Catholic Diocese of Columbus Communications Office PHONE 6142412555 E-MAIL [email protected] DATE: August 15, 2020 RELEASE: IMMEDIATE DIOCESE OF COLUMBUS TO WELCOME CLOISTERED DOMINICAN NUNS COLUMBUS – The Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary, a contemplative religious order previously housed in Buffalo, New York, will be relocating to the Diocese of Columbus effective September 1, the Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Columbus, announced today. Fourteen sisters who lived in the Buffalo complex will be temporally relocated at the former Sts. Peter and Paul Retreat Center in Newark, Ohio, while options for a permanent monastery for the order are being considered. “It is a very special occasion on this, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we welcome the Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary to our Diocese,” Bishop Brennan said. “The root of Dominican spirituality deeply runs through our Diocese, dating back to 1808, when the very first Mass was offered in Ohio by a Dominican missionary in Somerset, Ohio.” The charism, or spiritual gift, of the order is to seek God according to the norms of the purely contemplative life. They maintain their withdrawal from the world by enclosure and silence, work, penance, and intercessory prayer for the needs of the people and the salvation of the world. Their hidden life shows that in Christ alone is their true happiness, mysteriously fruitful for the people of God. -MORE- DOMINICAN NUNS – 2 of 2 This move was an extension of ongoing discussions held by the Diocese with religious orders, Father Stash Dailey, Vicar for Religious, said. “The Diocese engages with religious orders throughout our region, discussing how we can assist them in their charism, while also determining how they can assist us in addressing the needs of our Diocesan community,” Father Dailey said. “The Dominican Sisters bring to our Diocese a remarkable opportunity for us to witness the graces and joy that faithfulness to Christ can provide through the completive life.” Mother Mary Dominic, OP, Mother Prioress of the community, said “While we have had a long and happy history of ministry in the Diocese of Buffalo, 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.” The order, an offshoot of Dominican Sisters of the perpetual Rosary in Hoboken, New Jersey, came to Buffalo in 1905. In June, the sisters moved temporarily with the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance & Christian Charity in Stella Niagara, New York. “A house of Dominican nuns is a true blessing for any diocese,” Bishop Brennan said. “I am sure the clergy and faithful of the Diocese will provide a warm and generous reception, and all will be pleased to contribute to the well-being and support of their community.” ##### .