Concord's Carmelite Monastery To Close

CONCORD, NH — Due to an aging population and lack of new recruits, the Carmelite Monastery on Pleasant Street in Concord will be closing, according to nuns at the facility and the diocese of Manchester.

The nuns sent out a letter to friends and supporters on Nov. 3 stating they were "deeply pained" by their "uncertain future" due to lack of involvement by women considering joining its monastery.

"As you may know, we are a small, older community," the letter said, "a community immensely blessed in multiple ways, yet facing an uncertain future. Nevertheless, along with other Carmels, we were working towards a renewal of vocation. A woman was seriously considering joining our community. We were happy to work with her and to encourage others to see if God might be calling them. In the midst of this, and in the context of new Roman documents for Contemplative Sister and communications from our diocese, we were told that we had to close our monastery."

The letter thanked the community for its many decades of support and for "a presence of God's love" that had kept the monastery active in the community — helping the homeless as well as people who were abandoned by others, overburdened, and disillusioned, especially during the current dark times, with a society that is dealing with political and economic strife as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

"You have been the same for us," the letter said. "As we open our hearts to you and ask you to pray with us and for us, we know that we are participating in our own way with what is happening almost everywhere at this time. Jesus comes to us walking along our way as he did for his disciples of Emmaus. We thank you for your fidelity to us throughout all these years."

The nuns did not return emails requesting comment about the closure or what would be happening with the property.

On Tuesday, the diocese of Manchester confirmed it was working in conjunction with the Carmelite Communities Associated, the national org, to assist with the closure. During the past five years, the org had worked "to revive the diminishing community" without "measurable success," according to the diocese.

The diocese said the process of closure, "with all its elements," would be handled by the Carmelite Communities Associated with the active participation of the nuns in Concord and with advice from the Carmelite Generalate in Rome. The greatest concern of the process now is to guarantee and provide for the welfare of the nuns, a statement said. The diocese's role will be limited to Libasci providing an opinion after the of all Carmelites have agreed to their plans. These developments, the org added, will bring uncertainty and pain to many.

"May we all assist these faithful daughters of Saint Teresa with the healing power of prayer as we turn to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, that she may envelop them in her mantle of Grace," the Rev. Peter Libasci, the bishop of Manchester, said.

The property, located at 275 Pleasant St. at the street's intersection with Langley Parkway, is in the heart of one of the state's largest medical epicenters. For several weeks, there have been rumors about a possible sale to a medical institution. Jennifer Dearborn, a public information officer for the Concord Hospital Medical Group, said after asking a few senior leaders at the company, no one had heard anything about the monastery closing.

The monastery is assessed at around $5.9 million. Slightly more than half of that value is in the 28,000 square foot building. The parcel is more than 39 acres in size. Much of the southern area of the property though is wetlands and presumed to be unbuildable. The monastery bought the property in 1950, according to city records.

Kathy Temchack, the director of real estate assessments for the city of Concord, said the monastery receives a religious exemption and pays no property taxes. If a for-profit entity were to purchase the property and began paying property taxes at the property's current assessed value, it would bring in more than $160,000 annually to city coffers.

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