Holy Annunciation Monastery
Byzantine Carmelite Nuns
403 West County Road
Sugarloaf, PA 18249
mpoy25@ptd.net

The Monastery was inaugurated on February 23, 1977.

The Most Reverend Michel J Dudick, the Bishop of the Ruthenians (Byzantine Church) of Passaic, NJ assumed the total burden of financial responsibility and assisted the community for years. Divine providence had directed us to the Ruthenian people and their diocese of Passaic NJ, which stemmed from the Uzhgorod-Mukachevo eparchy in Transcarpathia (now Ukraine). At the time of founding Holy Annunciation, communism was in full force and daily we prayed for "our suffering brethren" (behind the iron curtain). As communism weaken and then collapsed (1989-1990), we received requests, even applications from young women in Byzantine Slovakia and Carpathia who felt they had a Carmelite vocation. Several Byzantine rite girls came to us from Slovakia and Carpathia. We in turn, promised, when feasible, that a foundation would be made in their homeland. This has been our endeavor since 1995 and in 2002 when we sent Sisters there to begin the Monastery of St. Therese in Koritnyani, Transcarpathia.

In 1999 an unusual chain of events culminated in our accepting Sisters of the Syro-Malabar Rite from South India, now five in number and comprise one third of our community membership. As their presence has been a great enrichment, our gratitude is great. Bishop Dudick had encouraged our assisting a sister Catholic church of another Eastern Rite.

The place of Father Walter Ciszek, S.J. is central to our beginnings, both for the spiritual guidance and encouragement he gave to Mother Marija (and the first Sisters), but also because on his recommendation Bishop Michael accepted the Sisters - hitherto totally unknown to him- into his eparchy.

Like most Carmels, we rely heavily on the support of the faithful but we also engage endeavors for self-support. At Holy Annunciation we operate a Bakery, the Carmelite Kitchen, with a Christmas -New Year "mail-order season". We grow as much of our own food as possible and "put up" hundreds of pounds of garden produce annually. Each year our gift shop is becoming increasingly popular - offering imported icons, candles made by the Sisters and an ever growing assortment of cards, designed and printed by the Sisters. Catalogs are available and the Community's newsletter, Myrrhbearing, is also offered on request.