About Monastery of Mary the Queen · Girard, Illinois
The Monastery of Mary the Queen is a cloistered community of Dominican contemplative nuns located in rural Girard, Illinois, on a 38-acre property in Macoupin County. The community was originally founded in Elmira, New York in 1944 and migrated to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois in 2014, first living temporarily with the Dominican Sisters of Springfield before completing and dedicating their own 21,000-square-foot monastery on August 15, 2022 (the Feast of the Assumption), having moved in that autumn. Their days are structured around the Liturgy of the Hours, daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, silent study, and monastic work, in fidelity to St. Dominic's charism of preaching the Gospel through a life given wholly to prayer.
- Established
- 1944
- Patron
- Mary the Queen (Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title 'Mary Queen')
- Rector
- Sister Anna Marie Pierre, OP — Prioress (the community is a cloistered Dominican monastery, not a parish, so it has no parish pastor; the prioress is the principal superior)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
Why belong here
The monastery is a thriving, international cloistered community whose life is anchored entirely in prayer for the Church and the world. Visitors and discerners are welcomed to its daily schedule — including public Mass in the chapel, Eucharistic adoration, and the praying of the Liturgy of the Hours — and to set-apart events such as the annual Discernment Weekend. The Dominican contemplative vocation here means giving one's life wholly to prayer, study, and community life in the spirit of St. Dominic, with the chapel and grounds open to the public daily.
Mass times at Monastery of Mary the Queen
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Daily 4:30 pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
- Daily 6:15 am – 6:30 pm (chapel open to the public, which includes time at the Blessed Sacrament)
About the Monastery of Mary the Queen
The Monastery of Mary the Queen is a community of Dominican contemplative nuns in Girard, Illinois, living a cloistered, contemplative life centered on the Eucharist, the Liturgy of the Hours, silence, study, and community. Their days unfold in a steady rhythm of prayer, study, and the quiet work that sustains the monastery, with everything flowing from one desire: to be wholly available to God for the sake of the world. The nuns are an international, intercultural, and intergenerational community striving to live the Gospel message as passed on by their Holy Father St. Dominic.
- Type: Cloistered Dominican contemplative monastery (not a parish)
- Location: 15635 Greenridge Road, Girard, IL 62640
- Diocese: Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
- Website: http://opnunsil.org/
History
The community traces its beginnings to 1944 in Elmira, New York. After several decades, the sisters discerned in the early 2000s that God was calling them to relocate closer to the rest of the Dominican family. On May 5, 2014, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield formally welcomed them to the diocese, and they lived for the next eight years with the Dominican Sisters of Springfield at 1237 West Monroe Street. In Easter 2020 they were joined by the nuns of the Perpetual Rosary Monastery in Syracuse, NY. Construction of a new purpose-built monastery on 38 acres in Girard was completed, and Bishop Paprocki dedicated the monastery and its chapel on August 15, 2022, the Solemnity of the Assumption. The nuns moved in that autumn.
- 1944 — Founded in Elmira, New York (Diocese of Rochester)
- 2014 — Welcomed into the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki
- 2020 (Easter) — Received the nuns of the Perpetual Rosary Monastery in Syracuse, NY
- August 15, 2022 — Monastery and chapel dedicated on the Solemnity of the Assumption
- Autumn 2022 — Nuns moved into the new Girard monastery
The New Monastery Building and Grounds
The Girard monastery is a 21,000-square-foot facility built on the west side of flat pastureland so the more beautiful features of the property could be preserved. Inside are a chapel, living room, parlor, library, dormitory, study, a wing for novices, kitchen, Chapter room, workrooms for sewing and crafting, and an interior courtyard. Outside, the 38 acres include woodland, an eight-acre lake, and a one-acre pond — features the sisters say 'facilitate the contemplative life' with their natural beauty and wildlife.
- 21,000 sq. ft. monastery
- Chapel, library, Chapter room, parlor, dormitory
- Novice wing, kitchen, sewing/crafting workrooms
- Interior courtyard
- 38 acres with an 8-acre lake and a 1-acre pond
Daily Schedule (Nuns' Horarium) and Chapel Hours
The nuns' day begins at 5:30 am with the rising bell and unfolds through the canonical hours, Holy Mass, monastic work, and profound silence. The chapel is open to the public daily from 6:15 am to 6:30 pm. The full rhythm — rising bell, Office of Reading, Holy Mass, Mid-Morning Prayer, work, Midday Prayer and Rosary, dinner, profound silence from 1:00–2:30 pm, more work, Mid-Afternoon Prayer, Adoration, Evening Prayer with Benediction, supper, recreation, and Compline — sets the daily heartbeat of the community.
- 5:30 am — Rising Bell
- 6:00 am — Office of Reading / Morning Prayer
- 7:00 am — Holy Mass (Mon, Wed–Sat)
- 7:45 am — Mid-Morning Prayer
- 8:00 am — Private Prayer / Study
- 9:30 am — Monastic Work
- 11:30 am — Midday Prayer and Rosary
- 12:00 pm — Dinner
- 1:00–2:30 pm — Profound Silence
- 3:00 pm — Monastic Work
- 4:20 pm — Mid-Afternoon Prayer
- 4:30 pm — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
- 5:00 pm — Evening Prayer / Benediction
- 5:30 pm — Supper
- 6:16 pm — Recreation
- 7:15 pm — Compline; Profound Silence until 6:00 am
Community and Members
The community is led by Sister Anna Marie Pierre, OP, as Prioress, with Sister Marie Tersidis, OP, serving as Novice Director. The sisters come from across the United States and beyond — Illinois, New York, Texas, California, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, the Bronx, as well as British Columbia (Canada) and Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago — making the monastery what its prioress calls 'an international, intercultural, and intergenerational community.' The former prioress at the time of the move to Springfield, Sister Miriam of the Cross, OP, was the recipient of Bishop Paprocki's 2014 welcoming letter.
- Sr. Anna Marie Pierre, OP — Prioress
- Sr. Marie Tersidis, OP — Novice Director
- Sisters from Illinois, Texas, California, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, the Bronx, British Columbia, and Trinidad and Tobago
- Former Prioress: Sr. Miriam of the Cross, OP
Dominican Contemplative Vocation
A vocation at the Monastery of Mary the Queen is a gift of one's whole life to prayer, study, and the search for Truth, lived in cloistered community for the salvation of souls. The community describes their life as shaped by prayer (the Liturgy of the Hours, Eucharistic adoration, silent contemplation), study (opening the mind to the beauty of Truth), community (living as sisters who seek God together), and preaching (offering their lives for the salvation of souls) — the four pillars of the Dominican tradition born from St. Dominic's desire to preach the Gospel with clarity and compassion.
- Prayer — Liturgy of the Hours, Eucharistic adoration, silent contemplation
- Study — opening the mind to the beauty of Truth
- Community — living as sisters who seek God together
- Preaching — offering their lives for the salvation of souls
Steps in Discernment
A young woman's journey toward life in the monastery typically unfolds in stages, beginning with an initial inquiry through the vocations email ([email protected]). The community walks with each inquirer gently and patiently through visits, deeper discernment, entrance (postulancy, novitiate, temporary vows), and ultimately solemn profession, when a sister gives her life to God forever.
- Initial Inquiry — reaching out and asking questions
- Visits — experiencing life in the monastery firsthand
- Discernment — prayerfully listening to God's voice
- Entrance — postulancy, novitiate, and temporary vows
- Solemn Profession — giving one's life to God forever
Discernment Weekends and Visits
The monastery periodically hosts Discernment Weekends for young women who feel drawn to Dominican contemplative life. These weekends give visitors a chance to enter into the rhythm of the nuns' horarium, pray with the community, meet the sisters, and ask questions in a setting shaped by prayer and silence. Upcoming weekends are announced on the monastery's calendar page (the website advertises a Discernment Weekend for Young Women on October 23–25).
- Discernment Weekends for Young Women (e.g., October 23–25)
- Discernment inquiries: [email protected]
How to Pray With Us
Because the monastery is cloistered, 'joining' the community most directly happens through prayer — sharing in the Mass schedule, the daily Liturgy of the Hours, and the 4:30 pm Eucharistic adoration and 5:00 pm Evening Prayer with Benediction. The chapel is open to the public every day from 6:15 am to 6:30 pm, and the grounds at 15635 Greenridge Road, Girard, IL 62640, invite quiet time with the Lord in a setting of woods, fields, and water.
- Chapel open daily 6:15 am – 6:30 pm
- Daily Mass (Mon/Wed–Sat 7:00 am, Tue 4:30 pm, Sun 8:00 am)
- Daily 4:30 pm Adoration and 5:00 pm Evening Prayer / Benediction
- Quiet grounds: 38 acres with lake and pond
Contact and Visit
For vocations inquiries, visits, or general correspondence, the community can be reached by email at [email protected]. The physical address is 15635 Greenridge Road, Girard, IL 62640. Visitors are warmly welcomed to share in the chapel's daily prayer and the public Mass schedule.
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 15635 Greenridge Road, Girard, IL 62640
- Website: http://opnunsil.org/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Sister Miriam of the Cross, OP2014 (at the move to Springfield)
Prioress of the Elmira monastery who was addressed in Bishop Paprocki's May 5, 2014 welcoming letter; the monastery was dedicated in her community's honor in 2022.