A Brief History of Our Discalced Carmelite Nuns
Bishop Eugene Gerber had been praying for a contemplative order of nuns for the Diocese of Wichita. When the bishop of Gallup, New Mexico could no longer guarantee a chaplain to celebrate daily Mass, Bishop Thomas Olmsted invited the seven nuns to our diocese. They settled into a house on January 24, 2001, in rural Clearwater, enclosed as The Monastery of Divine Mercy and Our Lady of Guadalupe. This was to be a temporary monastery. Unfortunately, the house and chapel flooded regularly with each heavy rain causing a mold problem unable to be remedied and consequent serious illness, requiring the relocation of the nuns to a safer and permanent place.
A Look at the Nuns’ Mission
These humble Carmelite nuns are completely dedicated to a life of prayer and loving self-sacrifice through obedience and labor behind the walls of their Papal Enclosure. These nuns follow the updated and Vatican-approved Constitutions (a guide for monastic observance) of St. Teresa of Avila that includes vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Our seven fully professed nuns and one novice live a cloistered life, a life they freely chose in order to offer themselves as a form of prayer for others and to be united totally to God, living as brides of Christ.Mother Mary of the Angels, the superior, said, “We live with an indescribable happiness, make daily sacrifices, and are here for the love of God and for the love of souls. Our mission is to pray for the Holy Church, the priests, and the world, and to be the heart of our Church…”
To help support themselves, they have raised vegetables and fruit in a large greenhouse and fish in tanks. They are best known for their granola that they bake and sell for $16 per three-pound bag. Maple almonds are sold in one-pound bags for $16. They also offer tea towels (sold in sets of three), handmade cards and other items. This provides a modest income for the growing monastery, which now includes a young novice from St. Anthony Parish of Wichita.
Where They Are Now
Bishop Michael Jackels requested that our Carmelite Nuns build a monastery within five miles of the Spiritual Life Center in order to make it easier for retired priests to come celebrate daily Mass. To help the nuns with the purchase of the much higher-priced property in the northeast side of Wichita, Bishop Jackels gave them a one-time donation from the diocesewhich, along with the money they had saved from the sale of their property in Gallup, NMenabled them to purchase 40 acres and a modular home at 7445 N. Woodlawn (north of the Spiritual Life Center). Our nuns moved in November 2009,whenRobl Construction completed thisfirst phase.The 5,000 square foot greenhouse moved from Clearwater is being constructed.They are still in need of the Chapel, other portions of the monastery,and their enclosure wall.An estimated $400,000 is needed to complete this next phase of the monastery.
What We Can Do to Help
Bishop Gerber said, “They ask hardly anything for themselves. They just depend on Divine Providence. Their presence is a strong witness. It’s a countercultural witness; it’s a religious witness, and beyond that, they’re praying and sacrificing for the Church, especially for the diocese they are in.”
Because so much of their time is dedicated to prayer, donations are gratefully accepted from all who wish to become benefactors of the monastery. Msgr. Hemberger explained, “The Nuns are not tied to the diocese financially or by assignment.”In thanksgiving to God for the spiritual benefits our Nuns obtain for our Diocese, the “Friends of the Carmelite Nuns”wish to raise awareness for support and the necessary funds needed to build the next phase of the monastery. [For information to be involved with this group, contact Mary DeGraffenreid at (316) 721-2312 or en español, Martha Schweiger (316) 721-7732.]
Please support the construction with an offering according to your means, big or small; each gift is precious and necessary, but also your prayer, your skills, your support, and your good will!
Architect Randall Steiner’s rendering of the future monastery at 7445 N Woodlawn.
To contact the monasteryto submit prayer requests,
confirm Mass times, obtain information, place orders
or mail a tax-deductible donation:
Discalced Carmelite Monastery
P.O. Box 278
Valley Center, KS 67147
Phone:(316) 744-2652
The Nuns want to express their gratitude to the Diocese for their spiritual and material support. May God bless you!
Mother Mary of the Angels will send a personal note of thanks.
Please support the construction of aCarmelite Monastery
for our Diocese!
The Monastery of Divine Mercy and
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mother Mary of the Angels wants you to know:
“We will always keep your names
and remember you and your
families in our prayers.”