August 15, 2020

Dear Friends,

This letter is long overdue, as so many of our friends and benefactors have expressed warm concern in hearing of the move of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary from Buffalo. The community has been considering the possibility of a move for the last several years. Our location in the city, the serious maintenance demands of our building and a growing desire for a physical environment where we might live out the fullness of our Dominican contemplative life made it clear that remaining in our Doat Street location was unrealistic. At first it seemed impossible to relocate, in light of our strong ties to the Diocese, the devotion of many friends and benefactors, and our strong Chapter of the Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic. Gradually, however, the community began to feel called by the Holy Spirit to consider a move to a place in the United States lacking a contemplative monastery of nuns, in response to the call of Pope Francis for contemplative religious to recognize the cloistered life as a work of evangelization among the People of God. Since Buffalo has a vibrant community of Discalced Carmelite Nuns, we began to consider a move to another diocese in a different part of the country.

After much prayer and discussion, our community has decided to relocate to the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. The bishop, Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, has long desired to welcome a community of cloistered religious into the diocese.

Once the decision was made, matters developed rather quickly, particularly with the offer of purchase for our present building and property by the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School, which plans to open a school at the location. This decision came as a shock to many of you, our dear friends. We must continue to impose on your patience and understanding, as current circumstances make it impossible for us to say a proper goodbye to you in the way we had hoped. We originally intended to celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass for all of you at the monastery on Doat Street, followed by a reception, but even now it is still not possible to arrange anything of this kind. We trust that in the future God will provide for this.

We hope to be fully moved to Columbus by the end of September. Our address will be: Sts. Peter and Paul Retreat Center, 2734 Seminary Rd SE, Newark, OH 43056-9339 and our telephone number is 740-928-4246.

Until early September, we continue to reside in temporary accommodation with the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance & Christian Charity in Stella Niagara, New York. We could not have found kinder and more gracious hosts than the Stella Franciscans, and we thank them for their hospitality and the blessing of the time we had with them.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it is with heavy hearts that we will leave Buffalo and our many friends who have known us over the years, even decades. We want you to know that wherever we are, the good people of Buffalo and Western New York will always be in our hearts and prayers. Words cannot express the gratitude we feel for your tremendous support, friendship, and generosity over the years.

With our heartfelt love and prayers,
Mother Mary Dominic and Sisters