All donations – large and small – are received with deep gratitude!

We aim to build a monastery consistent with the simplicity and poverty of Carmel, ancient tradition, timeless beauty and sacredness. It will be designed in accordance with the rule of the Carmelite order, true to Saint Teresa of Avila’s vision and for the glory of God.

Our monastery was the first to be officially founded in Sweden after the Reformation. Sisters came here from Belgium in 1956 and the monastery was built in contemporary style. Today Sweden is often described as the most secularised country in the world – the spiritual heart of the Carmelites is needed here. 

After prayerful reflection, we concluded our monastery no longer serves our needs because:

• The building requires further repair,
• Hazardous material must be removed to make the building safe.
• We need a large and better equipped infirmary for our aging sisters.
• The chapel is too small for all worshippers, particularly on feast days.
• Nearby traffic and urban growth disturb our silence. 

We will remain in the southwest of Sweden and are looking for the right plot of land. You can read about the project and our contemplative, cloistered life by following the various links in the menu above. At the very end of this page you’ll find contact details if you have any questions.

All gifts are welcome and received with gratitude. We pray for our benefactors. May God reward your goodness to us.

In Christo

The Carmelite Nuns in Sweden

Donations

Your Contributions and Involvement

We will do our best to share our progress on our website and keep you informed of our endeavours – sharing updates, pictures and films. Please help us share this information with as many as possible so our appeal can reach far and wide to encourage donations – large and small – we are grateful for all.

We will be transparent on fundraising, overall expenditures and keep you posted on our challenges as well as our good success.

Catholic tradition holds that all who contribute to the build of a chapel, whether with treasure, material or labour, share in the graces that flow from every mass celebrated there in perpetuity. This is not a transactional matter but a remarkable and beautiful belief uniting the mystical body of Christ through time and space.

We are forever grateful to all who help bring our new monastery into being and keep you in our prayers! May God reward you for your goodness.

Returning to Sweden in 1956

A group of Carmelite nuns came from Belgium to the countryside in the region of Skåne, situated in southwest Sweden. They first lived in a house and in 1963 the current monastery with its chapel was completed. This was the first Carmelite monastery in Sweden since the Reformation. Catholicism had been outlawed, public Catholic worship prohibited and priests driven into exile. Today Sweden is often described as the most secularised country in the world. The spiritual heart of the Carmelites is much needed here.

The Carmelites’ arrival evoked quite a bit of curiosity and Swedish state television, SVT, made a documentary of the new arrivals. The film is in Swedish without subtitles, but if you want to see these pioneering nuns visit this YouTube link.

Today’s Swedish Carmelite Nuns

We are 13 sisters in total, of whom 9 have professed their Solemn vows, 3 in temporary vows, 1 novice and 2 aspirants, still outside the enclosure. Our Carmelite friars also live here in Skåne and between them and visiting priests, mass is celebrated daily and there are weekly celebrations of the traditional mass.

A short film in English was recorded in 2021 when we raised money to mend our roof. The film gives an insight into our cloistered life and we link to it here. A movie was made following our prioress, before entering the order. It was released in 2007 and a follow-up was just released in 2025. The trailer with English captions can be viewed here. The full length film “The Nun – 25 Years in a Convent” can be viewed in 2 parts from the 22 of March and onwards. The film is in Swedish. See Part 1 or Part 2. Reach out to TriArt Film if you are interested in screening it.

A visiting priest holds annual retreats for young Swedish women wanting to know more about vocations and the contemplative life of a Carmelite. We receive requests from women around the world to join our monastery.

We live a simple life in Carmel and work for our upkeep. Fruit and vegetables from our large garden sustains us almost all year. We paint icons, sew liturgical vestments and scapulars. Together with our Carmelite Friars we run a publishing house and issue a spiritual magazine. You can find out more about our crafts and books in the menu at the top of the page. We are grateful to all who purchase our creations. This along with some sisters’ pensions and generous donations allow us to make ends meet.

In addition to our practical work we have three large notice boards full of notes and pictures from people asking for intercession. A Carmelite life is full of prayer.

The current monastery is purpose-built and has served us well over the years. However, as our community is established and some of us are older, we need a better equipped and larger infirmary. The chapel is too small to accommodate all worshippers, particularly on feast days and occasions. The building is aging and renovations are still outstanding. In addition, there is a need for sanitation of building materials hazardous to health.

The village has grown and the monastery is just on the outskirts of Rydebäck, where the suburban housing has extended towards the convent. The railroad and motorway are close by, as well as an airfield and the increased traffic load disturbs the tranquillity.

Due to the substantial cost and urban surroundings, we have concluded that the best way forward is to relocate. We want to remain in the same region in the southwest of Sweden where we are now, but find a place of stillness. We rejoice at the possibility of building a new monastery of timeless and simple beauty for the glory of God.

A Life in Carmel

The vocation of discalced Carmelite nuns is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Through it they are called to a hidden union with God in friendship with Christ, in intimacy with the Blessed Virgin Mary, in a life where prayer and self-denial are united with a great love for the Church.

Every day in the Holy Mass, the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is made sacramentally present. The Mass is therefore the center and height of a Carmelite nun’s life. The prayers of the Hours, said seven times each day, revolve around the Mass celebrated in the morning.

The Carmelite Order is consecrated to the Virgin Mary, as the Carmelite nun sees Mary as her Mother, Queen and Sister. As a Carmelite nun, one wants to live the life of the Virgin Mary; imitating Her response at the Annunciation, placing Her whole life at God’s disposal without reservation. She wants to imitate Her during the thirty years She lived in obscurity, close to Jesus and Joseph in Nazareth. She wants to imitate Her when She followed Jesus all the way to the foot of the Cross and the tomb. The Carmelite nun wants to stand there with Her; to remain in faith and to participate with Jesus in His work of salvation.

The call to Carmel is a call to a life of constant prayer. Prayer is the vocation of the Carmelite nun. That is how she becomes the love in the heart of the Church. Without prayer, Carmel is nothing. The Carmelite nun wants to live in this friendship with Jesus Christ every moment of the day, all her life. Union with Jesus in prayer bears fruit for others. Jesus often withdrew from the crowds to pray in solitude; He lived a hidden life in Nazareth for thirty years – almost His entire life on earth – the Carmelite nun wants to follow Him in this.

With her reform, Saint Teresa wanted Carmel to assist the Church in her great needs. The nuns were to pray, sacrifice and do penance for the priests and all who proclaim the Gospel. She wanted to save souls. As a means, she implemented a strictly cloistered life. The high and thick wall, grille and all the external things that limit the nuns’ contact with the outside world are external signs and important means leading to the goal: union with God.

The call to Carmel is a call to a life of seclusion and we remain cloistered for the rest of our life. Silence makes it possible to hear the gentle and tender voice of God who always wants to speak to our heart.

A New Monastery – What we Hope to Build

We want to adhere to the ancient principles of our Carmelite order and the vision of Saint Teresa of Avila by building in accordance with our tradition. We seek to build a monastery with simple timeless beauty and sacredness. We also want purpose-built functionality in a genuinely sustainable manner to provide durability over time and facilitate our self-reliance. We aim to achieve resilience in times of difficulty, with woodstoves, good insulation, preferably a water source, large garden and fields to grow fruit, vegetables.

The monastery will consist of a chapel with a chancel, room for worship, necessary communal areas, such as a refectory, library, recreation room along with service rooms such as kitchen, laundry and showers. We also require a well-equipped infirmary for our aging sisters, visiting rooms and a house for visiting priests and family. Our rules limit us to 21 sisters to allow us to live as one large family. We want our new monastery to be able to accommodate a full house so we aim to build 21 cells and sufficient individual workrooms. Each Sister has her own cell of circa 9 square metres. The workrooms need to be separate to facilitate working in silence.

We estimate the monastery building area to around 1 300 square metres, including the chapel, visiting areas and a building for priests and family. The land should be 7 acres at least.

Options We Explore

As the monastery will be simple in comparison to modern buildings with less appliances, wet rooms and of a modest execution, some costs can be kept down. However there will be cost-increasing factors compared to a standard new build, such as woodstoves, a handmade finish, using sustainable material and stone flooring. When weighing cost-reducing and increasing factors, our advisor calculates they will cancel each other out. Therefore the cost of the project can be estimated applying the current Swedish new build standard cost of EUR 3,2 K per square meter.

Building a complete new monastery would require an initial investment in undeveloped land where the upfront cost would be modest and finding land for sale is a more straightforward process. Securing planning permission, connections to mains and building everything new is more expensive overall but would allow our vision of the monastery to be completed without compromise – subject to receiving necessary local administrative permissions.

Another viable option is to find land with a small existing house to be used for visitors and the advantage of connections and fees being paid, reducing costs slightly, although the monastery and chapel will be built new. Such a location would be easier to find and the upfront cost would likely be manageable.

If instead we are able to find a piece of land with existing buildings that can be used as part of the new monastery and chapel, this would be preferred as it would reduce the cost of the actual build as well as advantage of connections to mains and fees thereto being paid. In a best-case scenario we envisage finding a property with an old stone building or a so-called ‘Skånelänga’ (the traditional way of building crossbeam houses in the area, formed in a u-shape) to give a real authentic traditional feel. This would be the most affordable option but requires the biggest upfront investment and is likely outside of our means at this early stage.

In summary there are three options:

1. Entire new build of Monastery and adjacent buildings on undeveloped land.
2. New monastery built on land with a small existing house connected to mains.
3. Combination of new build and repurposing of existing traditional buildings.

Financial Implications – Estimated Costs

We do not want to rely on loans and go into debt. The transition must be done with as little upheaval as possible and we are conscious of the risk of delays and knots needing to be undone along the way, so we adopt a realistic approach. We will not divest our existing property until the new monastery is sufficiently far into the building process to safely conclude we can move in. The proceeds of the sale of our current monastery are preliminary estimated at EUR 1 million. The intention is to use this final amount to enhance the chapel, finish visitor areas and outer buildings – projects with less impact on our daily lives.

A very rough estimation of costs for the different options, including purchase of land;

1. New build of monastery and all adjacent buildings – estimation EUR 5 M.
2. New build of monastery, existing house/connections in place – estimation EUR 4,5 M.
3. Repurposing of old building to monastery and/or chapel combined with partial new build – estimation between EUR 3,5 – 4,5 M.

We have sufficient funds to purchase (1) undeveloped land and possibly even enough to purchase option (2) with an existing house. Option (3) with substantial existing buildings to be re-purposed, if such an opportunity arises, is outside of our current means. We believe option three to be most cost efficient in the long run so if we come across the right place – we hope to have raised enough additional funds to enable us to proceed. We will provide updates of the estimations dependent on the piece of land we acquire.

How We Envisage Our Journey Unfolding

We are at the beginning of our journey which will take several years to complete. Thanks to our generous donors we are off to a good start – Deo gratias. We will take one step at the time, treading carefully. The more successful the fundraising, the better pace we can keep and the more cost-efficient the project will be. Whatever happens we put our trust in God’s providence and will be patient and persevere. With broad brush strokes, this is how we see our project unfolding;

Phase 1

• Find suitable land, whether developed or undeveloped.
• Donations received hitherto from generous benefactors allow us proceed with option 1 and maybe 2, but probably not 3.
• Reach as many people as possible with information about our project to encourage donations. We are so grateful to you for taking the time to read this appeal and help spread the word.
• Negotiate and purchase the right real estate and gain title thereof.

Phase 2

• Present a blue print and design for our new monastery – adapted to the land and possible existing structures, in line with the vision shared above.
• At this stage we look forward to sharing our vision, taking form in drawings and visualisations, with you.
• Seek planning permission. We also need permission to bring our dearly departed sisters with us and establish new burial grounds, adding a bureaucratic challenge, but we rely on good people to accommodate us.

Phase 3

• Hire contractors.
• Build the monastery and/or repurpose any existing buildings as well as building a wall to enclose the grounds.
• Progress of the project will depend on funds collected and we hope to raise enough to be able to proceed at a good pace for cost efficiency.
• Divesting our existing property (to be initiated when completion of the new monastery build is securely within reach).

Phase 4

• Welcoming you all to visit the new monastery before its consecration.
• Bid our existing monastery farewell and de-consecrate the grounds.
• Relocating all sisters.
• Consecration of new monastery, thanksgiving and celebrations.
• Finalising any outstanding projects, such as completing adjacent buildings and making ourselves at home.

His Eminence the Cardinal’s Endorsement

Our project has received the endorsement of our Carmelite Brother, his eminence Cardinal Anders Aborelius (OCD), Bishop of the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, Sweden. We are eternally grateful for his eminence’s support. The Cardinal’s letter of approval can be read here. In Laudem Gloriae – To God, praise and glory.

Carmelite Stories of Vocations

This is how some of our Carmelite nuns answer the question about;

1.  her monastic vocation, 

and,

2.  why she chose Carmel.

Testimonies from some of our nuns:

1. “First of all, by being open to the alternative. I sought what God wanted for my life – what He intended for me because that is the only thing that would make me and Him happy – to follow what I was meant to do – to serve Him in the way He intended and created me for. Then by becoming clear about what I most deeply longed for and wanted. What do you want? My father asked me and by following this and daring to try it, I came to the certainty that this was my calling. By being accepted by the monastery and fulfilling the requirements for living a monastic life, I can trust that this is also God’s will, not just mine.”
2. “Here you focus on the essentials. I wanted to get to know God as much as possible and Carmel focuses on union with God, living in prayer and becoming prayer, and I realized that prayer is the means by which we can best help our brothers and sisters in the world.”

And going up into a mountain, he called unto him whom he would himself: and they came to him. (Mark 3:13)

1. “At the age of 14 or 15, a longing to live a life completely and undividedly for God arose and this longing grew. It was awakened by the example of other people: my deeply religious family, nuns I came into contact with and not least by reading little Thérèse’s autobiography. Her burning love for Jesus ignited a strong longing in me to love like her. I asked to come for a week to a contemplative monastery I knew, it was the summer after ninth grade. After that week, I was absolutely determined that I wanted to enter into a monastery. The devotion of the sisters made a very strong impression on me!”
2. “Still, Carmel it was. Carmel’s radicalism and undivided focus on prayer strongly attracted me. I am fascinated by the total and absolute, to give myself undividedly to God and I found this in Carmel. I also wanted to live a life of prayer and sacrifice for others.”

Let us, my daughters, in some small degree, imitate the great humility of the most sacred Virgin, whose habit we wear… (Teresa of Avila)

1. “As a 15-year-old Protestant, I came into contact with the Catholic Church. Immediately something deep within me was seized. It was as if the depth of God called my innermost depth to life and I felt that only in God could all my needs and longings be satisfied. I became a Catholic. Jesus constantly drew me closer to Him. He was the Treasure for Whom I could sell everything. Like Paul, I counted everything else as nothing in order to gain Jesus and be in Him.”
2. “By chance, little Thérèse’s autobiography came into my hand and I immediately understood: Carmel is where I must live! In this deep hiddenness that is being hidden with Christ in the Father, I found my resting place. Everything here is ordered so that we can be completely open to receive Jesus and give ourselves completely to Him. He in me and I in Him. We are all created for this. As I was afraid I might be selfish in trying to live this way, it became clear to me that nothing helps the world more than someone opening themselves completely to God. Then we become a channel through which God’s life, God’s love flows into the world and renews the face of the earth… I have now been in Carmel for 40 years. There have been difficult times, but even then I was deeply happy – like a fish in water. And now I experience that life here is constantly becoming more beautiful, richer and more meaningful. “

Always remember that you have not come here (to Carmel) for any other reason than to become holy, and therefore let nothing prevail in your soul that does not lead to holiness. (John of the Cross)

1. “Often when I talked to a friend, I used to say: “If God really exists – then you have to live completely for Him.” Finally he said: “But if you really think so, then you have to become one (a nun)!” And I was filled with such joy and happiness that evening.”
2. “I surfed the diocese’s website and read their overview of the different orders in Sweden. Carmel was the only order that was completely secluded – it felt the most radical, total and besides, I thought that I was not suited for anything other than prayer. I wanted to give myself completely to God and thought that Carmel’s way of life corresponded perfectly to this desire. I also read a little of Little Thérèse and John of the Cross.”

To be a bride, the bride of Carmel, is to have the burning heart of Elijah, the pierced heart of Teresa, she who was his true bride, because she was zealous for his glory. (Elizabeth of the Trinity)

1. “At first it was just a question: Maybe I should…? But then a longing grew, which turned into a deep, inner certainty, a conviction: God is calling me! I must live for Him! I just knew it. Knew that I couldn’t be happy any other way. It’s hard to explain…”
2. “It was probably the radicalism that attracted me, the exclusive focus on prayer, i.e. on God himself. I wanted two things with my life: 1. Live completely for God. 2. Do something with my life that could be of use to others. Then it became Carmel for me.”

We can make our heart a prayer room, where we often retreat to spend time with him in a tender, humble and loving way. (Brother Lorens of the Resurrection)

1. “I didn’t know if I had a calling, but I wanted to live a life completely for God and in prayer. I wanted to find out if it was God’s will for my life.”
2. “Because Carmel places great importance on interior, silent prayer, has union with God as its goal, and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.”

But when it pleased him, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me… (Gal 1:15-16)

Selection of Video Links 

• The Carmelites’ early years in Glumslöv YouTube link (in Swedish, but you can autogenerate English subtitles in the settings.)
• Short video of our cloistered life from 2021, YouTube link (English)
• Short trailer to long film released 2025, Trailer link. (English captions)
• Long film “The Nun – 25 Years in a Convent” will be streamed in two parts by Swedish State Television from the 22 of March and onwards. The film is in Swedish. See Part 1 or Part 2.

Contact

If you have any questions about the fundraising or the project, do not hesitate to reach out to our fundraising coordinator at karmelitnunnorna@gmail.com. They are glad to hear from you and  will  do their best to respond as soon as possible.