Worshippers gathered at St. Dominic’s Priory in Carisbrooke earlier this week for the annual mass service.
This former Dominican Priory was founded in 1866 by Elizabeth, Countess of Clare and was the first (Post Reformation) religious institution to be established on the Island.
It was also the first in England to receive a royal visit, when Queen Victoria came to visit, from nearby Osborne House, in January, 1869. In ecumenical terms, this was a most significant event.
The priory prospered for a hundred years, but with the decline in religious vocations, its closure (1989) was inevitable, as just four elderly nuns remained. Fortunately, it remains a religious house as a Christian Healing and Prayer Centre. Isle of Wight Catholics return each year to remember the deceased nuns.
In his sermon at the Mass, Fr. Jonathan Redvers Harris referred to the four Dominican pillars: “community life, common prayer, study, and service”.
After the Mass people gathered at nuns’ cemetery at the end of the garden, where prayers were led by Fr. Stephen Vooght, while Fr. Nishan Edward blessed the nuns’ graves.
Before the final blessing a poem entitled “The graves of Carisbrooke” was read by Edmund Matyjaszek (IoW poet and playwright).
