Founding and Ministry

For nearly three decades, the Holy Trinity Monastery has been a place of prayer. The Holy Trinity Monastery was founded January 25th, 1997 in the Diocese of Santa Cruz do Sul, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, in the South of Brazil, at the invitation of the then Rev. Bishop D. Sinésio Bohn. We are a Simple Priorate with a community of seven nuns. 

The Holy Trinity Monastery offers the Dioceses of Santa Cruz do Sul a welcoming space for retreats, liturgy, and the charism of Benedictine monastic life balancing prayer and work. There is a good demand for our Monastery for both individual and small group retreats. Our small guesthouse welcomes groups of lay, religious, young people, and seminarians who discover the monastery's approach to life centered on prayer, search of God, and helping others. We frequently receive visits from local school students, parish catechesis, and tourists. 

The Holy Trinity Monastery contributes to formation and evangelization. We collaborate with the Diocesan Magazine “Integração” with articles about Liturgy. The ecumenical dialogue fostered by our Monastery is recognized by both Catholics and Lutherans. Our livelihood comes from the guesthouse, workshops of candle, iconography, bakery, handicrafts, liquor and donations. We collaborate with the apostolate to prisoners. We carry out apostolic work with our neighbors, especially those affected by the floods on May 2024.

Our community with our Bishop, D. Itacir Brassiani and Pe. Antônio Bremm.

Flooding

In May 2024, the state of Rio Grande do Sul was hit by major floods, the magnitude of which haven't occurred since the 1940s. Since our Monastery is located on top of a mountain, during the floods, we welcomed a group of neighbors whose homes had been damaged. A partnership was established with other monasteries, the Municipality of Santa Cruz do Sul, and the "Good Group" to distribute essential items. We created a solidarity network to collect and distribute food, drinking water, clothing and cleaning products, as well as stoves, washing machines, and furniture, to families affected by the floods in the Pardinho River valley. Our monastery has been a distribution point for those affected by the floods in our region.

Our street, Linha Travessa, during the flood.

During the flood, our store became a collection and distribution point for food baskets, cleaning supplies, drinking water, and clothing.

A neighboring farmer whom we helped with food baskets, drinking water, clothes and cleaning supplies.

Delivering meals to affected neighbors.

Partnership with the “Good Group”.

Partnership with the Municipality of Santa Cruz do Sul.

During the months following the floods, we had a "corner of solidarity" here at the Monastery, where we continued collecting and distributing food, clothing, and cleaning supplies to families in need.

Construction

We also noticed that people affected by the floods came to our Monastery seeking spiritual comfort, looking for a church where they could pray. We adapted the guesthouse’s auditorium as a small and temporary chapel, which is often crowded on Sundays and solemn liturgical days. Our goal in building the church at the Monastery is to have a suitable liturgical space so we can better welcome people to our celebrations.

Furthermore, the construction of a church at our monastery can provide a renewal of faith for those affected by the floods in our region. The church at our monastery can also become a way of evangelization and a welcoming place. With the construction of our church, the Holy Trinity Monastery will become a landmark of faith, especially for the people affected by the floods in our region. It will fulfill the objectives of our monastery in the area of ​​liturgy and spiritual care. In this way, our monastery will be able to organically realize its full potential and provide its service to our Dioceses and the community of Santa Cruz do Sul in the South of Brazil.

Our church building construction

From Sr. Roberta Peluso, OSB
Prioress of the Holy Trinity Monastery
Santa Cruz do Sul - RS - Brazil