The first Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Miami, Coleman F. Carroll, invited Poor Clares from Bordentown, New Jersey to come to Florida to pray for the people and especially for the priests of this new diocese in South Florida.
The invitation was accepted and the way of life of the Order of St. Clare began on July 4, 1960, with six pioneer nuns residing in a bungalow on the property of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Delray Beach. During the first seven years, as the community continued to grow, additions were made to the building and an additional house acquired across the street for their use .... and the candidates kept coming.
When the initial building proved inadequate for the growing community, plans were made to build a larger, permanent monastery in Sherwood Park off of Military Trail. There were just three homes built in the neighborhood when the Sisters relocated to their new monastery in November 1967 and had its Dedication by Archbishop Carroll on February 5, 1968. Besides these few homes, our other "neighbors" were the cows across Military Trail. Eventually that changed, and now many homes surround the monastery and Emmanuel Catholic Church is right next door.
In 1988 we responded to the invitation from Bishop John Nevins of the Venice Diocese to establish a Poor Clare Monastery in Fort Myers Beach. Three of our Sisters: Mary Emmanuel, Mary Frances and Agnes were the pioneer Sisters who made that foundation.
Our Sisters in Delray Beach:
Front row: Srs. Berta, Irene, Christine
Back row: Srs. Leanna, Frances, Clare Ellen, Veronica, Kathleen
Planning for our future:
We are now looking toward a New Beginning.
Over the past fifteen years, with a growing realization of our responsibility for good stewardship, we have become acutely aware of the increasing difficulty of living in and caring for our present building and grounds. This is owing to many factors: the age of the building - 40 years old, its sprawling layout which cannot provide accessibility for Sisters with physical limitations and cost of maintaining the obsolete mechanical systems. In the course of these past years, we have attempted renovations in order to meet these needs and we have kept the building in good repair, but now, after two years of destructive hurricanes that resulted in devastating leaks and damage, we know with certainty that we can no longer occupy this present structure.
We will sell a large portion of our present property and build a smaller monastery that is energy efficient, cost effective, low mantenance, and handicap accessible. In addition to living space, there will be offices and a larger area for our altar bread work, as well as a chapel where people can come to worship with the Sisters.
The cost of this effort is substantial. Obtaining needed funds for this and for ongoing escalating living expenses seems an incredible task, but through God's grace and the help of many kind benefactors, we believe that we can accomplish our goal.