TOWSON – At the Carmelite Monastery of Baltimore, a place meant for silence and solitude, the sounds of pounding hammers and sawing have become a typical – and welcomed – sound this year as the community of religious sisters looks to the future.
“Now the noise is going, and the dust is flying, and that feels like something is really happening,” said Carmelite Sister Celia Ashton. “The planning stages … it is harder to see that things are happening.”
Since 1961, the sisters have lived on the 27-acre property on Dulaney Road, where they added two wings and a chapel to the original house that dates to 1928. While the building has been consistently maintained, multiple issues – from constant problems with the heating and air conditioning system to a failing waterline – led the sisters to do a complete assessment of the property in March 2023.
“We have different motives for doing what we’re doing,” Carmelite Sister Constance Fitzgerald said. “Obviously it’s failing. We haven’t had heat or air conditioning and that gets to be serious, but also, we’re looking at the future of the community, so really this is a big project with long-term effects.”
Along with replacing the monastery’s HVAC system with one that is more energy-efficient and ecologically friendly, renovations include updating plumbing, creating aging-friendly bathrooms, removing asbestos in flooring, replacing the roof on the east wing, installing LED lighting systems in the chapel, repairing cracked masonry and updating the current fire safety system.
Insulation will also be added in the walls in the dormitory to help with soundproofing the cells. The monastery’s main waterline to the road will also be replaced.
“I have spreadsheet after spreadsheet – lots of details,” Sister Celia said.
A walk Nov. 6 through the upper level of the west wing revealed rafters, stripped-down bathrooms and exposed wiring and pipes as workers maneuvered their way around.
“It’s gutted,” Sister Constance said, with a laugh. “The radiators are all pulled out. Just holes there. It’s something to see.”
“It’s down to the basics,” Carmelite Sister Judy Murray said.
The work is being done in phases to allow the sisters to remain on the property. In February, 15 sisters moved out of their cells in the west wing’s dormitory to various places in the building, including the infirmary, counseling rooms and guest quarters.
“We each have our little place,” Sister Constance said. “Some of us have better situations than others.”
Sister Judy was placed in a room that has its own bathroom, but it came with a catch.
“Those stairs are so narrow, one of our sisters who has larger feet came to see it and I said, ‘turn sideways.’ I could see her falling on her head,” Sister Judy said. “I have short feet and I’m very happy there.”
The goal is to have the sisters back in their renovated cells and a new shower room by the end of January 2025, according to Sister Celia. Once that happens, work will begin on the remaining part of the monastery.
“Luckily, the system, the way it’s being configured, they can put valves in certain areas so they can get the heating and air conditioning systems running in one part, and then continue to build it as they move through,” Sister Celia said. “We’re trying to be really thorough. What the community is going through now … we wouldn’t want that to be a regular occurrence. We’re trying to really come through here and be as comprehensive as possible so that we’re just having routine maintenance.”
The renovations are expected to continue through next year and likely into the beginning of 2026, Sister Celia said.
To help cover the costs of the $5.5 million project, the community hopes to raise $3 million through two fundraising goals: to raise $1.5 million from their benefactors to match the $1.5 the community has raised and then to raise. $2.5 million in the form of grants from various foundations.
“We’re in a good position to begin the project,” Sister Celia said, noting generous benefactors and several bequests. “The community has been really wise over the years as far as saving.”
If the fundraising goals fall short, the renovations will have to be done over a longer period.
“The main focus has to be the HVAC system because it has failed in certain places completely,” Sister Celia said. “That’s got to be the main focus.”
This is the fourth place the sisters of Carmelite have lived since their establishment in Maryland in 1790. They first lived on a farm in Port Tobacco in Southern Maryland for 40 years before relocating to Aisquith Street in Baltimore in 1831, where they ran a school for girls for almost 20 years. In 1873, they moved to a newly built monastery on Caroline and Biddle streets where they remained until 1961, when they purchased 27 acres on Dulaney Valley Road.
Today, 15 sisters live at the monastery.
“What’s important about us is that we are a continuous community from 1790 in this archdiocese,” Sister Constance said. “We’re a community that stays together a lifetime. “
And that is why the sisters are willing to deal with a little “chaos” right now, Sister Judy said.
“We want it to be in good shape for the next generation,” Sister Judy said.
Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@catholicreview.org
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