MANILA, January 20, 2012— The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan’s first cloistered monastery will be inaugurated on Saturday, January 21.
The Poor Clare Monastery of Saint James the Apostle, located at the Brgy. Nancapian, Malasiqui in Pangasinan is the result of almost a year of work by its parishioners.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who initiated the project, will lead the blessing at 10 a.m.
According to him, one of the very first concerns he immediately attended when he was appointed to the archdiocese was build a contemplative monastery as the “powerhouse of our active ministry.”
“One of the very first concerns I attended to was to insure that a community of contemplative nuns be present in our midst to pray for the sanctification of priests and to offer their hidden sacrifices to sustain our mission in the world,” said Villegas.
The prelate also said that the blessing of the monastery will be the only opportunity for the public to see its interior.
“After the blessing, the monastery will be closed perpetually and the life of sacrifice of the nuns will hence begin inside the cloister,” said Villegas.
The inauguration coincides with the start of the archdiocese’s jubilee year. [CBCPNews]
