The Norbertine canonesses of the Bethlehem Priory of St. Joseph in Tehachapi, California, are moving forward with a major monastery expansion as their growing community outpaces existing space, with the groundbreaking scheduled for early June.
The cloistered community, nestled in the Tehachapi mountains for more than 25 years, has grown to include more than 40 sisters, who center their daily life on prayer, liturgy, and manual labor as they produce artisanal cheese, baked goods, and rosaries to support the community. Priory leaders said the expansion is necessary as space runs out and vocations continue to increase.
“Our convent buildings have consisted of ranch houses, sheds, and a convent built in 2012, which our community has now outgrown,” the sisters said in an email to Zeale News. “The time has become critical for us to build so as to continue to receive vocations.”
The new phase of construction will include a roughly 30,000-square-foot building designed to house up to 70 sisters, along with expanded living and working areas to support the community’s life of prayer and contemplation, according to the priory’s website.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for June 5 and will begin with an outdoor Mass offered by Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno, followed by a formal blessing of the land.
In remarks included in the priory’s project video, Bishop Brennan described the community as “a gem and a treasure” within the Diocese of Fresno.
“Among their many gifts, you will find a dedication to a life of prayer, beautiful Liturgy, work, silence, and yes, penance,” he said. “This capital campaign has my full and complete support. I hope that you consider supporting it as well with your prayers and with whatever generous donation you may be able to offer.”
Mother Mary Oda, the prioress, said in the project video that the monastery’s design is intended to reflect the sisters’ vocation and glorify God through both beauty and structure.
“Saint Paul tells us to pray always, and the monastery building should be well-ordered and constructed in such a way that that injunction is really possible,” she explained.
Lucas Rangel, a construction representative for the project, said the expansion carries a sense of urgency, primarily because “the Lord is sending so many vocations to this community in a time when to be religious, it seems, is not very popular in our culture.”
Paul Dhanens of Paul Dhanens Architect, Inc., said that designing for a religious community calls for careful intentionality and noted the canonesses’ close involvement in shaping the project.
He said it’s especially important to ensure that the design and detailing are right for the daily life of the sisters who pray and process down the building’s halls.
Dhanens added that the effort seeks to balance traditional architecture with modern constraints.
“It’s the challenge of how we continue that tradition of great Catholic architecture in today’s day and age, where we don’t have a whole culture and society working towards the goal of a great Basilica,” he noted. “We have to deal in real-world terms where costs have increased, looking at alternative materials to accomplish the same things.”
While initial funding has allowed construction to begin, the sisters say additional support will be needed to complete the project and continue welcoming new vocations. The planned building will eventually be followed by a permanent monastery church, envisioned as the spiritual center of the community’s life.