The Convent of Carmelite nuns

The Monastery is located at 44, Via Guaccimanni, halfway between the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and the church of San Francesco, in an area packed with extraordinary monuments. The Ravenna community of the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance (or “Calced”, to distinguish them from the “Discalced Carmelites”) was founded in 1773 by initiative of Sister Marianna, a tertiary who wanted to live close to the Carmelite fathers and share their evangelical experience of prayer and community in the spirit of Mount Carmel. With the help of a few sisters, she established a boarding school where girls could share a powerful experience of spiritual growth through a long process of discernment leading towards cloistered monastic life. At first it was a “Bishop’s clausura”, approved by Pope Gregory XVI, who granted a petition by Cardinal Chiarissimo Falconieri, the Archbishop of Ravenna. Then, in 1840, it became a “papal clausura” with “solemn vows”, that is, with stricter rules and lifestyle. Pope Pius IX visited the convent in 1857, during his pastoral visit to Ravenna. This marked the transition from the previous system, where the girls were engaged in outreach activities, to a contemplative system which prioritised worship and monastery work. Ravenna-born Sister Anastasia, who entered the convent at the age of twenty, is now “mother superior”. But for these nuns, enclosure does not mean total detachment from the world. «To learn more about us—says Sister Anastasia—visit our YouTube channel, carmelitaneravenna: you will find videos on our lives, experience, worship and small cultural events.» In 2012, the Ravenna Festival scheduled an occasion for meditation and Gregorian chants in the Monastery’s small church.

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