That part of town, Cooper said, has been subjected to overseas investors who “don’t really have a sense of community.”
“They just want to do as much as they can as quickly as they can, in order to profit,” Cooper said.
A statue of “Our Blessed Mother Mary Inspiring St. Dominic with the Rosary” stands at the Monastery of the Angels, a donation from the late actress Jane Wyman. RNS photo by Alejandra Molina
Founded in 1924 by a New Jersey nun, the Monastery of the Angels has received financial support from wealthy LA families and celebrities such as the Dohenys, through the Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation, and the late actress Jane Wyman, through the Jane Wyman Charitable Foundation. The nuns also bake and sell their famous pumpkin bread, peanut brittle, chocolate mints and other treats at the gift shop.
Advocates behind this effort plan a fundraising campaign aimed at Catholics and others in the area and across the nation. They will determine whether it makes financial sense to continue producing the pumpkin bread and other goods.
“Any income derived from the production of these goods will be solely spent on the care and upkeep of the monastery and its grounds,” they said.
They’ll also seek to retain the gift shop and explore the possibility of making the monastery available for retreats.
Even though Dominican nuns would no longer inhabit the monastery under their stewardship, the group envisions keeping the chapel open for the occasional celebration of Mass, sacramental activities, 24-hour Eucharistic adoration and private prayer. Volunteers would be on hand.
There appear to be fewer than five nuns residing at the monastery.
The group is modeling its effort after other lay Catholics who have taken ownership of and responsibility for churches and monasteries across the country.
One example is the Save Our St. Anne’s group that for years has maintained St. Anne’s Church in Columbia, California. The parish is within the boundaries of the Diocese of Stockton and Mass is celebrated there a few times a year.
In Batesville, Indiana, the St. Mary’s of the Rock Preservation Society has been caring for St. Mary’s of the Rock Church since its closing in 2013. The parish is within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
“Those who wanted St. Mary’s to remain a church available for occasional masses stepped forward and took on the responsibility of caring for it and its grounds, at their own expense,” the group said.
This article originally appeared here.
