New monastery reflects growth in number of women joining church’s ‘contemplative orders’

Editor's note: This feature about the new Monastery of St. Joseph is the second in a three-part series describing four religious communities and facilities that operate a few miles north of Ozark County in Douglas County. Last week's Times featured Assumption Abbey and the Nazareth Hermitage. The fourth Christian facility, Holy Archangels Christian Orthodox Retreat Center, will be profiled in next week's Times.

The new $20 million structure now under construction to house the Monastery of St. Joseph and the Fathers Shrine will be home to a community of nuns that has evolved from its start as the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, in 1995 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

In 2006, the community moved to Gower, a town within the Catholic diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri. By 2018, the community's "motherhouse" in Gower was elevated to the status of abbey. It experienced such growth in the number of nuns joining the community "that it became needful to branch out," according to its website benedictinesofmary.org.

That branching out led to eight of the nuns moving from Gower to Ava in 2019 to expand the community and its mission. They connected with Catholics in the Ava area, gaining support from local residents and the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, and also attracting new members to their order – so many, in fact, that, by 2021, they were ready to purchase 250 acres of land off N Highway from a private owner. They have broken ground for the new monastery, which will be named for St. Joseph, described on the website as the "foster father" of Jesus. 

Work is being done by Straub Construction of Shawnee, Kansas.

It's hoped the facility will be finished by 2024, and according to a chart on the website, about $4 million of the $20 needed has already been raised. It seems a daunting amount to many in this area, where, in Ozark County, 20 percent of the population lives in poverty and the per capita income is $23,061, according to official figures on the census.gov website.

However, having seen how their motherhouse was able to quickly complete and pay for its multi-million-dollar "abbey motherhouse complex" in Gower, the nuns are hoping their faithful prayers for similar financial support here will be answered as well.

Sister Mary Josefa Holcomb, who serves as mother superior for the "daughter house" at the Monastery of St. Joseph, said she represents Mother Abbess Cecilia, who presides over the motherhouse abbey back in Gower. Sister Mary Josefa said local residents and neighbors have been generous in supporting the new monastery, especially with "gifts in kind" such as meat, eggs and produce. 

"And they've been very kind to help us with repairs and handyman jobs," she said.

Those interested in supporting the nuns and the new monastery may contact Sister Mary Josefa at srmaryjosefa@gmail.com. Donations may also be made through the website benedictinesofmary.org. In addition to providing practical gifts to support the nuns and financial donations to help fund the new monastery, those interested may also inquire about funding a memorial for a loved one or priest in the future Fathers Shrine.

 The Douglas County nuns are currently living in a retreat house, formerly a private residence, owned by the monks at Assumption Abbey. One room in the retreat has been converted into a chapel, where the nuns and their chaplain gather for Mass and also pray the Liturgy of the Hours and sing Gregorian chants throughout the day. It's pretty crowded in the little chapel now, so the services are not open to the public except with prior arrangement, Sister Mary Josefa said. But when the nuns move into the spacious monastery, the public will be welcome to many of the church services as well as to the Fathers Shrine. 

Contemplative orders such as the Benedictines are increasing in number, especially attracting young women, Sister Mary Josefa said. Since the first group of eight nuns came to Ava in 2019, their number has grown to 12, following a nationwide trend. The average age of the nuns at St. Joseph's Monastery is 28. The day Sister Mary Josefa spoke to the Times, the nuns were preparing for a visit by another "aspirant" who was considering joining their community. Because of this steady growth, the new monastery will be large enough to house as many as 48 nuns.

"I think a lot of the young women come because they're seeking a deeper union with God, and they see that one authentic way to do that is through religious life," Sister Mary Josefa said. "Many young women aspire to this deeper union with God but need the time-tested ways to do that." 

Explaining the "time-tested ways," she noted that "the rule we follow is from the time of St. Benedict. There have been Benedictine nuns for 1,500 years. We keep the hours of prayer, and we alternate our prayer with work in silence."

The "work" of the nuns at St. Joseph's Monastery is sewing altar linens and priestly vestments worn by celebrants during Mass. They also do gardening and other household and routine chores. 

Sister Mary Josefa traces her own journey to the Benedictine community to her childhood, growing up in a strong Catholic family with a Marine Corps dad whose postings caused the family to move frequently. During Sister Mary Josefa's homeschooling, she read "lots of stories about the saints. Many of them were nuns, and I thought, 'Maybe God wants me to be a nun,'" she said. 

Laughing, she added that she was also probably impacted by seeing the "Sound of Music," with actor Julie Andrews portraying a spunky and brave nun named Maria.

She attended a Catholic college where she met others who were interested in "living a contemplative life. I'm so grateful for that experience," she said. 

It isn't surprising to Sister Mary Josefa that three contemplative religious communities, as well as the Orthodox Christian Retreat down the road, have made this part of the Ozarks their home. "There's something about this area that lends itself to the contemplative life," she said.

She hopes St. Joseph's Monastery can be a reminder of the good news Christ brought to the world. "We live in dark times," she said. "It's good for people to know that Christianity is stronger than the bad things we see." 

For more information about St. Joseph's Monastery, visit the website benedictinesofmary.org. To inquire about honoring a father or grandfather in the Fathers Shrine or to contact Sister Mary Josefa about other ways to support the nuns, contact her at srmaryjosefa@gmail.com.

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In next week's Times: Father Theodore Niklasson describes the role an Ozarks waterfall and coneflowers played in locating the Holy Archangels Orthodox Christian Retreat Center 10 miles north of Rockbridge in in Douglas County. Father Theodore, who has managed the center since 2007, helped create the facility in the 1990s with his godmother, an astrophysicist with homes in France and Nevada.