Forced to face the future : Mount Calvary Monastery brothers won't know fate until next year

[Rick]

MARCI WORMSER, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
December 17, 2008 7:04 AM

The six monastic brothers who resided at the Mount Calvary Monastery and Retreat House in the hills above Santa Barbara have been left in a state of limbo since the monastery burned to the ground in the Tea Fire last month.

The brothers have been living at St. Mary's Retreat House near the Old Mission since the fire. Their famous coffee and tea business has been suspended and they won't find out if their monastery will be rebuilt until June 2009.

"We don't have any (rebuilding plans) as of yet," said Brother Nicholas Radelmiller, who is the prior, or brother-in-charge, of the monastery. "I don't think we are leaning any particular way in the decision."

According to Brother Radelmiller, 68, the decision about whether to rebuild will be made when the four houses that comprise the Episcopal Order of the Holy Cross, to which the Santa Barbara monastery belongs, take a vote at their annual meeting in New York in June. In addition to the monastery in Santa Barbara, other houses are located in New York, Toronto and South Africa. All the members, including the six brothers from Santa Barbara, will vote on the issue, according to Brother Radelmiller.

Their decision, said Brother Radelmiller, will be based on whether they have enough funds to rebuild and whether the brothers choose to continue to do retreat work. Because members of the Order are getting older, said Brother Radelmiller, there may not be enough people to staff the monastery in five or 10 years.

Prior to the fire, the order had planned to continue operating the monastery, despite the aging staff, said Brother Radelmiller.

But, "This has made us look at things with a new point of view," he said.

Obtaining enough funds to rebuild will be a major factor in their decision. Because the monastery wasn't insured adequately to rebuild, said Brother Radelmiller, additional funds will be needed via donations and through fundraising.

At the Order's meeting in June, other options will be considered, including reopening the monastery in another part of Santa Barbara and not rebuilding a retreat house so the brothers can focus on other duties.

Because the monastery was located high above Santa Barbara on a ridge, "It may be wiser not to rebuild there at all," the brother said.

Either way, he said, "It will take three years to get back on our feet."

Exacerbating the problem, he said, is the fact that "the group lost its income."

The brothers' income came from donations from the more than 30 visitors who stayed in guest accommodations at the monastery every week and from the monastery's coffee and tea business.

Originally built in 1928 as a private residence, the monastery was established in 1947 as the retreat and conference center of the Order of the Holy Cross on the West Coast. It was open to the public for retreats and conferences, and Mass was celebrated each day. Times of silence were observed every day, and the brothers provided spiritual counseling and guidance to guests. The brothers' life is guided by the rule of St. Benedict, who emphasized learning, community and daily prayer.

Currently, the brothers' room and board is being supplied by the Sisters of the Holy Nativity, through donations and from their limited business insurance. The business insurance will help fund the monastery's two other staff members for the next few months, said Brother Radelmiller. The staff members include an administrator, who served as the director of the guest house, and a cook. Since the fire, the guest house director has been staying in an office at All Saints Church in Montecito, and the cook has been working part time at St. Mary's.

But even the duration of the group's stay at St. Mary's is up in the air. "We don't know how long we'll be here," said Brother Radelmiller.

It's not just the Spanish-style house, which drew visitors from all over the world, and the tea and coffee business that were lost in last month's disaster. The brothers lost all their personal belongings in the fire, and priceless antiques and relics were destroyed.

In addition to antique furniture, the monastery housed a small collection of relics, including a relic of St. John of the Cross -- named after the Spanish mystic, dating back from the late 1500s; artwork dating from the 1600s to the 1900s ("None of it was really museum worthy, but it was good stuff"); a Spanish Colonial altar piece dating from the 1700s or the 1800s; and a painting of the Virgin Mary from the 1700s to the 1800s. A library collection of 10,000 volumes was also destroyed.

Still, Brother Radelmiller said that he feels no animosity toward the alleged perpetrators of the fire, who reportedly inadvertently set the blaze after failing to properly extinguish a bonfire near the Tea Gardens the night before the blaze erupted.

Although he admits "it was stupid" for the alleged perpetrators to build a bonfire in the hills during heavy winds, Brother Radelmiller said he does not want to see those at fault punished.

"They deserve a talking to," said Brother Radelmiller. "I can't speak for the community, but I'm willing to forgive them."

Several times since the fire, Brother Radelmiller has visited the site where the once-beautiful two-story monastery drew visitors from all over the world. Nothing in the rubble was salvageable, although part of the building's archway is still standing, along with part of a chimney and a cross that marks the spot where the gardens used to be. Two art studios were the only buildings that were left standing.

Last month wasn't the only time the monastery has been touched by fire. In the 1960s, flames from a fire scorched the monastery garage. It was subsequently rebuilt as a series of bedrooms. Brother Radelmiller says if not for the quick action of the fire department, the monastery would have burned down 40 years ago.

In the Tea Fire, the Brothers and other staff members had only about 15 to 20 minutes to evacuate the building. Most just grabbed a change of clothing.

"I lost everything I owned," said Brother Radelmiller. "But I think the most important thing is that we're all safe. Things can be replaced."

Tax-deductible donations to help the Mount Calvary monastic community can be sent to: Mount Calvary Fire Fund, P.O. Box 1296, Santa Barbara, CA 93102.

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