The monastery has grown with the years. In 1936 work was begun on the
two-storied brick wing built according to the monastic plan, complet
e
with arched cloisters, to provide for the developing community. The
first New Zealand postulant, Letitia McClintock (Sister Marguerite of
the Sacred Heart), had entered in 1934, to be followed by Mary
Fitzgerald (Sister Mary of the Cross), in 1936.
Although vocations to the contemplative life are not as a rule
numerous, one by one the cells were filled so that in 1950 a single
brick wing was added to provide for the growing novitiate. The increase
in numbers during this decade enabled the sisters to consider the
possibility of making a foundation. At the invitation of Bishop Pearce
of Western Samoa seven sisters with Mother Anne of Jesus as Prioress
left Christchurch in 1959 to found a Carmel in Apia. This monastery, in
its turn has been blessed with vocations, not only from Samoa itself
but from Tonga and Wallis Island as well. In 2003, Samoa Carmel in its
turn made a foundation on Wallis Island. The sisters of Christchurch
regard it as a singular privilege to have been able to contribute by
their Samoan foundation to the development of the Church in the South
Pacific.
Over the years, the monastery with its tall belfry ringing out the hours of prayer during the day has become something of a landmark, and the pervading atmosphere of peace, inseparable from the contemplative life seems to reach beyond the high enclosure wall. Even passers-by on the busy highway running alongside the wall refer to the Carmel, set within its circle of trees, as “an oasis of peace” in a hectic world.
Meanwhile, the Carmelite nuns in their hidden life of prayer and immolation for the glory of God will continue to intercede for the pressing needs of the Church and the many people who come today, as they have all through the years, to ask for the support of their prayers.