The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration were founded in Paris, France, on December 8, 1854, by Mother Marie de Sainte Claire Bouillevaux and Father Bonaventure Heurlaut as a Franciscan order dedicated to continuous Eucharistic adoration. Their commitment to perpetual adoration is motivated by Mother Marie’s reaction to Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Luke, when He says of the ungrateful lepers: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:17). Mother Marie, upon hearing this verse, desired to make reparations for the constant ingratitude we show to God in return for His constant love, mercy and providence through constant praise and thanksgiving.
In the nearly two centuries since their founding, the order established thirty-six autonomous monasteries around Europe, Asia and the United States.
The first group of Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration nuns (at that time called the Franciscan Nuns of the Most Blessed Sacrament) arrived in in the Cleveland from Austria in 1921 where they lived in a residence on Euclid Avenue until Cleveland’s Bishop Joseph Schrembs built a monastery and purchased a former Episcopal church, dedicated as the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul, for them in 1931.
The Canton community was founded in 1946, after local steel magnate John O’Dea and his wife Ida donated their estate to the Poor Clares. The O’Deas were devout Catholics who traveled around the world and often stayed in monasteries, and, as they had no children of their own, donated substantially to Catholic communities, monasteries and orphanages.
The O’deas’ 24-room Tudor mansion was originally built in 1922 on fifteen acres of land. They first approached Bishop James McFadden, the first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Youngstown, in August of 1945, to express a desire to establish a religious house of continuous Eucharistic Adoration. Bishop McFadden conferred with Mother Mary Agnes, abbess of the original Poor Clares monastery in Cleveland, and just over a year later six sisters were sent to pioneer the Sancta Clara monastery. On October 1, 1946, Bishop McFadden dedicated the monastery, realizing the O’Deas’ dream.
Much of the estate remains as it was, with a few key additions. Most notable was the construction of a chapel on the south end of the property and a second home for John O’Dea. The original rose garden was made into a cemetery, where the O’Deas and many of the Poor Clares are at rest. In addition to the grounds and home, the O’Deas made a $350,000 grant to the nuns, which provided for the building of the chapel and an intern residence for the cloistered sisters.
The O’Deas’ gift spread beyond the borders of our diocese, as the Sancta Clara monastery subsequently established Our Lady of the Angels monastery in Alabama and Our Lady of Solitude monastery in Phoenix. Rita Rizzo, who would become known as Mother Angelica and the founder of Eternal Word Television Network, was one of the six original nuns to live at the Canton monastery.
Today, 13 sisters live at the monastery, joining together from across the country and beyond, with sisters from Japan, Tanzania, the Philippines and Korea. While there have been many changes over the decades, with renovations, repairs and additions alongside the departures of beloved sisters and the arrivals of new novitiates, life there is not much different than it ever was. As their name implies, the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration are dedicated to continuous prayer and dedication to the Eucharist. Their days are divided between communal prayer, daily Mass, silent contemplation, work and recreation. Sisters still in formation take classes throughout the day as well.
The monastery’s abbess, Mother Mary Magdalen of the Tender Heart of Jesus, says that their celebration of the anniversary is focused on giving thanks to God’s continued providence for their community and a commitment to drawing young Catholic women to pursue religious life.
“The Beneficence of our indulgent Lord and God is seen every day in the abundant love and support this Community of Poor Clares receives, day after day, year after year,” Mother Magdalen said. “We trust that the perennial allure of the Poverello of Assisi will continue to endure for untold time and that the Holy Service of this Monastery will endure along with him as well as with our First Lady, Saint Clare of Assisi! As we celebrate our Father, Saint Francis, we also celebrate all our years in Canton, Ohio and in this Diocese of Youngstown.”
Mother Magdalen says that the community plans to celebrate the occasion with a special Mass in remembrance of the death of Saint Francis on October 3, known as the Transitus of Saint Francis, as they do every year. They will be joined by the local Secular Franciscan group, their servers and ministers, visiting priests and their Franciscan Priest and Brother Father John Paul Kusma, who will preside over the Mass. Mother Magdalen invited all those who wish to participate in the event to join the Sisters in their public chapel. The chapel and grounds will be open from 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Looking forward, Mother Magdalen said that the community is committed to growing in their faith, inspiring others to pursue religious life, and “to continually be bringing into the world God’s blessings—not only for ourselves but for all our monastery friends, patrons and also those we don’t know by name but can reach by prayer.”
“Always, at the top of our list there can only be the quest for new young Catholic women to be drawn to this way of life, and to find fulfillment among us at this special place that the Lord has established for us here,” she said. “We aspire to continually attain to the ways and things that inspire each other and that makes us a real family. ‘Apostles’ that we are, like every missionary who’s gone off to a foreign land and into the unknown, we want to be able to carry out a true ministry—one that attracts others to pursue the holy example of Christ and His saints. We don’t want that to just be an empty pursuit but one that can actually change the world and aim it towards an active love of goodness that endures long after the fading of our exhilaration and satisfying feelings have faded back into an everyday scene.”
In addition to the Transitus Mass, the nuns are hosting their 7th annual Nun Run on October 18, which helps raise funds for the continued running of the monastery, maintenance and the planned construction of an infirmary wing.
To learn more about Sancta Clara Monastery and the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration and to see future events, visit their site at poorclares.org.
Or just come by and spend some time in this sacred place—they would love to have you!
