“Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.”
Since the arrival of the founding Sisters at their rural home in Mathoura in 2019, they have made use of the existing small farmhouse and several demountables as a temporary monastery, while building up their community life, establishing gardens in the parched and windswept grounds and receiving Australian novices from the local area.
Now, after many years of prayer, planning and patience, the construction of the new residence for the nuns at the Carmel of Elijah will begin in the coming months.
The Sisters received consent for the Development Application for their new residence from their local council in October of 2024, and since then have been working on Construction Certification with their project team, under the careful oversight of diocesan advisers. This Construction Certification process is projected to be completed in early 2026.
With careful attention to sustainable and long-lasting natural construction materials, the monastery will not only be a fitting reflection of the simple eremitical life of the Sisters but will also witness to God’s presence for hundreds of years to come.
THE NEW MONASTERY
The contemplative life of a Carmelite calls her to an ever deeper following of Christ’s example of poverty and simplicity. Thus, the monastery in Mathoura will be a simple structure that supports the austere lifestyle of manual labour embraced by the Sisters, in union with the poor of the world. Its wood stoves and thick, heat resistant walls will render mechanical heating and cooling systems unnecessary.
The monastery will be primarily constructed from timeless, natural, local materials, such as heavy timbers, stone and clay, avoiding the use of steel, concrete and acrylics.
Rammed earth test walls, covered with
a natural limewash
Rammed earth will be a key feature in the wall systems. This method uses a mixture of natural soil materials, compressed in formwork. The majority of the floors will also be made from a traditional compacted earth system. Rammed earth has been used as a reliable construction technique throughout the world for thousands of years and is valued for its outstanding ability to regulate temperature and humidity, especially in extreme climates.
In God’s Providence, the sandy clay of the monastery site itself will be used in construction for the new monastery.
The Construction Plan
Although the Sisters’ new home is comparatively small and simple, the construction will occur in stages, due to the limitations of the Sisters’ budget and the careful research and involved certification required to build using historic methods.
-
The first building stage consists of the Chapel, the focal point of the monastery and the Sisters’ daily lives.
Stage 1 will also include several wings surrounding the Chapel, including the turn and speakrooms as well as one wing of cells (the Sisters’ bedrooms) and living spaces, with their accompanying gardens.
Additionally, Stage 1 will see the beginning of the traditional monastic boundary wall, also built from rammed earth.
-
Stage 2 will involve the construction of several important living spaces, including the dining-room (refectory), recreation room, laundry areas, kitchen, sewing rooms and underground food storage. Because the nuns maintain their spirit of silent prayer as they work throughout the day, the living spaces of a monastery are deeply sacred places.
-
Comprised of bedrooms, workrooms, and gardens, this section of the monastery will provide prayerful living spaces for the young members of the community during their years of formation.
-
The last stage of the monastery will involve the construction of the remaining bedrooms for the nuns, known as cells.
Monasteries typically contain a few larger, more comfortable bedrooms for the sick and elderly, known as the infirmary cells.
Stage 4 also involves several small rooms that will be used for sewing and weaving, an important part of the Sisters’ daily life as they spin and weave their own clothes.
The Chapel of elijah
THE HEART OF THE MONASTERY
“Thou hast commanded me to build a temple on thy holy mount, and an altar in the city of thy dwelling place, a resemblance of the holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning.”
The chapel of elijah
Named in honour of the Prophet Elijah, the Chapel will be the heart of the monastery. The Sisters spend much of their time in the Chapel, gathering daily for Holy Mass, the Divine Office and two hours of silent prayer. Therefore, the Chapel has been designed as a place of peace and recollection, not only for the Sisters but for their visitors.
The Chapel will be the major focus of the first stage of construction. In addition to the Sisters’ Choir areas and an apse serving as an oratory, the Chapel will feature an underground space, or Crypt, for heat resilient storage of sacristy items, as well as a nave seating about 50 guests, with overflow to the courtyard for the Sisters’ occasional larger celebrations. There will also be a tall tower for the Sisters’ bells. Various rooms vital to the functioning of the monastic life, such as the sacristies, the turn room and speakrooms (where the Sisters meet with their family and friends from behind the traditional Carmelite grates) will be contained in the wings surrounding the courtyard.
Key Features of the Chapel
Entryway
From day to day, various visitors come to the monastery to leave their prayer intentions and provide for the Sisters’ needs. As visitors approach, they will pass through an initial entryway. The architecture of this will remind visitors that they are entering a sacred space. This covered area will help recollect the mind and still the heart of each one who seeks to unburden themselves in this house of God.
The Crypt
Accessible from both the courtyard and from inside the cloister, the underground crypt will be an important, heat-resilient space in even the toughest heatwaves of the harsh Mathoura summers.
It is not a crypt in the sense of a burial area, but will principally serve for storage.
Traditional Spanish Timbrel Vaulting
The ceilings of the apse and the Sisters’ choirs will incorporate traditional Spanish timbrel vaulting. This method of ceiling construction uses thin, lightweight bricks or tiles which are overlapped and sealed with quick-setting mortar.
As well as being a simple and sustainable method of creating a fireproof barrier, the timbrel vaults will provide extraordinary acoustics, collecting the chant of the Sisters' Psalms and hymns and resonating the praises of God throughout the day.
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF THE PROPHET ELIJAH
The Father of Carmelite Spirituality
The spirituality and charism of the Carmelite Order finds its origin in the Prophet Elijah. For hundreds of years, the eremitical life of St Elijah has inspired both men and women to follow in his footsteps and adopt a life of prayer, silence and solitude, with an unbroken gaze on the living God.
About Saint Elijah
The life of Saint Elijah can be read in Holy Scripture, in the book of Kings. He is referred to in many other places throughout Scripture, including the Gospels, culminating in his presence with Moses on the mount of the Transfiguration, at the side of Jesus, in dialogue with Him. Many Carmelite religious throughout history have looked to Elijah as their model of contemplative prayer and inspiration for walking out into the desert to encounter the Lord.
While famous for his awe-inspiring zeal, courage and fidelity, Saint Elijah is an attractive figure for Carmelite Nuns also for the occasions where he foreshadowed Christ’s own great kindness and concern for the needs of individuals and deep respect for women. He is a model for Carmelite nuns also in his overwhelming desires to love God wholeheartedly and become an occasion of turning hearts towards Him. Particularly apt for the needs of our contemporary society is the description of Elijah in the book of Malachi: “I will send you Elijah the Prophet… and he will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents...” This reflects the presence of peace and reconciliation which Carmelite nuns are called to be in their local and wider community.
UNDER HIS PATRONAGE
In 2024, the Carmel of Elijah (previously the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph) officially took the Prophet Elijah as their monastery patron. The Sisters have received numerous examples of his special patronage and protection. The new Chapel will be named in his honour and will contain several design elements inspired from churches in the eastern tradition, such as mosaics and icons.
The example of Saint Elijah praying whole-heartedly for rain has understandable resonance for the Sisters in their semi-arid climate, surrounded as they are by farming communities dependant on rainfall, and surrounded also by the great need in our contemporary Australian society for the spiritual rainfall of grace.
The sisters would like to thank all their Supporters!
The nuns at the Carmel of Elijah are immensely grateful for all the generous donations and prayerful support they have received since their foundation in 2019. This support has not only made it possible for them to live their contemplative lives, but to embark on the mission of building a new monastery.
The Sisters are particularly grateful to several one-off benefactors whose crucial contributions have allowed them to incur the significant costs of engaging consultants to complete the design work of the monastery to this point.
A large proportion of the planned Monastery is still unfunded. If you are interested in being a part of the construction of the new monastery, there are many ways to offer support.
pRAYER
This is the most important source of support. Please continue to keep the Carmel and the construction of the new monastery in your prayers.
SHARE THE PROJECT
Please spread the word about the new monastery, especially to those who may be interested in supporting such an endeavour.
It is easy to share links to this webpage and to the Carmel’s social media pages, which are linked at the bottom of this website.
Donate
Any contribution, whether large or small, will be gratefully received. Please click the ‘Donate’ button below to go to the donation page.
Stay updated
If you are interested in staying up to date with the construction project, updates will be posted regularly on the updates page over the coming weeks.