The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-04-29
SECRETS OF THE CLOIsTEs.
Dedication of the First WaIled-in
Convent in this Country.

Dedication of the First WaIled-in
Convent in this Country.
New York World.
The Monastery of St. Dominic, in
Newark, the home of the Contem-
plative Nuns of the Order of St.
Dominic, the only community Of
that order in America, has been
opened.
After the chapel was blessed,
the prioress threw open the doors of
the cloister and then the cloister
chapel was blessed. The prioress
and thirty nuns led the procession
in the chapel, where flowers and
lights were arranged about the stat
ues Of the Virgin and Child. The
Rev. Father O'Mahoney, Of the Or
der OF St. Dominic, confessor to the
nuns, assembled to the "Exposition
Niche" above the altar and pro
nounced che bcnediction.
On returning to One public chapel
from the cloister the Bishop blessed
the chapter bell and the convent
bell, which were presented to the
nuns by Mrs. Del Vale, of this city.
The godfather and godmother of
the convent bell were Joseph and
Mary Del Vale, two pretty chill
dren. The marble altar was
brilliant with roses and lilies. Six
polished brass lamps were suspend
ed from the ceiling. After the
bells were blessed the Bishop preach
ed a sermon and celebrated a Pom
tifcal low mass.
During the afternoon upwards of
1000 ladies inspected every room
in the building. The majority Of
the visitors were Protestant ladies.
They asked numerous questions Of
the nuns, though the latter did not
answer, but pointed to notices on
the walls requesting visitors not to
speak with the nuns except in the
community-room. The World re-
porter saw parties of from ten to
twenty, dressed in velvets and silks.
with diamonds sparkling in their
ears, at their Threats and on their
fingers, descend to the chilly cellar
and explore every damp apartment,
perhaps in the hope of finding some
place of torture. Their search was
fruitless, for they found only coal
vaults and damp store-rooms In
one place a number of empty claret-
wine bottles were found.
"Ohn'a portly lady in silk and
diamonds exclaimed. "They drink
wine!"
"WeIl they need something to
give them strength" remarked her
companion.
Scores of ladies thronged the
community-room, where the nuns
were making vestments and paint
ing pictures on silk, making lace
and weaving floral wreaths. In the
nuns cells the ladies were shocked
at seeing their beds of plain boards,
on each of which was a thin "tick"
with q very little straw in it, two
wooden blankets and one sheet and
this cover. Over the door of each
cell is the name of a saint, and on
5ne walls of the corridor the word
Silence" is painted at intervals.
In the next cloister, or piazza, an
iron door with the inscription ''Re-
quiescat in pace" attracted
much attention 1t was the door of
the sepulchre under the chapel. The
nuns are buried there. Hundreds
of ladies' descended to the damp
vaults to inspect them. On Tues
day the monastery viii be open to
the public for the last time.
Mother Mary Jc-us, the Prioress,
was born in this city. In "the
world" she was Miss Julia Crooks.
She is an aunt of Mrs. DR.. Joseph
Corrlgan, slster-In-law OF Arch
bishop Corrigon, and she is the sis
ter of Mrs. Eugene PIunkett, wife
of the New York banker. She Is
about 40 years old. At an early
age she became a member of the or
der In France, and four years ago,
by request of Archbishop Corrigan,
she introduced the order into the
United States. With three nuns
she has since lived in a small brick
house on Sussex avenue, Newark.
She has now sixteen pupils in her
community, which is the only branch
of the order IN America. She said
to the World reporter that the open
ing of the monastery to the public
for four days was a special act of
favor from the Pope, as no laymen
or women have been accorded that
privilege heretofore. 1t was done
to show those of other religions who
have been much exercised over the