About Carmel of Maria Regina · Eugene, Oregon
Carmel of Maria Regina is a cloistered Discalced Carmelite monastery of women religious located on 35 wooded acres in the hills west of Eugene, Oregon, in the Archdiocese of Portland. Founded on November 6, 1957, by six nuns who traveled from the Carmel of St. Teresa in Alhambra, California, the community lives a contemplative life of prayer, silence, and enclosure patterned on the rule and spirit of St. Teresa of Avila. The sisters sustain their life through two small cottage industries — publishing and translating Catholic books and baking altar hosts (some for non-Catholic churches) — and welcome the public to attend Mass, pray with them at the grille, and visit the gift shop and outdoor Marian garden.
- Established
- 1957
- Patron
- Our Lady (Mary, under the title "Maria Regina" — Mary Queen; the community also celebrates the Queenship of Our Lady and St. Joseph, St. Therese, and St. Teresa of Avila)
- Rector
- Mother Elizabeth Mary, OCD (Prioress; the monastery has no parish-style pastor, but a prioress leads the community, with Mass celebrated by visiting OCD friars)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
Why belong here
Carmel of Maria Regina is not a parish one "joins" in the usual sense, but a cloistered monastic house to which the faithful are warmly connected. Visitors are welcome to attend the community Mass in the chapel, draw near the grille for prayer, walk the wooded grounds and outdoor Marian garden, and support the sisters through their gift shop, altar-bread apostolate, and prayer requests — the nuns keep a board of petitions, including intentions from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, that they lift up daily in the Liturgy of the Hours and silent prayer.
Mass times at Carmel of Maria Regina
Weekly Mass schedule
About Carmel of Maria Regina
Carmel of Maria Regina is a cloistered monastery of Discalced Carmelite (OCD) nuns in the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, situated on 35 wooded acres in the hills a few miles west of Eugene. The community lives a strictly contemplative life of prayer, silence, and enclosure in the tradition of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, and welcomes the public to attend Mass, visit the gift shop, and pray in the outdoor Marian garden.
- Strictly cloistered Discalced Carmelite (OCD) monastery
- Located on 35 wooded acres west of Eugene, Oregon
- Public Mass and gift shop; cloistered contact through grille/turn
History & Foundation
The community was founded on November 6, 1957, by six sisters sent from the Carmel of St. Teresa in Alhambra, California, whose prioress Mother Miriam Quinn had asked Cardinal James Francis McIntyre for a new foundation. With the support of Archbishop Edward D. Howard of Portland and Monsignor Edmund J. Murnane (vicar for Eugene), the nuns settled into a converted hunter's log-lodge on 35 forested acres, where Father Columban Fitzgerald, OCD, celebrated the founding Mass.
- Founded November 6, 1957
- Six founding sisters from Carmel of St. Teresa, Alhambra, California
- Founding prioress: Mother Mariam (Miriam) Quinn, OCD
- Founding priest: Father Columban Fitzgerald, OCD
- Negotiated by Monsignor Edmund J. Murnane (Eugene vicar)
- 60th anniversary marked November 6, 2017; commemorative history 2018
Daily Horarium & Liturgical Life
The sisters' day is shaped around the Liturgy of the Hours, two periods of silent mental prayer, the Rosary, and manual labor. Strict silence is observed after Compline, with all sisters in their cells by 9:30 PM. The public is invited to attend the daily Mass, which is generally celebrated around 7:30 AM (call ahead for current time).
- 5:30 AM — Rise
- 6:00 AM — Angelus and one hour of mental prayer
- 7:00 AM — Lauds
- 7:30 AM — Mass and Terce
- 11:30 AM — Sext, examen, dinner
- 1:30 PM — None, Litany of the BVM
- 3:40 PM — Rosary
- 4:00 PM — Vespers and mental prayer
- 5:15 PM — Spiritual reading
- 7:40 PM — Office of Reading (Matins) and Compline, final anthem, aspersion and blessing
- Strict silence after Compline; cell by 9:30 PM
Vocations & Formation
The community formally invites women discerning a Carmelite vocation to walk through a multi-stage formation process, from pre-candidacy through solemn vows. The current prioress, Mother Elizabeth Mary, OCD, is the listed contact.
- Pre-candidacy program (interviews and live-in experience)
- Postulancy: 1 to 1½ years
- Novitiate: 2 years
- Temporary Profession: 6 years
- Solemn Profession (Final Vows) — perpetual vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience
- Contact: Mother Elizabeth Mary, OCD — 541-345-8946
- Write: Carmel of Maria Regina, 87609 Green Hill Rd., Eugene, OR 97402
Apostolates & Work of the Sisters
Although strictly cloistered, the nuns sustain their life and serve the wider Church through discreet works. The community is well known in the Pacific Northwest for its host-baking apostolate, and also for publishing and translating Carmelite spiritual works.
- Publishing and translating Catholic and Carmelite books
- Baking altar hosts (some supplied to non-Catholic churches)
- Prayer-request apostolate — daily intentions posted and prayed over
- On-site gift shop open to the public
- Hospitality to visitors and pilgrims
Visiting & Pilgrimage
The Carmel sits on a wooded hillside a few miles west of Eugene. Visitors are welcomed for Mass, prayer, and quiet enjoyment of the gardens. Ample parking is available on site.
- Public garden with an original Carrara marble Madonna and Child
- Outdoor Stations of the Cross
- St. Joseph statue in the garden
- Gift shop on premises
- Ample parking; visitors are asked to honor the monastery's silence
Our Monastery (Reflections)
The community describes its property in poetic terms — 'a hidden garden where Jesus is the guest' — and shares reflections on daily life, including a meditation by Sister Mary Veronica. The 35 wooded acres provide the solitude and silence essential to Carmelite contemplative life.
- "A hidden garden where Jesus is the guest"
- Meditation by Sister Mary Veronica of daily Carmelite life
Throughout the Year (Seasonal Life)
Photographs and notes from the website show the community marking the seasons with traditional Carmelite observances: cherry blossoms in spring, the blessing of the ice-cream lamb for Laetare Sunday, Palm Sunday, the Queenship of Our Lady, the St. Therese procession, July 4th picnic, Stations of the Cross, breaking the pinata, the chapel blanketed in snow, and a choir decorated for Christmas.
- Spring — cherry blossoms, collecting flowers, Palm Sunday
- Summer — July 4th picnic, outdoor Stations, Queenship of Our Lady, St. Therese procession
- Fall — making wreaths
- Winter — pinata, chapel in snow, Christmas choir
Contact & Practical Information
The monastery can be reached by phone and by mail, and has a presence on Facebook through which visitors can also keep up with community life.
- Address: 87609 Green Hill Road, Eugene, OR 97402
- Phone: 541-345-8649 (main); 541-345-8946 (vocations)
- Website: http://carmelitesinoregon.org/
- Facebook: Carmel of Maria Regina
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Mother Mariam (Miriam) Quinn, OCD1957–(founding prioress)
Founding prioress; led the six sisters from the Carmel of St. Teresa, Alhambra, California, to Eugene on November 4, 1957; first Mass offered November 6, 1957.
- Mother Elizabeth Mary, OCDCurrent prioress
Current prioress as of the latest website content; leads the community and is listed as the vocations contact.