Antigonish County monastery offers room, hot meals to the homeless

MONASTERY, N.S. — Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Antigonish County is offering itself as a homeless shelter.

“There’s a great need not only in our area but right across the province,” said Dan Fougere, a member of the monastery’s board.

“It’s just a good way to make use of a facility that is somewhat underused right now.”

The monastery, located in the community of Monastery, just off Highway 104, is making available 15 dormitory rooms, showers, laundry facilities, a kitchen and a dining room where hot meals will be prepared and served.

Officially, the monastery is being made available as an emergency shelter for extreme weather events for Antigonish and Guysborough counties under an agreement with the Department of Community Services (providing funding) and A Roof Over Your Head Society handling intake, logistical and administrative support.

However, Fougere said the monastery is going beyond that and offering its facilities to those needing shelter regardless of the weather.

“We have volunteers right now who help with events like retreat weekends,” Fougere said of staffing.

“We might have to engage some part-time help in the kitchen. The need will dictate what we do, but in the short term I think our volunteers will be able to handle it.”

Founded in 1825 by Trappist monks, Our Lady of Grace has been home to a series of Catholic religious orders, most recently the Augustinian Order of Contemplative Nuns who, as their members aged, were called back to Rome in 2022.

At one point the monastery was almost put up for sale.

The Our Lady of Grace Monastery Foundation was subsequently created as a registered charity with a local board of directors headed by the Bishop of the Diocese of Antigonish to take over its debts and run the facility.

It relies largely upon charity and has raised $476,882 of its $800,000 goal to maintain and run the monastery.

According to its website,  Our Lady of Grace offers itself as a “tranquil, peaceful facility for the coming together of faith-seeking persons and organizations for prayer, reflection and spiritual renewal.”

It is broadening that mission to assist as Nova Scotia goes through a housing crisis that has seen an increasing homeless population.

Though most visible within Halifax Regional Municipality, Connie DeCoffe said homelessness and precarious housing is a growing concern in rural areas and small-town Nova Scotia, as well.

“On our caseload we have 20 people (in Antigonish and Guysborough counties) we know are living outside but we have more who are living precariously,” said the executive director of A Roof Over Your Head.

“They’re sleeping in campers, makeshift places, cars. Technically, they have shelter but it’s not really adequate.”

A Roof Over Your Head advocates for and provides services to those in housing need in Antigonish and Guysborough counties.