Dawning Spirits
Dawning Spirits in Danvers, MA, signifies the thoughtful restoration and renovation of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns’ Monastery, Chapel, Grounds, and Cemetery.
A highlight of the project was the design and construction of a new memorial choir screen, lovingly dedicated to the sisters’ cherished foundress, Mother Francis. The innovative screen incorporates a transparent metal coil drape that enables a veiled connection during daily Mass. Additionally, an inner linen drape reestablishes the sanctuary's tranquility post-Mass.
In the Garden of Prayer, a bronze sculpture by Penelope Jencks depicts St. Joseph and Jesus on the Path of Mercy. This tranquil outdoor space also functions as a serene choir and cemetery, offering a peaceful place for the sisters to pray and reflect upon their dearly departed.
Characteristic features such as a bronze medallion with the Carmelite profession's beginning verse "Veni," strategically placed reflection walls, and the symbolic bronze daisies in the cemetery, infuse the landscape with layers of spiritual significance, creating a tranquil sanctuary of peace and remembrance.
Categories: Arts, Music, Education, and Culture | Workspace Incubator | Spiritual Retreats | Commemorative Spaces | Residential Retreats | Sustainable Design | Inclusive Architecture
Dawning Spirits, Danvers, MA The restoration and renovation of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns’ Monastery, Chapel, Grounds and Cemetery
Dawning Spirits Commemorative Choir Screen A spiritual mission to design and build a new memorial choir screen, commemorating the sisters’ beloved foundress, Mother Francis.
The original 1957 Choir Screen above before the new redesign and installation represented a fixed separation between “the world” and “the cloister.”
View from the choir toward the chapel showing the partially opened 1957 screen during Eucharistic Adoration.
The Prioress is closing the original 1957 screen following daily mass.
The new bronze screen and oak panels.
The new screen has a transparent metal coil drape that allows a veiled connection to the chapel during daily Mass.
The fully opened screen drapes provide an unobstructed view of the Altar during daily Mass.
A second inner, linen drapes are closed following daily Mass, recreating the tranquil privacy of the inner sanctum for prayer in the Choir.
Bronze screen detail.
Integrated into the bronze sculptural framework and flanking the side altar are two candleholders, reflecting the abstracted form of wheat.
The view towards the Altar from the Choir during Eucharistic Adoration.
As the peaceful sunsets through the newly renovated and redesigned Our Lady stained glass window in the sanctuary.
The renovated and redesigned Trinity stained glass window in the sanctuary’s choir loft.
Within the sacred landscape dwells the Garden of Prayer with St. Joseph and Jesus alongside the Path of Mercy. Bronze sculpture by Penelope Jencks.
Arriving at the garden of Prayer on the Path of Mercy
A bronze medallion placed within the first stepping stone adorned with the crown of daisy welcomes one with the beginning verse of the Carmelite profession “Veni,” “Come.”
This Garden of Prayer, outdoor choir and cemetery was created for the sisters to be with and pray with their beloved sisters, who have passed into eternal life.
The Path of Mercy, beckoning one to walk barefoot upon its giving rubber surface as it journeys through the Garden of Prayer.
Stone reflection walls, built at a height for seating comfort, provide a place of pause, visually connecting across the field to Calvary upon a sacred hill.
A reflective moment near the path on the tidal river’s edge.
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“Sincere appreciation and heartfelt gratitude for your truly inspired design for our Sanctuary and for your attentive concern for every detail involved in turning that vision into the exquisite reality that so wonderfully exceed all our highest hopes and expectations.”
– The Carmelite Nuns of Danvers