Gustavo Monge |
Prague (EFE) lived since 1792.
“We have learned to use heavy machinery and there is a lot of work that the construction company does not have to do and that we can do ourselves, with the help of volunteers,” Sister Sara told EFE.
“Perhaps our prayer gained in quality thanks to this contact with physical work”, affirms the Carmelite.
Sara also explained the meaning of this leap to the periphery, after two centuries in her old home, although the presence of this community in the Czech lands dates back much earlier.
“Our mission in the center of Prague is over, and now our place is more open to people, to others, so that they can come to renew themselves internally”, recalls the nun.
Far from the madding crowd
He acknowledges that another condition for leaving was the noise of the musicians in the Municipal Stairs and bars at night, the noise of a tourist city and the little space for expansion and recreation.
“There we had a small concrete garden of 12 by 15 meters, and since we live in a closed, it was insufficient for our needs, especially for the youngest,” recalls one of the problems when they lived in the elegant square of Hradcany, in the outskirts of Prague Castle, with the President of the Republic as a neighbor.
And, after much searching, they found the solution.
In 2018 they were able to move to Drast, a village with an old empty farmhouse turned into a landfill, located 15 kilometers from Prague.
“We started coming to work here, we met many generous people and we fell in love with the place,” Sister María recalls arriving at the place, where there was no church for the local people, nor possibilities for cultural encounters.
A farm in ruins
Here began the reconstruction of the old silos, warehouses in ruins and where there was even a dovecote, which is now used as a chapel, after a simple electrical and heating installation.
Although they have a construction company to erect the new buildings and the concrete church, the nuns have not been shy when it comes to going out onto the land and getting to work with one more worker, albeit wearing their Carmelite habit.
They have been able to make the leap here after receiving more than half of the necessary funds from the sale of the original monastery, although they will still need about 1.7 million euros to complete the budget for the work and conditioning of the facilities.
volunteers
During the last six years they have obtained some 2.7 million euros from benefactors, although the help provided by many volunteers is also valuable.
In good weather, the place invites young people to spend the night here, in tents, after a day’s work cleaning bricks from an old warehouse.
The new convent in Drast is, with its 6.5 hectares of land, much of it in forest, an ideal place for these women, who are rarely seen, since they live in strict enclosure, but now it is their turn to go out to Promote your activity and get donations.
Ceramics, candles and silk
This new complex, for 21 nuns, has spacious and bright facilities, and here they will be able, in addition to praying, to do their typical handicraft activities, such as ceramics, candles and silk dyeing, from which they live.
Central part of the complex is the church consecrated to Saint Teresa of Jesus, one of the few Czech places to bear the name of the saint.
“She is our mother, founder and reformer. And this church represents her heart ”, concludes Sister María.