All of us (with the exception of our Novice) have been blessed to live in 2 different Monasteries prior to our move to AZ.  We all began our Religious Life in Irondale, AL with Mother Angelica at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery.  In 1999, construction on the new Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, AL was completed.  Therefore we have some experience in what works and what doesn't work in 'cloistered monasteries'.   One night we all sat down around the table with some graph paper and began sketching out our 'dreams'.  The result of this meeting we presented to the SPS+ Architects.  They, in turn, started doing the detail work on these plans, working in close collaboration with Sr. Marie St. Paul.  The final product (or near final product) is a wonderful, practical, and efficient set of architectural plans that perfectly meet our needs. 

Nestled on a 40 acre plot of land in Tonopah, Arizona, the plans for Our Lady of Solitude Monastery and Chapel were co have several components that we would like to explain:

Chapel:  The Chapel will be divided by a solid reredos.  On one side of the reredos is the cloistered Chapel.  It is here that the nuns, unseen by the public, adore the Lord and pray the Divine Office, and attend Holy Mass.  On the other side of the reredos is the public Chapel.  All who visit are welcome to make a visit, pray and attend Holy Mass in this Chapel.  The public Chapel will seat approximately 150 people.  It's decorum will be fashioned from the medieval times of Saint Francis and Saint Clare.

Cloistered Monastery:  The Monastery is comprised of the nuns living area, complete with 28 cells (or bedrooms), refectory (dining room), community recreation room, novitiate/juniorate, sewing room, laundry, kitchen, offices, general workroom, music room, courtyard, and parlors (where we visit with our families, separated by a grille).  The nuns live and work here, only leaving for necessary monastery business, doctors appointments, and civic duty.

Enclosure:  Our outdoor enclosure is comprised of about 20 acres.  On this land the nuns will maintain vegetable gardens and an orchard.  The cemetery for the nuns will also be located in the enclosure.  This outdoor cloistered area will be separated from the public area by an enclosure wall.

Extern Area:  The Extern area will be available for the use of all those who come to visit us.  It will include a gift shop, reception area, public parlors, spiritual direction room, courtyard area, and living quarters for the Chaplain. In the future, as funds allow, we hope to expand this area to include a retreat center for the faithful of the diocese of Phoenix.

The only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments, namely the saints the Church as produced and the art which has grown in her womb.  Better witness is borne to the Lord by the splendor of holiness and art which have arisen in the community of believers than by the clever excuses which apologetics has come up with to justify the dark sides which, sadly are so frequent in the Church's human history.  If the Church is the continue to transform and humanize the world, how can she dispense with the beauty in her liturgies, the beauty which is so closely linked with love and with the radiance of the Resurrection?  No.  Christians must not be too easily satisfied.  They must make their Church into a place where beauty - and hence truth - is at home.  Without this the world will become the first circle of Hell.

- Pope Benedict XVI

MEET our SPS+ Architect

Carlos Murrieta: 

                    Education: Bachelor of Architecture Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey - 1993

                                 Construction Administration Certificate – Universidad del Noroeste -1998

                     Registration:      2006 – Arizona Registered Architect No.

                                    1994 – Mexico Registered Architect No.

Carlos’s 14 years of experience started in Mexico as the owner and principal of Murrieta + Peral Arquitectos, where he worked in several standard practice and design-build projects including  master planning, private schools, corporate offices, mining-industrial/metallurgic laboratories, some entertainment facilities including a bowling center, bars, cabins as well seven residential custom homes. He started working for SSPW in early 2002 as a project manager and designer. His recent experience includes: Our Lady of Solitude Monastery in Tonapah, George Gardner Performing Arts Center in Holbrook, Tuba City High School Replacement in Tuba City, Mesa Early Leaning Center for Mesa Public Schools, San Carlos Student Activity Center and High School Vocational building, Kayenta Student Activity Center, and some ecclesiastical work including: Litchfield Park Trinity Lutheran Church, Casa Grande Christian Church, Yuma Calvary Lutheran Church.

Since commissioning the SPS+ Architectural Firm, we have come to know and appreciate the skills of these talented men and women.  Unafraid of our 'total dependence on God's Providence', Carlos and his assistant, Fatima Garcia, have embraced this unique project with great zeal and enthusiasm - as they attempt to grasp the cloistered life and all of our unique architectural needs!  Grille work, enclosure walls, cloister turns, etc, etc.  The Cloister is a "mini-city" in and of itself - completely separated from the world!  The Monastery and the land within the enclosure wall is our home, our 'work-place', our retreat house, and our recreation area.  Most of all, it is the Lord's Home, where He will be perpetually adored and loved! 

A cloistered Monastery and Chapel is 'all in all' for those who live there, and for those who visit it is a place of unparalleled peace...a little piece of Heaven.  Thus, the plans for such a structure are unique and complex.  Keeping all of this in mind, Terry and Carlos have taken our sketch and our desires, and turned them into precise, beautiful and practical plans.  Their minds, hands, hearts, and computers have turned our dreams to 'almost' realities.