BUILDING DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
PO Box 564 Richmond Hill, GA 31324
Our Future Carmel
"Holy Mother Teresa, look down from heaven and see: visit this vineyard and finish it which your right hand has planted."
-Carmelite Invocation
THE PLANS
Future Construction Coming Soon!
Donate Now to Make These Pictures a Reality for the Greater Glory of God!
Capital Campaign Outline
Our Initial Budget: $6,500,000
Based upon our conceptual design and initial site design and permitting analysis, our initial budget is $6.5 million dollars. The entirety of the monastery facility, consisting of a:
16,000 square foot (SF) Monastery
1,800 SF Chapel
Two 1,900 SF Outbuildings
(I.e. Priest Rectory & Guesthouse)
Building in Phases
Each feature can be completed in Phases as necessary. Our Estimated Costs do not apply an economy of scale between the phases; being particularly beneficial within Phases 1 and 2.
While the foundation and outer shell of the Monastery Building must be entirely completed within Phase 1, the cost savings realized by combining these two phases can be significant.
Our initial goal will be to complete Phases 1 and 2 together.
Phase 1
The Monastery Residence and Supporting Facilities
$2,900,000
GOALS
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Building the “shell” of the Monastery structure
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Complete a selection of inner Supporting Facilities
PURPOSE
Phase 1 will allow the Nuns to take up residence early on through the completion of a few selected Supporting Facilities necessary for their initial move-in. These include:
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the Dormitory of Cells (Nuns' sleeping quarters)
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Nuns' Choir (where the Nuns pray as a Community and have the potential to begin holding private Mass until the Chapel is completed)
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Kitchen
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Refectory (where the Nuns eat as a Community)
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Laundry
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HVAC and supporting facilities, etc.
ESTIMATED COST: $2.9 M
FUNDRAISING PROGRESS: DONATIONS NEEDED!
CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS: TBA
Phase 2
The Chapel and Ancillary Monastery Facilities
$2,450,000
GOALS
-
Construction of the Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel for daily Latin Mass to be held publicly.
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Complete the interior Supporting Facilities of the Monastery that were not completed in Phase 1
PURPOSE
Phase 2 will allow the Holy Sacrifice of the Latin Mass to be held publicly on the Monastery grounds within the Nuns' Chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. The Nuns desire to build the chapel for the Greater Glory of God as a fitting place for daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary guilds, and Third Order Carmelites prayer groups. All will be welcome to pray with us for the Pope and the bishops in union with him as well as for the salvation of souls through Holy Mother Church.
In addition, the inner Supporting Facilities that were not necessary for the Nuns initial move-in will be completed in this phase.
As the Nuns are building a Monastery to last for hundreds of years to come, there are various Supporting Facilities that will ensure the Community will be able to maintain their autonomy and enclosure from the world. These Phase 2 facilities include:
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Library
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Infirmary (for First Aid and the care of sick Sisters)
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Storage Rooms
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Food Pantry
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Recreation Room (the room that Nuns gather to do their crafts together)
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Sewing Room, etc
For the first Community to live in this Monastery as well as for those who will come 100 years from now, the Phase 2 Supporting Facilities will ensure that the Nuns have the opportunity to live the self-sustaining, autonomous, and cloistered life that God has called them to live according to the teachings of Saint Teresa of Avila.
ESTIMATED COST: $2.45 M
FUNDRAISING PROGRESS: DONATIONS NEEDED!
CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS: TBA
Phase 3
Two Separate Outbuildings
(i.e. Rectory and Guest House)
$850,000
GOALS
-
Construction of one Priest Rectory for the Nuns' designated Chaplain(s) and visiting priests
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Construction of one Guest House for the Nuns family visits and possible visitors' retreat house
PURPOSE
The construction of a Priest Rectory will allow for the Nuns’ chaplain(s) to have a place of residency on the property as well as serve as a place for visiting priests to stay on the property.
The Guest House will allow the families of the Nuns to have a separate space to reside when visiting their daughters. The Sisters will also consider the possibility of allowing donors to reserve a stay in the Guest House as a retreat when visiting the Monastery.
ESTIMATED COST: $0.85 M
FUNDRAISING PROGRESS: DONATIONS NEEDED!
CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS: TBA
Contact
BUILDING PROJECT MANAGER
Andrew T. Seaver, Sr Engineer GE2T Consulting 912-346-2917
atseaver@ge2t.com
Conceptual Design Plans (April 2025) by Baker Architects
Contact
BUILDING PROJECT MANAGER
Andrew T. Seaver, Sr Engineer GE2T Consulting 912-346-2917
atseaver@ge2t.com
Carmel: "Garden of God"
Habit Forming Sisters Corporation desires by the grace of God to build a simple, solemn monastic house of prayer for our community and for future generations of Discalced Carmelites Nuns of Saint Teresa of Avila. We seek to build our monastery according to what is necessary to sustain a family-sized religious community.
The main physical property of a monastery includes the chapel and the cloister, the latter which is the enclosure of the nuns and includes areas such as the individual cells, the kitchen and refectory for eating, work area, gardens, and areas for recreation and study. One traditional design especially used by Irish Carmelites is called the "quadrangle." The Quadrangle design utilizes an equal distribution of space and a harmony of setting. This allows the nuns to follow the schedule of their life of prayer in perfect silence and recollection as they process from one location to another throughout the day.
Holy Mother St. Teresa of Avila also encouraged her nuns to live by a life of prayer and holy renunciation, relying on the Divine Providence and the work of their hands for sustenance. Our new monastery will focus on a small-scale farmstead for its garden design, where we hope to raise animals, plant vegetables and fruit orchards, tend herb and flower gardens, and house a few honeybees.
According to our Carmelite Constitutions:
"The [Monastery], with the exception of the Church, should have nothing ornamental in its construction: the woodwork should be simple, the Convent small, and the apartments low, so that what is necessary and not what is superfluous may be attended to."
"The walls should be as solid as possible; those of the enclosure high, within which there should be ground enough to build some hermitages, that the religious, after the example of the Holy Fathers, may retire to them for prayer."
Holy Mother Saint Teresa of Avila always desired that the greatest glory of a monastery should be seen within the chapel where Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is truly present in the Holy and Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. It is there that the true beauty of Carmel, meaning "Garden of God", should shine forth for all to see.
Time, Talent, and Treasure
We will post here periodically any donations of in-kind gifts, services, or volunteering that would greatly benefit our building project construction progress. For additional ways to make a donations, please see the Donate page.
“Let us do our part, and God will then do what He wills. This is God’s cause, and all will end well. My hope is in Him; do not be distressed.”
--Holy Mother Saint Teresa of Avila
We kindly seek the in-kind donations of:
-Currently seeking a Contractor/Builder
-Building materials and resources
-Artisans work for Icons and Holy Images to adorn the new Chapel
-Carpenters, Stone workers, craftsmen of all works: we will connect you to our team of engineers and builders to help donate your talent for our cause
-Traditional Catholic books to supply the Nuns' Library for Spiritual Reading
-Writing material: legal-sized envelopes, roll of stamps, printing paper
-Any crafting beads & rosary parts we can use for our rosary making
For more information, please kindly Contact us with your name, phone number and email address.
Construction in Progress
Our Photo Gallery showcases 10 acres of land donated for the building of a new Traditional Carmelite Monastery in Gilchrist County Florida, siteprep and construction in progress. Learn more in Events.
