The Benedictine Sisters of Virginia have moved into their long-awaited new monastery — a bright, fresh and welcoming space with curving walls and wide windows that look out on 80 acres of God’s creation.
The new 40,000-square-foot monastery has been in the works for several years; the sisters were finally able to move in in late October, after construction delays during the height of the pandemic. The new building is adjacent to the old monastery and Linton Hall School, on land in Bristow that the sisters have occupied for more than 125 years.
With living areas, chapel and workspaces all under one roof and on one level, the sprawling new complex has ample room for prayer and monastic life; it’s also safer and more accessible, with better lighting, wide hallways and no stairs. It includes a large multipurpose room and offices for the Benedictine Pastoral Center and other ministries the sisters offer the wider community.
“God has blessed us for sure,” said Sister Joanna Burley, prioress. “We want to express our gratitude to God and the people who support us.”
She said one of their biggest supporters is Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, who came to bless the new chapel and celebrate Mass for Gaudete Sunday Dec. 11. The chapel comfortably accommodated more than 100 worshippers.
“Being with you sisters today, I have every reason to rejoice,” he said, noting that Gaudete means “rejoice,” which also is the focus of this second Marian year of preparation for the 2024 Diocesan Golden Jubilee. “The entire diocese rejoices with you and offers congratulations.”
Bishop Burbidge acknowledged that rejoicing may seem difficult at times, adding that he has seen so many people carrying heavy crosses that trying to respond “seems so overwhelming. We see all that and wonder, ‘Where can I begin?’ ”
“Sisters, you show us the way,” he said. “You respond to that need every day, through your prayer and work and witness. We all can do something. If we are patient and give whatever we have to offer, God will use it in ways we cannot imagine to make all things new. If we can be instruments of his healing and love and mercy, then we will have every reason to rejoice.”
On a tour of the new monastery, Sister Joanna noted that the $11 million construction is nearly paid for, largely through the sale of some of the sisters’ land in Bristow and the sale of a former school building in Richmond, as well as the generosity of benefactors. The sisters continue to raise funds to demolish the old monastery building and chapel by next spring, as required by the county. The sisters plan to create a prayer garden in the space.
The chapel is the centerpiece of the new monastery, and the center of the community’s life. It’s where the sisters gather to pray the psalms together at morning, midday and evening prayer, as Benedictines the world over have done for centuries. One of two chapel entrances faces the reserved Blessed Sacrament and the other faces the altar. “There is no doubt when you come in that this is a sacred space,” Sister Joanna said.
The chapel incorporates nine Benedictine-themed stained glass windows transferred from the old chapel. The windows depict scenes from the life of the order’s founder, St. Benedict of Nursia, Benedictine women saints and other Benedictine symbols and mottos, such as the St. Benedict medal and the greeting Pax (peace). The other windows from the old chapel will be given to the new St. Katharine Drexel Church in Haymarket. “We’re thrilled to have them go to another worshipping community,” Sister Joanna said.
The Bristow sisters range in age from 50 to 94, and some have significant medical needs, so the new monastery was built with a fully staffed health care wing, currently occupied by six sisters. The infirmary in the old monastery was on the second floor. “We are very blessed that the community can stay together through all the stages of life,” said Sister Joanna. “We are trying to keep our elders with us and with each other.”
Benedictines used to teach, serve as principals or minister in local parishes, but no sisters currently work outside the monastery, Sister Joanna said. In addition to offering programs, retreats and spiritual direction, they run a literacy ministry and manage the Place of Peace Columbarium and an associated bereavement ministry.
The monastery grounds are part of the sisters’ ministry of hospitality — St. Benedict wrote in his Rule for monastic life that all guests are to be welcomed as Christ. The grounds are open to guests from sunup to sundown and offer open spaces to walk and pray amid native plantings, gardens and a prayer labyrinth. The sisters have seen deer, foxes and wild turkeys roaming the land.
“It truly is a place of peace,” said Sister Andrea Verchuck, 93, who recently celebrated her 75th jubilee.
“We have great respect for creation,” said Sister Joanna. “What Benedictines are supposed to do is provide a place where people can come and find God. That’s what we’ve tried to make this place — a place for all.”
