Carmel of Saint Joseph is one of nine designated Jubilee Year sites in the archdiocese
A sign at the entrance to the Carmelite Monastery off Clayton Road invites: “All are welcome to come pray with us.”
This year, that can earn the faithful a plenary indulgence. The Carmel of Saint Joseph in Ladue is one of nine pilgrimage sites in the archdiocese designated by Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski for the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025.
During the Jubilee Year, Catholics can obtain a plenary indulgence — remission of the temporal punishment due to sins — by visiting any of the nine designated sites in the Archdiocese of St. Louis for a pilgrimage or pious visit, in addition to the usual conditions for an indulgence.
The Carmel of Saint Joseph is home to the local community of Discalced Carmelites, a branch of the Carmelite order formed in the 16th century by St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Other notable Carmelite saints are St. Thérèse of Lisieux (also a doctor of the Church, alongside founders St. Teresa and St. John) and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).
The St. Louis community was founded in 1863 when Archbishop Peter Kenrick invited a small group of sisters from Baltimore, Maryland, to establish a presence in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
The community’s first home was at Calvary Farms, just north of the city limits. In 1878, the sisters moved to a monastery built at 18th and Victor streets, where they remained until 1928. By then, the neighborhood was becoming less of a residential district and more a manufacturing area, so the sisters searched for a new property.
In 1926, the community purchased the 14-acre property formerly owned by Samuel and Lily Haas in what is now Ladue. It was primarily farmland, and over the next two years, the main residence was demolished and the current monastery and chapel constructed.
There are currently 16 Carmelite nuns at the Carmel of Saint Joseph, according to the community’s website. While the sisters’ main work is prayer, they support themselves by painting enrollment cards, printing novenas and packing and shipping altar breads.
Each July since 1948, the monastery has hosted an annual outdoor Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, nine days of prayer to the Blessed Mother that includes a Rosary, Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament, outdoor Mass and special prayers.
In 1959, Cardinal Joseph Ritter asked the community to open its chapel to the public. The community established the Legion of 1,000 West, a spiritual organization of men and women who make a commitment to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament once a week at the monastery chapel.
Sign-ups for the legion are available in the chapel vestibule, with the invitation: “You will be deepening your love and friendship with Him who loves you. The Lord Jesus invites you: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.’”
>> Visit the Carmel of Saint Joseph
Open: 6:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Mass: 7:30 a.m. Sunday- Saturday
Eucharistic adoration: After Mass until Benediction
Divine Mercy Chaplet: 3 p.m.
Rosary and Benediction: 7:50 p.m.
Jubilee Indulgences
Options to receive a Jubilee indulgence:
Pilgrimage to a sacred Jubilee site, where the faithful participate in Mass, another liturgical service such as Morning or Evening Prayer, or acts of piety such as Stations of the Cross, praying the Rosary or a penitential celebration.
Pious visit: Individually or in a group, devoutly visit a Jubilee site and engage in eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the profession of faith from Mass, and a prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Those who are unable to take part in pilgrimages or pious visits for serious reasons, such as cloistered religious, the elderly, the sick and those who care for them, or the imprisoned, may obtain the indulgence by uniting themselves in spirit with those making pilgrimages or pious visits, reciting an Our Father, a profession of faith, and other prayers in harmony with the purpose of the Jubilee Year, and offering up their sufferings and hardships to the Lord.
Works of Mercy and Penance: This includes participation in formational activities on the documents of Vatican II or the Catechism, initiatives that put into practice the spirit of penance, and performance of corporal or spiritual works of mercy. For the full details on Jubilee Indulgences, read the papal bull: stlreview.com/3POKFln
Help the souls in purgatory
The faithful who have carried out an act of charity on behalf of the souls in purgatory, if they receive holy Communion a second time that day within Mass, can obtain the plenary indulgence twice on the same day, applicable only to the deceased.
Usual conditions for a plenary indulgence:
• Be in a state of grace and have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin
• Sacramental confession (can be received several days before or after)
• Reception of holy Communion
• Prayer for the pope’s intentions
Designated Pilgrimage Sites in the Archdiocese of St. Louis
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis | St. Louis
Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France | St. Louis
Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters | St. Louis
The Carmel of Saint Joseph | Ladue
Saint Mary’s of the Barrens – National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal | Perryville
Monastery of St. Clare | Oakville
Passionist Nuns of St. Louis | Ellisville
Immaculate Heart of Mary | New Melle
Immaculate Conception | Union
This is the ninth in a monthly series featuring each of the nine designated pilgrimage sites in the Archdiocese of St. Louis during the Jubilee Year 2025. To read the other stories in the series, visit stlreview.com/Jubilee-2025-sites.
