Regina Coeli Monastery

About this property

Regina Coeli Monastery is a historic building located in Bettendorf, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994. The building currently houses an addictions rehabilitation facility called The Abbey Center. The Discalced Carmelite nuns who built the building relocated to a new monastery in Eldridge, Iowa in 1975. The monastery was originally established in Davenport, Iowa by James Davis of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport. The first Discalced Carmelite nuns arrived in Davenport from the Carmel at Baltimore on November 23, 1911. The community included Mother Clare of the Blessed Sacrament, who was a native of Dubuque, Iowa and Mother Aloysius of Our Lady of Good Counsel, from Deerfield, Minnesota. Other members of the small community included Sister Gabriel of Divine Providence and Sister Gertrude of the Sacred Heart. Mother Clare's brother, Joseph Nagle, was instrumental in bringing the Carmelites to Davenport. The Archbishop of Dubuque had initially indicated that he would accept the order into his diocese, but withdrew the offer in 1905, and no other bishops in the upper Midwest were able to accept the nuns. Joseph Nagle was persistent and convinced Bishop Davis to bring the community to his diocese. The Carmel was officially established on the feast of St. John of the Cross on November 24, 1911, with a Mass celebrated by another of Mother Clare's brothers, the Rev. Garrett Nagle, in the small cottage that was the nun's new home at 15th and Brady Streets. The Carmel was adjacent to the bishop's residence, and he would celebrate Mass for the nuns as often as possible. The Archbishop of Baltimore, James Cardinal Gibbons, appointed Mother Clare as the prioress of the new Carmel and Mother Aloysius sub-prioress before they had left Baltimore. The cottage was a bit small and an addition was built on property donated by Bishop Davis. The addition included a chapel in the Late Gothic Revival style, nun's choir, sacristy, and six bedrooms. A covered walk was also built between the chapel and the bishop's residence. The first Mass in the new chapel was Midnight Mass on December 25, 1912. The dedication took place on February 11, 1913. The chapel was dedicated as Pater Noster Chapel, and the monastery was dedicated to the prophet Elijah. When the new addition was completed plans were begun to expand the monastery itself so that 21 nuns could have their own room as was stipulated in the Carmelite Rule. However, the property on Brady Street was not a sufficient location to expand the building. Mother Clare indicated that Bettendorf could be a potential location. Pius Mohr located land on the bluffs above Bettendorf, and Bishop Davis purchased the land on April 3, 1915. The property was surrounded by woods and farmland, which was more appropriate for contemplative life than the city location.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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