The Washington times., 1914-03-15
lonely Duties Performed Every
Day by Men Assigned to
Tasks by Superior-Heay-
SoIed Sandals Their Only
Footgear.
Institution Here the Only One
Of Its Kind in America-In-
terest in Holy Land Stimu-
lated in the Minds of
Visitors.

BroWn-robed monks and friars. trudg.
ing through the snow and the icy blast.
they go about their work in the
helds and vineyards. their feet bare
except for heavy-soled sandals. give
Mt St Sepulchre. overlooking Brook.
and. the appearance Of a medieval
viIlase.
Under the steadfast toll Of the Fran
c'scans. the once desolate aspect of the
wooded eminence which overlooks the
Nstholic University has passed away.
nd in its place a garden, then a vine
Eard, then an orchard appeared Briars
have given way to the onslaught of the
plow. and titled fields have sprung up
81 the wilderness.
The cornerstone of the Monastery
"'as lad Just sixteen years ago. Today
he Memorial Church there is the only
me Of its kind in the world. Its archi-
'ectural beauty, as well as its repre-
hentations of the shrines in the Holy
Land. in Palestine. leave in the mind
the visitor a lasting impression.
Many Make Pilgrimages.
In simple and solitary grandeur, the
monastery stands in complete seclu-
ZION. yet accessible from the Nat, ,on's
capital. A few years ago no visitor
|ould have considered It worth while
10 wend his way to this isolated spot.
Today hundreds OF visitors make pill
Erimages to the cloister, where the
monks and friars send forth an incense
Il continual prayer.
The dwellers of the monastery arise
nj O'Clock every morning. Following
the celebration Of mass and prayer the
community has breakfast. and then be-
Gins its daily routine of work. Some
of the priests go to the Catholic Uni
Versity and teach until noon
When the chimes in the tower sound
he Angelus at that hour, the friars in
the Held recite the office of the church
yrescribed for that hour and return for
lunch. Until O'Clock in the evening.
when the Angelus is sounded again.
the priests and brothers remain at their
tasks From o'clock until 8. when the
lights in the monastery are extin-
guished, the community enjoys recrea-
ton.
The church ceremonies. attended with
sacred choral services, are especially
impressive during the season of Lent
At Easter the ceremonies at Mt st.
Sepulchre are inspiring. and the
IRonastic spirit which permeates those
sacred precincts never fail to imbue the
soul Of the visitor with a holy unction
Has Double Purpose.
This unique structure at Brookland
has a two-fold purpose in America
The first regards the missions in the
Holy Land, which have been in the
care of the Franc scans ever since the
departure of the Crusaders from those
shores in the thirteenth century
The. second purpose Of the monastery
5 TO present to the visitor an exact
reproduction OF the spiritual shrines of
Palestine. Every Christian is inter-
ested in the scene of the SavioUr's life.
passion. and death. but not every one
can find the time or the means to visit
that far-On land Thus arose the idea
t9 transplant 20 the National Capital
replicas Of those hallowcd places.
in the community OF monks and friars
are cooks. bakers. tailOrs. shoemakers.
'arpenters. masons. blacksmiths.
plumbers. painters. printers. machinists,
druggists. and other artisans Every
one must be willing to perform any
work, even the humblest, at a com
mand of his superior. who assigns TO
him what is in accordance with his
special qualities and abilities. so that
in most cases the friars have ample
opportunity of continuing in the various
rafts which they have learned in the
outs; de world
The custody or province Of the Holv
Land is represented abroad bv thirty
seven commissariats, the object OF