A former Catholic monastery that has been a Camden landmark since the early 1900s is being demolished to make way for parking lots for a nearby hospital.
The historic stone structure, known as the Dominican Monastery of the Holy Rosary, was a home for nuns before it closed in December 2013 after a farewell Mass. The cloistered sisters were once known for taking turns praying the rosary 24 hours a day, seven days a week behind the monastery walls.
The structure will be demolished to make room for a new parking lot and other renovations at nearby Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, a spokesperson said. The renovations will include new private patient rooms.
Virtua, the owner of the former monastery, started clearing the site this spring, removing what remains on the lot.
“These structures, including a former monastery, have been uninhabited since 2014 and present extensive health and safety concerns,” Daniel Moise, a spokesperson for Virtua Health, said in a statement.
The buildings are being demolished because they are beyond salvageable, deemed unsafe and are in a state of “severe disrepair,” Moise said.
Numerous items, including the monastery’s stained glass windows, have been saved and donated to the Diocese of Camden, which serves the Catholic community in South Jersey.
Virtua will also be preserving some of the stone from the property to incorporate it into the hospital’s renovations, officials said.
The Dominican Monastery of the Holy Rosary shuttered in 2013 after 113 years of service, the Diocese of Camden reported that year.
At one time, the monastery housed 30 nuns. However, as numbers decreased, it eventually closed its doors. The final three sisters who were living there relocated to a similar monastery in New York, according to the Diocese of Camden.
“While the sisters living at the monastery had little contact with the outside world and rarely left the grounds, the chapel was open to anyone who wanted to attend Mass there,” the Diocese of Camden reported.
In April, Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital hosted a ceremony to honor the legacy of the site and announce its future renovations.
Neighbors living near the property and hospital have received regular updates about the construction work, according to officials.
A spokesperson for Virtua Health did not provide a timeline for when the monastery’s demolition will be completed.
Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital intends to honor its Catholic legacy by keeping the Our Lady statue atop the hospital, both during and after renovations, a spokesperson said.
The hospital’s chapel will also continue to be a place for “prayer, gathering and reflection,” Moise said.
“As we map out our future, we also intend to honor our legacy — most notably the statue of Our Lady that serves as a beacon for Camden residents and the wider region,” Moise said.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
Nyah Marshall may be reached at Nmarshall@njadvancemedia.com.
