SAVANNAH, Georgia (LifeSiteNews) — The Diocese of Savannah denied involvement in the suppression of the only Carmelite monastery in the state of Georgia that offered the traditional Latin Mass weekly despite a stipulation from the Vatican that a monastery be suppressed only after the diocesan bishop is consulted.
The move to shut down Our Lady of Confidence Carmelite monastery came suddenly and without explanation in September 2022, when its five nuns were told they had to move out by the end of the year. The suppression was triggered by Pope Francis’ directive Cor Orans, called the “death-knell” of Carmel, that shuttered contemplative religious orders around the world.
After an Apostolic Visitation by the Discalced Carmelite Order — initiated in accordance with Cor Orans — three fully professed sisters and two novices were ordered to leave their cloister. The monastery, founded in 1958, was not only the place they called home — it was the cornerstone of their particular vocation as Carmelites to pray for priests and the Church specifically in a cloister, set apart from the world.
Since this visitation, one nun passed away in 2023, one has launched a project to build an autonomous Carmel in Florida, and the others have been left to fend for themselves, with the last remaining nun, the Mother Superior, kicked out in April 2025 after she was told it was expected that she would be “allowed to live out her life on the property,” as the Corporation overseeing the monastery said in 2023.
Astonishingly, the nuns were not provided a reason for the suppression (even citing Cor Orans) either verbally or in writing, and LifeSiteNews has not been able to obtain any explanation for the suppression after repeated attempts to contact the individuals involved.
Cor Orans states that in cases of suppression, “it is up to the Holy See to evaluate the opportunity of setting up an ad hoc commission formed by the Ordinary” — that is, the local bishop — the Federation President, who in this case is Sr. Mary Clare Trolley, and the Federal Assistant as well as the Major Superior of the monastery.
“A monastery of nuns is only suppressed by the Holy See after having acquired the opinion of the diocesan Bishop, and, if it seems opportune, having heard the opinion of the Federal President, of the religious Assistant, and of the religious Ordinary, if the monastery is associated according to the norm of can. 614 CJC,” Cor Orans also states.
Despite this clearly stated requirement that the bishop be consulted before suppression, the Diocese of Savannah denied involvement in this case.
Bishop Stephen D. Parkes has not responded to LifeSiteNews after repeated requests for comment. His spokesman, the Chancellor of the diocese, Deacon Kevin Knight, told LifeSiteNews in a July 17 statement, “The Diocese of Savannah has no role in the decision-making process on the suppression of the Carmelite Monastery, therefore it is not appropriate for us to comment on its future suppression.”
The Chancellor has not responded since LifeSiteNews brought to his attention Cor Orans’ requirement that the diocesan bishop be consulted in the case of a monastery’s suppression.
LifeSiteNews has also repeatedly attempted to contact Sr. Trolley for an explanation, both via phone and email, but has been met only with silence.
The phrasing of Cor Orans itself is so open-ended as to allow for mere subjective opinion to determine the fate of a community. It states that among the criteria that determine whether a monastery should be suppressed are: “the number of nuns, the advanced age of the majority of the members, the real capacity for government and formation, lack of candidates for a number of years, lack of the necessary vitality in living and transmitting the charism in dynamic fidelity.”
One former nun of the Savannah Carmel, who wishes to remain anonymous, believes that the ultimate purpose of the worldwide suppression of monasteries under Cor Orans is a money and land grab, since Carmelite nuns live on “millions of dollars worth of assets and property.”
“No one clearly told us what was wrong and how we could fix whatever the problems were so that there would be no reason to shut us down. But it always felt like the fate of the monastery, the shutdown, was the intention of those involved in the suppression from the start,” the sister said.
Cor Orans is apparently not just about streamlining dwindling religious communities, since, as Mary Cuff has noted, even monasteries attracting new vocations are being suppressed. In one case reported by the National Catholic Register, the Dominican Monastery of the Most Holy Annunciation in Marradi, Tuscany, was ordered closed when it was reduced to five nuns after one died, even though it was economically self-sufficient and nuns from other countries were applying to be transferred to the monastery. The nuns have since refused to leave and have barricaded themselves inside their cloister.
Are these closures, then, part of a plan to reshape monasteries into a more “progressive” vision of monastic life? Canon lawyer Nancy Bauer has reportedly “laughingly suggested that traditional monastics fear that Cor Orans is ‘a plot by Pope Francis to force the more conservative monasteries to become more liberal.’ According to Cuff, however, Bauer has admitted “that the federation structure forces conservative monasteries under the control” of liberal — that is non-traditional — ones.
As others have pointed out, Cor Orans puts monasteries in the position of having to adopt burdensome new norms, such as a nine-year formation minimum, obeying policies continuously set forth by the Federation (which reportedly involve novel concepts, such as the “synodal way of St. Teresa) and the possibility of at-will, indefinite inspection visits by the Federation. Refusing to conform to any of these new regulations can put a monastery at risk.
Thus, the Federations “violate the autonomy” of these monasteries, which Cuff noted was “dictated in the rules of their saintly foundresses,” such as that of St. Teresa of Avila. This itself has the potential to seriously injure the morale of these nuns.
The alternative, for monasteries that don’t make the cut, is the deeply tragic upending of the lives of devout women, the fracturing of their communities and even the isolation of these often-elderly nuns. “One cannot force a woman that has been living 40 or 50 years in the same place to leave against her will; this is the worst thing that can happen to a woman that chose to dedicate herself to a contemplative life, as the monastery is her home and family,” as Barbara Betti, a representative of the Marradi monastery, put it.
These closures are especially tragic because the prayers of Carmelite nuns, which are enabled by their particular structured way of life, are vital to a healthy and strong Church.
Bishop Thomas J. McDonough originally invited nuns from the Carmel of Philadelphia to the Diocese of Savannah in 1957 so that they would pray for “priests and in particular for a deepening of faith in the few and scattered faithful.” The bishop expressed his firm belief that efforts to evangelize Savannah would bear fruit only if supported by prayer. Since McDonough articulated this belief, the need for such prayer has only exponentially multiplied, as shown by the steep decline in regular church attendance among Catholics since 1955, as well as the decline in the number of priests and religious sisters in the U.S. since the 1960s.
Savannah Carmel Corporation reneges on promise to donors
In the case of the Savannah Carmel suppression, it is not only the nuns who have been poorly treated but the donors.
A copy of a 2023 letter obtained by LifeSiteNews from the civil “Corporation” founded to maintain the monastery addressed to the “Savannah Carmel Building Fund Supporter” states that since refunding donations to the Carmel “creates tax issues” and “is not a viable option,” the donors have two choices:
- The Corporation will retain the funds for future projects
- Redirect your donation to a charity of your choice
One donor, Judith Bercik, told LifeSiteNews that she twice wrote to the Corporation at the address they provided, and later called their chaplain and left a message about her desire to direct her donations to the new autonomous Carmel monastery building project in Florida. She even asked the Sisters to have the Corporation call her back. She never heard another word from them.
Bercik had also donated several pieces of furniture and personal effects to the Carmelite Monastery, all of which “have disappeared,” and were not returned to her upon the monastery’s closure).
“I could tell they were not interested in doing anything for me,” Bercik said. She was advised by her confessor to let the situation go, and so she did. “That gave me some peace. God knows I gave it to the sisters and not to the diocese,” she told LifeSiteNews.
Euie McKee, father of one of the former nuns of the Savannah Carmel, noted to LifeSiteNews in a statement that “The Carmelite Nuns had a building project that amassed about $1.5 Million before their monastery was overtaken and they were forced to leave.”
“Where has all that money gone? Many donors have asked to get their money back because there is no longer a “Carmelite Monastery” building project. And they are currently still waiting,” McKee said.
According to McKee, other donors have asked for their money to be directed to the Carmel building project in Florida, and some did not receive the above-mentioned letter from the Corporation to begin with.
“I say this to all those under the vow of obedience in our Church: Obedience to our superiors is only wanting if (their orders are) in Christ. If our superiors are not “in Christ as to the Lord” (as Saint Paul says) then we have a crucial duty to disobey,” said McKee, adding, “the teachings of Traditiones Custodes and Cor Orans are NOT in Christ!”
Mr. and Mrs. Doug and Debbie Ramsey, longtime friends of the Savannah Carmel, shared with LifeSiteNews the following statement regarding its closure:
“It is with a heavy heart that our family says goodbye to a beloved Carmelite nun, Sister Mary Elizabeth and the institution of the Savannah Carmel. We (three generations my family) have known, visited, supported, volunteered and loved Savannah Carmel’s humble sisters for more than 40 years. My father, a Catholic Deacon, Bob O’Neill, first introduced us to the sweet sisters. They were always there praying for our families, our Church , Savannah, all those in need and for the world.
Think of that — every minute of every day since their establishment in Savannah in 1958, prayers, works and Masses have been ‘going up’ on our behalf! That will no longer be. How much poorer our lives, this city, and the world will be because of the closing of this Carmel. How many souls have been blessed by these hidden prayer warriors we will never know on this earth. May Jesus bless & Our Lady keep each & every nun, postulate, novice who has served at the Savannah Carmel.”
