November 7, 2009

Retreat center will close when property sells

 

LINDA REEVES | PALM BEACH BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 09.28.07

LANTANA | The phones are ringing off the hook and the doorbell doesn’t stop buzzing at the Cenacle Spiritual Life Center — generally a very quiet place.

The callers are not booking retreats or programs or making appointments for spiritual direction, but expressing concerns that the Cenacle religious order cannot afford to keep the center open.

"There are no words to describe the sadness," said receptionist Jeri VonTaube, associated with the Cenacle as a volunteer and retreat participant for the past 13 years and now on staff dealing with all the commotion.

"You are changed the minute you enter this space," she said about the center, situated on more than 10 sprawling acres on the Intracoastal Waterway in Lantana. "It changed my life the first time I came here. All the outside falls away. It is a gem here."

After nearly 50 years of serving Catholics and people of other faiths by providing a space for quiet time from the hectic world and a place to meditate, reflect and pray, the Cenacle is closing its doors.

The Cenacle Sisters came here in 1959 to begin ministering, first out of a small location in Manalapan and then out of the Cenacle, which their province built. However, the sisters say they are not done yet. They point out that their ministry of nurturing spiritual growth and development in the diocese will not end.

"We will just have to wait and see," said facility coordinator Sister Mary Sharon Riley, of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Cenacle, who came to Florida a year ago to join five other sisters of her community. "It simply isn’t possible any longer to stay on this property, but we surely hope and expect that we will stay to continue as Cenacles in south Florida, to continue our mission and our life."

"It won’t be on these 10 acres, but in God’s plans — please God — it will be somewhere in the area. We will continue to work in the awakening and deepening of faith through the tools given to us," she said. "Perhaps we will be free when we don’t have this big institution — to do more going out, to give programs or hold retreats or even spiritual direction off site. I have every reason to think that spiritual direction will continue."

Activities at the Cenacle will continue until the property is sold, according to the coordinator.

Weekend retreats began this month for the new season running through May 2008. A list of events has been published and mailed to regular patrons, and reservations are being taken.

"We grieve," said Ann Frearson, a parishioner of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens and math teacher at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, who has attended programs at the Cenacle for the past 11 years.

"The Cenacle is a house of prayer. We are losing something special. We are not angry — it is grief."

The declining number (now 130) of aging Cenacle nuns, rising living costs, and operational and maintenance expenses for the sprawling complex and grounds are reasons for the province’s decision to close the Lantana center.

"The offerings asked for retreats, programs and services cover only about half of our expenses," Sister Riley noted about the nonprofit center. The religious order also supports the Florida nuns and their ministry work.

"Tom and I have a long history with the Cenacle. Sister Agnes Forman, a Cenacle sister, was our spiritual director before we were married 25 yeas ago," said Jo-Anne Allison, a parishioner of St. Thomas More Parish in Boynton Beach and a director and volunteer for Achieve Inspire Motivate program of Handicapped Meet Christ since 1981. "AIM started (its) retreats there," she said about the spiritual program for adults living with physical disabilities. "I was able to take away a lot to bring to the AIM retreats."

The real estate firm Grubb & Ellis out of Miami is handling the sale of the property. "The property is appraised at $20 million," said agent Grant Salvage.

To some, the land with its public labyrinth, benches overlooking the water, statues of the Blessed Mother here and there, chapel, orange flowering hibiscus and purple blooming bougainvilleas is priceless.

"There is no money value to put on this peaceful place," said a teary-eyed Phyllis Redman, a parishioner of Holy Spirit in Lantana, who lives next door to the center and works there.

"It has been such a place of healing for me. Once the doors are closed, I can’t bear to see what will happen to it. Since I have found this place three years ago, I have been so happy."

Jim Berry of St. Mark Parish, a convert from a Protestant denomination, found the Cenacle for the first time about nine years ago. He was a brand new Catholic.

"I went there for some spiritual advice from one of the nuns," he said. "She was great and very wise. The place brings back good memories as I drive by it from time to time. What will replace it?"

Sister Riley is hopeful about the future of the Cenacle ministry in the Diocese of Palm Beach.

"The support and the appreciation we get is very heartening," she said. "The bishop (Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito) could not have been more generous in his remarks. He was kind enough to say he regrets we will no longer be in this place, and he is happy to hear we will remain serving this church and this local area. He was very generous in his compliment.”

Father Brian King, episcopal secretary for the Diocese of Palm Beach, also commented on the Cenacle nuns.

"I’m sure that the sisters of the Cenacle made their decision after a lot of prayer and soul-searching," he told the Florida Catholic. "My only comment is to say thanks for the incredible contributions that they have made to spiritual growth and awareness in south Florida over the years, and God’s blessings to wherever the sisters will be reassigned."

Sister Riley says the future is in God’s hands.

"We will be a Cenacle presence; where, we don’t know yet. There is a lot that must be lived until we know the concrete shape, form and place. We don’t know what a year and a half will bring."

Click on to the "Good For You" icon on the front page for more information on Cenacle retreats and programs.

Return to Diocese of Palm Beach Front Page

Advertisement

Advertisement