Pennsylvania Nuns Building 1,000-Year Monastery by Hand

In Fairfield, Pennsylvania, a community of cloistered nuns is undertaking an ambitious construction project: a monastery designed to endure for 1,000 years. The Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, spanning 48 acres, is being built almost entirely by hand, with a projected completion date of 2041 and an estimated cost of $100 million, funded by small donations.

The vision for the monastery originated with Mother Thérèse of Merciful Love, who leads the community. The nuns are actively involved in the construction, laying foundations and building walls between their daily spiritual duties, tending to livestock, and working in their garden. For heavier tasks, they rely on external professionals, including New York architect Riccardo Vicenzino and local contractor Joe Bonifate, who also manages fundraising.

“We had a vision, a dream, an interior kind of intuition that there was something that we needed to do different,” Mother Thérèse told The Post. “We are building an authentic building.”

Bonifate noted the nuns' dedication, stating, “They’re very good students. Good work ethic. They arrive on time, take instruction very well.” He added, “If I can just find more crews that had a vow of obedience and were working toward something greater than their next raise I’d be sitting good. We could build anything with a crew like that.”

The monastery is being constructed without modern amenities such as electricity, heating, air conditioning, or running water. Mother Thérèse’s directive emphasizes the use of only traditional methods and materials; even nails must be hand-forged, with the community sourcing them from a craftsman in Kentucky. Other materials include Pennsylvania field stone, local timber, lime mortar, slate roof tiles, copper downspouts, and hand-made bricks from North Carolina.

Vicenzino explained the design philosophy: “Mother is making requests and we really have to roll up our sleeves and prove through precedence that these things are not crazy. It can be done. We’re using old concepts of thermodynamics that they used to know, this wisdom from back in the old days when there was no A/C.” He mentioned traditional radiant floor heating and a subterranean ice house for cooling as examples.

The Fairfield Carmelites trace their lineage to the 16th-century Spanish reform of St. Teresa of Ávila. The order’s history includes periods of upheaval, particularly in Mexico during the 19th and early 20th centuries, which led some nuns to relocate to Valparaiso, Nebraska. The current Pennsylvania community is an offshoot of the Nebraska order, adhering to a strict tradition of enclosure and the traditional Latin Mass.

This adherence to tradition has led to some friction with Rome, particularly following the Vatican's 2018 instruction 'Cor Orans,' which aims to regulate cloistered nuns and encourages them to join federations. Mother Thérèse has been vocal in her opposition to what she views as Rome’s interference in their traditional way of life.

“This is something that is happening in many sectors of life, the struggle between the global and the local,” Mother Thérèse reflected. “Something like a monastery is by its essence a local thing. Its character comes almost from the soil. And that used to be quite easy because Rome was so far away.” She added, “It’s easy for big people from far away to have big answers that solve their problems. But sometimes little guys have to say, ‘Wait, what about me? I have something that’s beautiful.’”

Currently, about 14 women—including externs, aspirants, and Sisters—reside on the site. The completed monastery is expected to house around 50 individuals. The order is vegetarian but maintains livestock, including sheep, cows, chickens, and a donkey, along with pigs used for waste management and trade.

The architectural design draws inspiration from 18th-century Pennsylvania stone farmhouses and medieval Spanish cities like Ávila, reflecting a commitment to regionalism and proven historical building concepts. Construction began in earnest in 2018 after several years of site preparation. Six buildings are currently complete, representing about one-third of the project. The remaining $94 million is being raised through word-of-mouth donations.

Mother Thérèse has observed a growing interest among young women in traditional religious life, seeing the monastery project as a reflection of a desire for authenticity and connection to eternal values. “Many of the young women that I speak to want a bigger world to live in, a world that opens up to values that are eternal and reach across the centuries, to be part of something that won’t die with them,” she said.