About Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph · Fairfield, Pennsylvania
The Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Fairfield, Pennsylvania, is a papally enclosed monastery of Discalced Carmelite nuns (O.C.D.) — a strictly cloistered, contemplative community living a hidden life of prayer, penance, and sacrifice in the farmlands of Adams County, about eight miles from Gettysburg. Founded in 2018 as a daughter house of the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Elysburg, the nuns trace their spiritual lineage through 17th-century Mexico back to 16th-century Spain and the original Carmelite hermits on Mount Carmel. Their primary mission is to pray and offer oblation for the Church, her priests, and the world, and they do so using the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and Divine Office — specifically the ancient Carmelite Rite — while wearing the full traditional brown habit. The community depends entirely on Divine Providence and the generosity of lay benefactors and is in the midst of a multi-decade project to hand-build a stone monastery "to last a thousand years" on a 40-acre farmstead.
- Established
- 2018
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg
Why belong here
The Fairfield Carmelites are not a typical parish with congregants and ministries; rather, they are a cloistered monastic community whose apostolate is prayer itself. Lay Catholics support and connect with them in several concrete ways: by attending Mass in their chapel (Sung Mass on Sundays at 9:00 AM, Low Mass weekdays at 6:00 AM in the Carmelite Rite), by sending prayer requests which the sisters place before the Tabernacle, by enrolling themselves or loved ones in the Perpetual Enrollment for daily remembrance at Mass, and by contributing alms or in-kind donations to sustain and build the monastery. Visitors are welcomed at the gate during the day, and skilled volunteers — especially stonemasons, carpenters, and farmers — are invited to help with the multi-decade construction project on the 40-acre farmstead.
Mass times at Carmel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
The Nuns of Fairfield
The Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is a papally enclosed Discalced Carmelite community of women religious living in the farmlands of Fairfield, Pennsylvania. They are completely in communion with the Roman Catholic Church and under the approval of the Bishop of Harrisburg, and they trace their spiritual heritage back to sixteenth-century Spain, seventeenth-century Mexico, and ultimately the hermits of Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. Their life is centered on the rule of their Holy Founders, St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, and they are described by the community as 'the Heart of the Church — beating with continuous prayer and sacrifice, bringing the vital flow of grace to the other members of the Mystical Body of Christ.'
- Full traditional brown Carmelite habit
- Mental prayer and up to six hours of formal daily prayer
- Meatless diet and regular fasting
- Strict papal enclosure (walls and grills)
- Austere, laborious lifestyle with few modern conveniences
- Daily life woven together in prayer — even dishwashing is offered with a vocal prayer
- Faces of the nuns are not photographed, in keeping with the community's value of hiddenness
History & Origins
The Fairfield monastery is the second Discalced Carmelite foundation in the Diocese of Harrisburg. The community originally came from Valparaiso, Nebraska, where the mother house of this young and growing family of nuns is still located. In 2009, Bishop Ronald Gainer invited the Valparaiso Carmelites to reinvigorate the aging Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Elysburg, PA; the influx of vocations there was so dramatic that, by the mid-2010s, the Elysburg house had grown to 28 nuns and was far too small. In 2012 the community purchased a 40-acre tract of farmland in Adams County to build a new home, and on July 20, 2018, nine nuns — including their prioress Mother Stella-Marie of Jesus — moved from Elysburg to Fairfield to begin construction.
- 2009 — Community arrives at Elysburg from Valparaiso, NE at Bishop Gainer's invitation
- 2012 — Land purchased in Fairfield, Adams County, PA
- July 20, 2018 — Founding nine nuns move from Elysburg to Fairfield
- 2019 — Bishop Gainer blesses the foundation, placing a stone brought from the Holy Land
- 2021 — Community fully consolidated at Fairfield; Elysburg monastery vacated
- Permanent chapel excavation underway
The Liturgy — Carmelite Rite (Extraordinary Form)
What sets the Fairfield Carmelites apart liturgically is their exclusive use of the ancient Carmelite Rite — the 1937 Rite of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem — within the broader context of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Catholic liturgy. Mass and the Divine Office are celebrated in Latin, in the traditional Carmelite manner that traces back to the hermits on Mount Carmel. The new (post-Vatican II) rite of Mass is not offered at this monastery. Lay faithful are welcome to attend, but the schedule is more monastic than parish-like and visitors are asked to confirm times by email before traveling.
- Sung Mass (Carmelite Rite) — Sundays at 9:00 AM
- Low Mass (Carmelite Rite) — Monday through Saturday at 6:00 AM
- Carmelite Rite Divine Office in Latin throughout the day
- Up to six hours of formal daily prayer
Building a Monastery to Last a Thousand Years
The community's central work for the foreseeable future is the hand-construction of their permanent monastery on the 40-acre Fairfield farmstead. Using authentic stone masonry and reclaimed timber framing — techniques used by America's early stonemasons — the nuns, their families, and a team of skilled volunteers are building roughly a dozen structures designed to stand for centuries. Tom Bauer, father of Mother Therese and widower of the late caretaker Mary Katherine Bauer (who is buried in a small cemetery on the grounds), serves as general contractor; his daughter Catherine Bauer serves as Director of Development. The project is expected to take 25 years or more, with an estimated total cost of $12 million.
- Chapel (already blessed by Bishop Gainer; permanent chapel now under excavation)
- Refectory (dining hall) and kitchen
- Novitiate
- Building for the professed nuns
- Three-story workhouse / Vestry (recreation and work rooms, ~3,750 sq ft, built of reclaimed wood and stone)
- Caretaker's home and barn (only non-stone structures)
- Chaplain's quarters and guest cottage
- Orchard, raised kitchen-garden stone beds, beehives, and small farm for future self-sufficiency
How Lay People Can Support the Carmel
Because the nuns take a vow of enclosure and live a hidden life, their support comes almost entirely from lay benefactors — friends who pray with them, pray for them, and help materially sustain and build the monastery. The community receives no funding from the Diocese of Harrisburg and trusts entirely in Divine Providence. Catherine Bauer, Director of Development, fields general inquiries, and the sisters themselves accept prayer requests to be placed next to the Tabernacle in their chapel.
- Attend Mass in their chapel (Sunday 9:00 AM Sung Mass; weekday 6:00 AM Low Mass)
- Send prayer intentions to be placed near the Tabernacle
- Enroll yourself or a loved one in the Perpetual Enrollment (daily remembrance at Mass)
- Send Mass stipends and alms (mail directly to the monastery)
- Donate in-kind gifts (beehives, fruit trees, sewing supplies, etc.)
- Volunteer on the building project — stonemasons, carpenters, and general labor are especially welcome
- Follow the build on Facebook and YouTube
Leadership & Staff
Because the Fairfield Carmelites are an enclosed women's monastery (not a parish with assigned priests), 'staff' refers to the leadership of the religious community itself plus a small lay team that handles external affairs. The community is led by their prioress; daily operations of the building project and the community's public face are supported by the Bauer family.
- Mother Stella-Marie of Jesus, O.C.D. — Prioress (led the founding group from Elysburg in 2018; author of the community's pastoral letters)
- Mother Therese of Merciful Love, O.C.D. — Subprioress and Novice Mistress (entered the Valparaiso Carmel at age 17 in 2003; her family owns the Fairfield farmland)
- Catherine Bauer — Director of Development (Mother Therese's sister; primary public contact)
- Tom Bauer — General contractor and caretaker of the grounds (Mother Therese's widowed father)
Visit & Contact
The monastery is open to the public, though most construction takes place behind the enclosure walls where visitors are not admitted. Visitors who would like to attend Mass are strongly encouraged to email ahead to confirm the day's schedule, since Carmelite monastic Mass times are subject to variation. The community's two email addresses are [email protected] (for general inquiries and development) and [email protected] (used in their pastoral letters and for forwarding to the sisters).
- Address: 327 Water St., Fairfield, PA 17320
- Email: [email protected]
- Alternate email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.fairfieldcarmelites.org/
- Facebook: facebook.com/buildcarmelitemonastery
- YouTube: @FairfieldCarmelites
- Ring the bell at the gate — an extern sister will greet visitors
Vocational Inquiries
The community welcomes inquiries from young women who feel drawn to the cloistered Carmelite life. As of recent reporting, the Fairfield Carmel numbered about 11 nuns, most in their 20s and 30s. The standard formation path is a long, deliberate discernment process that begins with letter exchange and visits outside the cloister before any entrance.
- Step 1 — Letter exchange
- Step 2 — Visit (outside the cloister)
- Step 3 — Application by mail
- Step 4 — Entrance
- Step 5 — Postulancy
- Step 6 — Canonical Novitiate
- Step 7 — Temporary Vows
- Step 8 — Solemn Vows
- Typical age range: 17 to late 20s
- Qualifications: good health and high school education
- Late vocations considered only for the extern sister role
Diocesan Relationship
The Fairfield Carmelites are fully in communion with the Roman Catholic Church and operate under the approval of the diocesan Bishop of Harrisburg, currently the Most Reverend Ronald Gainer. Bishop Gainer has been a frequent visitor: he blessed the foundation in 2019, celebrated a pontifical Mass in the chapel and blessed the workhouse when it was completed, and the community's pastoral letters are addressed in part to 'the Catholic family' that surrounds them. The Carmel is part of the Discalced Carmelite family that traces to the hermits of Mount Carmel and the reforms of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross in 16th-century Spain.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg
- Bishop: Most Reverend Ronald Gainer (as of public reports)
- Order: Order of Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (O.C.D.)
- Rite used: Carmelite Rite (1937 Rite of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem)
- Spiritual heritage: 16th-century Spain → 17th-century Mexico → Valparaiso, NE → Elysburg, PA → Fairfield, PA
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Mother Stella-Marie of Jesus, O.C.D.2018–present
Prioress who led the founding group from Elysburg to Fairfield on July 20, 2018, and continues to lead the community.