A community of cloistered Carmelite nuns in Pennsylvania is undertaking an extraordinary building project — constructing a traditional monastery intended to endure for centuries while serving as a visible witness to prayer and the Catholic faith.
The Discalced Carmelite sisters of the Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Fairfield began the project after outgrowing their monastery dating from the 1940s. Rather than turning to conventional modern construction, the sisters chose an ambitious approach rooted in traditional craftsmanship and the spirituality of St. Teresa of Ávila.
According to EWTN News, Catherine Bauer, the sisters’ director of marketing and development, said the community wanted its new monastery built “in a way that is designed to last.”
“And by that, they mean last a thousand years,” Bauer told EWTN News.
That goal has shaped nearly every aspect of the construction. Traditional stonemasonry and timber framing are being used, while local stone and timber are among the materials incorporated into the monastery.
Bauer told EWTN News that the emphasis is not primarily on creating a massive complex but on the permanence and authenticity of the construction.
“It’s more about the stonework, the authenticity of building from the ground up using no nails, no glue, [and] no electricity running through it,” she said.
The monastery will also employ what Bauer described as “old-world methods of plumbing and water systems.”
The scale of the undertaking is substantial. According to EWTN News, construction began in 2013 and is currently about 20% complete. The overall project is expected to cost approximately $100 million, with about $22 million raised so far.
The sisters expect construction to continue for another 12 to 15 years. The investment in traditional materials and craftsmanship is intended to greatly reduce the need for repairs and replacement in the decades that follow.
“The idea is that over the course of the next 12 or 15 years it takes to build this, once it’s completed, little or no maintenance will be required for this building for future generations,” Bauer told EWTN News.
The community is also giving new life to sacred objects from Catholic institutions, including a marble altar that originally stood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. According to EWTN News, Bishop Emeritus Ronald Gainer revealed during the monastery oratory’s 2024 dedication that he had celebrated his first Mass at that same altar decades earlier.
“We’re trying to salvage a lot of these things and which is amazing, you know, giving these beautiful items a home,” Bauer said.
Although the Carmelite sisters live a hidden, contemplative vocation, their monastery is intended to have an impact far beyond the enclosure.
“The monastery is meant to be a beacon of light, a beacon on the hill for the community at large, for the faithful to come and visit, and to be an oasis for everyone, a source of grace and comfort and holiness,” Bauer told EWTN News.
The completed monastery will allow members of the public to attend Mass, receive the sacraments, and pray with the community’s extern sisters.
Behind the remarkable construction project is a spiritual mission much older than the building itself. Bauer emphasized that the sisters understand their vocation as one of prayer for priests and the universal Church.
“The Carmelite charism is to pray for the priests,” she told EWTN News. “That’s their whole mission, is to pray for priests and for the Church.”
While stone walls, timber framing, and traditional craftsmanship may allow the Fairfield monastery to endure for generations, the sisters see the building ultimately as a home for something less visible: a life of prayer offered for the Church and the world.
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