Holy Family Wing Construction Photos

March 7, 2023 - The excavation has begun!

The plans are ready …

Orange spray-paint marking where the wall footers will be dug

Looking into what will be the alley between the current monastery and the new wing

Checking the footer trenches

March 9th, 2023 — Aspirant Emma and Postulants Holly and Hannah are thrilled to see the first concrete trucks arriving already!

A great view of how the Holy Family Wing connects to the main monastery building. (Can you see the tiny nuns waving?)

Pouring concrete — that metal rebar in the bottom of the trench will reinforce the footers

Smoothing newly-poured concrete

More rebar is inserted into the wet concrete where the walls will go

Sr. Mary Veronica is famous for her love of rocks … she really “struck gold” this time!!

So many to choose from …

Forms are set up and ready to pour the next layer of the wall footers

Sr. Frances Marie dropping blessed medals into the footers before concrete is poured — we want our new wing to have a “firm foundation”!

Postulant Holly joins in the fun

All of these Sisters saw the building of our current monastery — now they get to witness its expansion!

The ground inside the wall footers is leveled

More rocks!!

Late May 2023 — The footers for the pillars and portico around the Holy Family Wing have been dug and poured

Pouring the second layer of concrete for the portico footers

July 2023 - Mother John Mary and Sr. Frances Marie are eager to check out the latest work!

Have you ever seen a bunch of nuns so excited about plumbing being installed??

July 27th, 2023 — A two-story concrete pump arrived bright and early (5:30 AM!) to pour the concrete pad for the Holy Family Wing!

Making sure the wet concrete goes right where it’s supposed to be …

Smoothing the surface

Exploring the new floor of the Holy Family Wing

Our contractor told us we could “dance” on our new floor by evening … so we took him up on the suggestion!

The construction site is now more accessible to our less-mobile Sisters — and they’re eager to check out the progress!

Sisters Bethany Marie and Mary Therese enjoying a moment together at the future site of our new recreation room

The automatic doors in the loggia are being installed now — these will allow easier access for our handicapped Sisters

September 1, 2023 - The steel beams are being installed for the Holy Family Wing! These will support the roof extending over the cloister walkways.

Welding two sections of steel

A group shot with the partially-completed steel work

A tricky drive for the roof truss delivery truck!

Those trusses will soon make up the roof of the Holy Family Wing …

September 11, 2023 - Time for M Kemp Construction to begin framing the Holy Family Wing!

The first wall to be raised

The cloister walkways offer a great view of the framing in progress

It’s starting to look like an actual building!

Interior view before installation of roof trusses

September 18, 2023 - They’re raising the roof!

Making sure those trusses are in just the right place

A group of eager nuns watching the progress. (In the foreground is Rick Bivins, our general contractor)

Interior view after installation of the roof trusses

Plywood roof decking has been applied - now it’s time to cover it with a protective temporary underlayment

Working on the interior walls

Sr. Miriam Esther walking through walls … just a little practice for the final resurrection!

Part of the cloister walk that surrounds most of the Holy Family Wing. The concrete blocks without pillars will become the pergola.

October 2023 - The electricians have been hard at work!

And so have the plumber and the HV/AC crew!

Arched ceiling of the doorway leading into the Chapter Room

Mother John Mary has posted the architect’s renderings of different rooms so that we can see what they’ll look like when finished!

View of the vaulted ceiling in the Chapter Room

This little niche in the Chapter Room wall will be used to house some of our Passionist Saint relics

Looking from the foyer into the new recreation room

Looking out from the recreation room onto the portico

A group of Sisters armed themselves with Sharpie markers and wrote Scripture quotes, Saints’ names, and other inspirational phrases on the wall studs!

A quote from the Psalms, cleverly placed inside what will be a storage closet …

Brick wainscoting in the Chapter Room — this imitates the interior design of our monastery chapel, to indicate the connection between the two spaces

The roof is green! This permanent underlayment will remain in place until early 2024, when the clay roof tiles should arrive.

December 2023 - The brick work is really coming along! This view is from the back of the Holy Family Wing.

Front view of brick work in progress

Sr. Frances Marie and Postulant Holly check out the progress

The arches all around the Holy Family Wing went up in no time, thanks to our expert bricklayers from Boarman Bros Masonry

View of the portico (covered porch) with completed arches

Late December 2023 - The windows have been installed

Early January 2024 - The arches are complete all around the new wing!

February 14th, 2024 (Ash Wednesday) - The Chapter Nuns met with Donna Baldacci, our stained glass artist, to discuss designs for our Chapter Room windows! Donna is pictured here with some of the Chapter members.

February 15th, 2024 - It’s time to put in a much-needed additional sidewalk in the courtyard. We’re hoping and praying that our Bradford pear tree (left) survives having some of its roots chopped out by excavators!!

Pouring and smoothing the sidewalk a few days later

Contractors have been digging and laying pipe all around the Holy Family Wing for the roof drainage system. You can see the tips of some blue pipes sticking out of the ground in front of some pillars.

(Also, a good view of the completed arches!)

March 2024 - Getting ready to pour concrete around the Holy Family Wing

This little concrete carrier comes in very handy when the big concrete truck can’t make the muddy trek to the pour site!

Smoothing the newly-poured portico (covered porch) floor

Completed concrete work — the “hole” you see is where one of the brick flower planters will be constructed!

March 4, 2024 - The Chapter meets again with our stained glass artist, Donna. Here she is helping us see how different glass colors look in the light.

April 2024 - Painting the arches on the Holy Family Wing

Blowing in insulation (seen here in the Chapter Room)

Work on the vaulted ceiling in the Chapter Room

April 3rd, 2024 - They’ve begun hanging drywall in the Holy Family Wing!

What a difference a few days can make!

Our friends from Boarman Bros Masonry, assembling the flower planters outside the Holy Family Wing

Now there’s a fun job … the drywall “mudding” crew gets to use stilts!

Laying more pipe for the roof drainage system

A community photo in the partially-complete Chapter Room. Behind us is a cardboard model of the special Crucifix that will be placed in this sacred meeting space. It depicts Jesus Crucified reaching down from the Cross and bestowing His Spirit in the form of a dove.

One of our subcontractors preparing to lay tile

Another subcontractor installing our sturdy Amish-made cabinetry in the recreation room

A view inside the new exercise room.

Sr. Cecilia Maria explains to the novices how she and some other Sisters designed these storeroom cabinets specially for our needs.

A view of the foyer/museum area with the tile flooring installed

Sr. Frances Marie inspects the cabinets in the hospitality nook

Sisters checking out the progress in the recreation room

A lovely view of the portico (covered porch attached to the Holy Family Wing)

Sisters Isabel Maria and Frances Marie couldn't resist taking a peek at the roof tile work for themselves!

July 2024 - The wood beams and the special light fixtures have been installed in the Chapter Room

The niche in the Chapter Room where our special reliquaries will be placed

Preparing to install the last bit of flooring in the foyer/sitting area

Installing Kinetex flooring in the community room

Mother John Mary beautifying the Holy Family Wing flower planters

Several Sisters had a great idea - to inscribe the names of all our current community members in the concrete around the Holy Family Wing!

August 2024 - We have come so far ...!

August 2024 - The completed loggia

The foyer area (still a little messy as we finish moving in!)

Sitting area

Panorama of the completed Chapter Room (before chairs were moved in). Isn't it beautiful??

Close-up of our unique Chapter Room crucifix

Reliquary niche

The first of our six stained glass windows by Donna Baldacci! This window depicts the foundation of the Passionist Congregation during St. Paul of the Cross' 40-day retreat in 1720.

The hospitality nook

One view of the exercise room

Another view of the exercise room - well-stocked, thanks to a generous benefactor!

Entering the community room. This little shelf seemed as if it were made just for our Infant of Prague!

Community room

For years this grandmother clock has been out of commission - but we have now had it serviced and moved to the Holy Family Wing, where it can once again fulfill its time-keeping purpose!

Another view of the community room

Commemorative plaque and time capsule, closed during the blessing ceremony on August 3rd, 2024.

DEO GRATIAS!