Contemplative nuns in Cornwall

Briefing: some good news for a change. These nuns have the Traditional Mass and the traditional Office and Rule.

From CFNews: A new congregation of Franciscan sisters who follow a strict contemplative rule have taken over a historic former Carmelite convent at Lanherne in Cornwall and are worshipping according to the 1962 Latin Missal.

The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate and the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate are congregations approved by Rome who live lives of dynamic poverty.

Their convent is housed in a former manor house that once belonged to the Arundell family. It became home for Carmelite nuns for about 200 years -- the oldest Carmel in England. About seven years ago the nuns decided to leave Lanherne and move to St Helens, b ut were determined to find a contemplative community who would make sure that Lanherne continued as a place of spirituality and prayer. Divine Providence provided an answer : the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate took up residence.

There are twelve sisters at present, most of them in their thirties and forties. The rule is strict. The nuns have been using the 1962 Mass Rite on a daily basis since June 2008. The Conventual Mass is sung daily - the Masses are open to the faithful. They are currently awaiting the publication and delivery of new Traditional breviaries when the Office will be recited according to the Roman Seraphic Breviary (i.e. Franciscan Rite 1962).

Please send your donations to the Reverend Mother, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, Lanherne, Newquay, Cornwall TR8 4ER. Cheques should be made payable to the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate. All benefactors are prayed for daily and will be sent a copy of the brief history of Lanherne. Mass at Lanherne is offered daily at 8.00 am on all weekdays and at 10.00 am on Sundays and Holy Days. [Telegraph]