A Whitestone seminary operated by Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province is about to convert – into a nunnery.
The Mid-Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy has leased the former seminarian residence at 22-04 Parsons Boulevard. The St. Alphonsus Formation Residence will become a Convent of Mercy, where 30 senior Sisters of Mercy from Brooklyn, Long Island, and other parts of New York will live.
Last year, the Redemptorists moved their 20 philosophy students and nine formation staff members from the Whitestone property to the rectory at Immaculate Conception Church in the Bronx.
At about the same time, the Sisters of Mercy began looking for a suitable residence for some of their senior sisters. “The Parsons Boulevard location offers an ideal convent residence for our older sisters,” said Sister Christine McCann.
“The building has a beautiful chapel and simple, but lovely rooms and common areas. The locale has green open space, ample parking, and is centrally located in the New York area where our sisters have ministered for many years,” she said.
The Sisters of Mercy, an international religious community of Roman Catholic women who help the poor, sick, and those in need of education, was founded in 1831 by Catherine McAuley, an Irish woman who personally funded charity even before taking her vows.
When she died in 1841, there were 150 Sisters of Mercy. Today, there are more than 4,000 Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – serving in North, Central and South America; the Caribbean; Guam and the Philippines.
“The number of residents will remain the same in the building, but there will be some additional support staff,” said Sister Anna Marie Tag, Mid-Atlantic Community director of retirement. “We plan to keep the exterior of the building the same,” she said, adding, “We also will make the building more handicap-accessible and add two elevators, so sisters with mobility challenges can easily move from floor to floor.”
Founded in 1732 by St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, near Amalfi, Italy, the Redemptorists are a missionary society, consecrating themselves especially to preaching to the poor. They take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; they strive to provide well-equipped parochial schools and they take special care of growing youth, according to their literature.
“The Redemptorists are grateful that what has been a sacred space for us since we purchased the property in the late 1980s will continue to have a special mission in the Church. In particular, we are happy that the beautiful chapel will continue to serve as a worship site,” said the Very Reverend Patrick Woods, Provincial Superior of the Baltimore Province.
“The Sisters plan to use the building as an assisted living residence for members of their community. The women who will be living there have served the Lord and His Church with great devotion,” he observed.
