The Dominican Cloister of Newark, New Jersey.
By Stephen Taylor Dekins
THE only Dominican Monastery in the United States was opened in this city on the 20th of April, 1884. It is situated on Thirteenth Avenue, and occupies the entire block from South Ninth to South Tenth Street. It is erected in the form of a hollow square, with the cloister proper in the center; is built of dull-looking brown stone, and surrounded by a high board fence. The floor of the chapel is of imported Spanish tiling, the Dominican colors, black and white, prevailing. No seats are introduced, the old style being strictly adhered to. The sanctuary is raised one step, and is a beautiful affair. In front of the altar, in red, black and white tiling, is the Dominican monogram, AD, and a Dominican cross. About fifteen feet above the altar is the exposition niche of the sacrament, which is reached by steps curving from either side of the chapel. It is of Italian marble, exquisitely carved; and from that elevated point the priest bestows benediction upon the sisters in the chapel, and through a plate-glass window which looks into the cloister, to the assembled nuns. On a level with the floor, and back of the altar, hidden from the gaze of the public, are iron grates with two small doors, one on the priests' and the other on the sisters' side of the eighteen-inch wall, through which the sacrament is passed by the priest, and partaken of by the sisters. From one of the rooms of the priest, opens a small, dark closet, into which the father confessor goes to hear the confessions of a sister. She is locked in a similar room on the other side of the wall. Iron grates sixteen inches apart separate the sister and the confessor. On the sister's side is a sheet-iron frame perforated with very small holes. It fits the grating, and through it she communicates with the priest. Two or three "turning boxes" are provided, through which the priest's vestments and other articles may be passed, without either party being able to see the other. The box is cylindrical in form, with one side cut open, and turns on a pivot. The article is placed in the open side of the box, which is turned half around, and may be emptied on the other side of the wall. Next is the visitors' room. The wall separating the world from the cloister is thick; on the visitors' side, as well as on that of the sisters, are heavy iron gratings. Heavy pine shutters on the cloister side closes all view, but one of them opens and the parties must face each other. Through heavy doors, entrance to the cloister is gained. This is the only possible entrance within the walls. The doors are double-locked with keys unlike. One key is held by the bishop or his representative, and the other by the prioress. No one can go in without the prioress' permission, and no one can come out without the permission of both. Large community or sitting and working rooms are on the north side of the building, with large, grated windows opening into a yard. This may be reached through a door, which is, however, kept locked, with the key in the possession of the prioress. The sisters' chapel, separated from the public chapel by a heavy wall, is a cold-looking room. Stalls, one for each sister, are provided; it is perfectly plain. By the entrance are the stalls of the prioress and sub-prioress; in the second story is the community room of the novices, on the west side. The cells of the sisters are also on this floor, on the north and east sides. Opening from wide corridors, are fifty rooms, 9x13 feet in size generally, with one window opening either into the court-yard or to the outside. When furnished, each room will have a single cot bed, a chair, and a table. The floors are bare. On the east side is the infirmary, where sick sisters are kept. The rooms are similar to the others, however, and there is very little that325looks like comfort. A pharmacy for medicines is provided, and in one room, where the convalescent may sit, is an open fire-place. With the exception of the range in the kitchen, this open fire-place will be the only fire allowed in the entire monastery. The community or sitting-rooms, where the sisters will work when not engaged in prayer, are two hundred feet away, and exposed to the cold of the north, with not a particle of heat from any source. Each sister is absolutely under the control of the prioress, and is not allowed to go to the fire except when sick. She must rise from bed, as the rules of the order require, at midnight on a cold winter night, robed in the thin garments of the order, and proceed to the chapel for prayers for two hours. At 2 o'clock in the morning the sisters return to their beds and remain until six, when the day's service begins. About half of the day is spent in prayer and persecution of the flesh, and the remainder in work. Fancy embroideries, vestments for priests and churches, and clothing for themselves, comprise the work engaged in. A rule of the order is, that not a particle of meat may be eaten from one year to another, except when sickness demands it, or rather when the physician who may be called orders it. Special dispensation is required from the bishop to allow a departure from this rule. The prioress of this prison-house is known in the world as Miss Julia Crooks, and is of a wealthy New York family. Her name in the monastery is Martha Mary Jesus, which is enough to shock the redeemed in Heaven. Once within the cloister, the poor dupes are secluded and communications are never had with the world. I think it strange that such institutions should exist in America without being inspected. It is well known that the State itself is not permitted to keep any person in prison without permitting inspection by the grand jury. The Reformed Catholic Church has been the means of bringing many from darkness into light, and I am now preaching to the largest Reformed Catholic congregation in America, and thus far over one hundred Romanists have accepted the gospel of Christ. Thanks be to God, our people are ceasing to fear the Italian church or its agents, and are boldly coming out on the side of the Lord. The greatest difficulty we have to contend with is the want of finances to carry on our work as we would desire. However, we leave that to God, who will not allow us to succumb for want of money. I ask your prayers that I may be enabled to do the Master's will, and labor effectively for the promotion of his cause, in all humility and earnestness. STEPHEN TAYLOR DEKINS, Pastor.
Residence, 13 Cottage Street, Newark, N. J.