Shannonbridge, Ireland, September 18, 2020
Photo: basilica.ro
In August of last year, the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Southern and Western Europe published an appeal for funds and prayers towards purchasing property in Shannonbridge, Ireland, just a few miles away from where St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise had labored in asceticism in the 6th century.
In September, Jonathan Jackson, an Emmy Award-winning actor and musician and convert to holy Orthodoxy, made an appeal on behalf of the monastery, which he referred to as a “little emerald”:
The faithful responded and the Metropolis was able to sign the purchase agreement on December 12. The monastery is dedicated to the Life-Giving Spring of the Mother of God, celebrated annually on Bright Friday, and will have a secondary feast in honor of the Prophet Daniel, as the small initial group of nuns took over the property on his feast day, December 17.
So touched by the monastic community in Shannonbridge, Jonathan Jackson recently moved to Ireland to continue supporting the fundraising for the monastery. The nuns have to pay for their new property in full by December, reports the Basilica News Agency.
“It’s the main reason I moved,” Jackson told the Romanian Orthodox Church’s Trinitas TV. “I have been praying for years for an Orthodox monastery to be founded in Ireland.”
“I humbly say it, it’s worth living Orthodoxy here in Ireland. And one of the most important ways you can do it is to meet the monastery,” he added. “Monasteries are of vital importance. It simply provides healing.”
The video below shows the monastery property and features the beautiful chanting of the nuns:
“Jonathan is wonderful, he has a great soul. Both he and his family. This is not the first time he’s helped us,” says Mother Iosifia from the Shannonbridge monastery.
In a recent interview, Jackson revealed that his path to holy Orthodoxy began in Romania when he saw a Paschal procession from the window of his hotel room.
One good thing about the ongoing pandemic is that this summer the nuns were able to get a price reduction on the property, with the final price being $307,955 (260,000 euros), of which $118,445 (100,000 euros) was paid when the nuns moved in in December.
A GoFundMe page has been organized, which, to date, has collected $100,666 (84,900 euros). The nuns still need to raise about $94,755 (80,000 euros) by December.
Donations can be made via GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/an-orthodox-monastery-in-ireland?fbclid=IwAR39_3qMFQ90-4Uo5nGDnPImulXxhsUrHkc74BV4ivABIf4N2mngGb8WvHI
or by using the following account details:
Beneficiary: Romanian Orthodox Church in Ireland
Address of the beneficiary: St. John the Baptist Missionary Centre, Drimnagh Castle, Long Mile Road, Dublin 12
Bank: Bank of Ireland
Bank address: 6 Lower O’Connell Street, Dublin 1
IBAN: IE98BOFI 9000 3324 4356 07
BIC: BOFIIE2D
Contact: Sr. Iosifia (m.iosifia@yahoo.co.uk; Tel: 00353894831802)
