too much for the Nuns. Based on the financial forecast published by Passionist Nuns in KY (renovation and building a new wing) this almost cost a million dollars already! Imagine building an entirely new monastery - it would cost more than just 1 million dollars. Also, there could be more nuns who are already older and needs more medical care than younger nuns; it is more practical to just dispersed them to other monasteries of the same Order. It is sad but this is the reality of monastic life in the West, mostly. There are monasteries with new and more vocations and others have no new members for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr Mary Catharine OP Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 The sisters went to different monasteries. Passionheart, Sr. Veronica Mary, is at Farmington Hills. Syracuse merged with Elmira which moved to Girard, IL but the sisters are in a Catholic nursing home. The LA monastery merged with Menlo Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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