Dominican nuns live faithfully and quietly in Girard monastery

By DIANE SCHLINDWEIN
      Managing Editor

Shown from left to right outside at the Dominican Monastery of Mary the Queen in Girard are Sister Cecilia Marie, Sister Maria Tersidis, and Sister Damien Marie. Submitted photo

      Managing Editor

GIRARD — In 2024 living life in a monastery is something you don’t often think about, but in Girard a group of Dominican nuns are happily following the long tradition of monastic life in a quiet but fulfilling way. Tucked away in a peaceful area surrounded by woods and cornfields, the 13 nuns reside at the Dominican Monastery of Mary the Queen, with its beautiful new buildings on the lovely land in rural Macoupin County.

Of that way of life, Sister Anna Marie Pierre, OP, who is prioress of the monastery, says it best: “It can be said we are an international, intercultural, and intergenerational community that strives to live the Gospel message as passed on to us by our Holy Father St. Dominic.”

Some of the nuns who are in Girard came from a monastery in Elmira that was founded in 1944 in the foothills of Central New York. That group moved to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois in late 2014 and spent about eight years residing with the Springfield Dominicans in Springfield before moving again to Girard in the autumn of 2022. When they moved to that newly built monastery, the nuns from Elmira were joined by nuns from Texas, California, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, the Bronx, N.Y., as well as from British Columbia, Canada, Port-Of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

“We have one sister on her final stage of novitiate formation which includes ‘integration’ with the professed community,” Sister Anna Marie said. Nuns who need skilled care as they age or become ill reside at Catholic health care facilities. “They, nonetheless, use their illness as a continuation of their preaching mission of the Order,” she said.

Dominican nuns pray in the chapel at the Dominican Monastery of Mary the Queen in Girard. Photo by Josh Ryder

In addition to the nuns, a resident Dominican chaplain, Father Edward Ruane, OP, has his own home of the property, which Sister Anna Marie says is “a stone throw away from the monastery building.”

Mass is celebrated every day except on Tuesday, and the public is welcome to celebrate and pray with the nuns. About five or six hours a day is spent in prayer.

Prayer is most essential, Sister Anna Marie said. “Our prayer life is the most important element of who we are. It is the heart and meaning of our life,” she said. “As nuns we are commissioned by the Church to pray the Liturgy of the Hours each day. This is our major work, sung solemnly in choir several times each day. It is our first occupation in the morning and our last before we retire in the evening. It is an immersion in the entire mystery of salvation, sung in praise to God and as an intercession calling down God’s grace on all peoples.

“In addition, each sister is given about two hours each day for personal prayer and reading,” she said. “Study, too, is essential. One day each week is a ‘hermit day,’ and that day is somewhat relaxed. Meals are picked up and the sisters are free from their ordinary work. Sundays, too, are more relaxed.”

On July 10, pilgrims are shown walking on Junipera Serra Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which stopped in Girard at the Dominican Monastery of Mary the Queen in Girard. Photo by Josh Ryder

The nuns may live in a monastery, but they are not totally separated from the outside world. Sister Anna Marie said they receive prayer requests for different intentions with most of them concerning the world, family wellbeing, people who are ill or going through difficult times. “We are here for the people, and we must use all the means that can make it possible for the people to reach us,” Sister Anna Marie said. “We use computers for our work and study and any business we can’t do otherwise. We try to use social media to our benefit and not to our detriment.” Visitors can meet with the nuns in their parlor.

Sister Anna Marie describes life in the monastery as “very much like a family.” About four hours each day is spent in what she calls “monastic work.” “This includes the basics of cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.,” she said. “We also maintain a small garden which is being increased each year.”  Some sisters answer the mail or phone, two sisters do the grocery shopping, while others maintain the library, or prepare the liturgy. Usually, a hired driver takes them to appointments, or one of the nuns drives.

“We have work distributions according to each sister’s gifts and abilities,” she said. “Relaxation can mean different things for different sisters. Some sisters like to go walking or running, others ride bicycles, some enjoy gardening or reading, or painting. We have two days a week where we sit in a circle and sisters share what they have read, news from family, or anything they want to touch base with the community.”

Living in Girard has been beneficial to the nuns, and they are grateful. Their new monastery is approximately 21,000 square feet and includes a chapel, living room, parlor, library, dormitory, study, a wing for the novices, kitchen, Chapter room, workrooms for sewing and crafting, and a courtyard.

“It is good for us to be here. The grounds facilitate the contemplative life with its natural beauty; the woods, the birds, the wildlife that contribute to beauty of the land, and the water — there is a one-acre pond as well as an eight-acre lake,” Sister Anna Marie said. “The nuns love the quiet of the land, the sight of the geese and their goslings celebrating life on the lake. We love the opportunity to plant flowers and vegetables for our needs and to gift our benefactors with any excess.

“The beauty, the quiet, nature itself, brings one into contact with God,” she said. “There is an abundance of wildlife — deer, any number of species of birds, turtles, and fish — that delight the spirit. We love the out-of-doors; just going outside and smelling fresh air is refreshing.”

Even though the nuns have been in the Springfield diocese for almost 10 years, their presence is still new to most people. “We are at present trying to make ourselves known. As a special circumstance, two sisters have been visiting the parishes of the diocese to speak about the monastery and a vocation to Dominican contemplative life with the kind permission via a letter from Msgr. David Hoefler,” she said. “Family members are welcome to visit in person or by phone once a month. Our efforts have already begun to bear fruit. We have since attracted new inquiries who are discerning to join the community soon, in God’s own time.”

To women who are discerning a vocation, Sister Anna Marie says, “It is a very special and precious grace, rich and extraordinarily rewarding. If you are called and you are faithful, you will not be disappointed.”