The convent of the Poor Clares in Megen urgently needs to be made more sustainable, but the costs are so high that the sisters cannot pay for it themselves. The province is willing to contribute if the municipality does too. And that has been discussed for a long time. “If we become more sustainable now, we can exist for at least another twenty to thirty years,” says Abbess Sister Angela Holleboom.
The Clarissen sisters have lived in the Sint-Joseph Monastery in Megen for three hundred years. A historically unique situation, because more and more living communities cease to exist. The Clares also have a hard time financially, because there are fewer sisters and therefore less income.
“We considered putting the monastery up for sale and living in a smaller house, but nobody liked that,” says abbess sister Angela Holleboom. “Not us, and neither do people outside our community. Most thought it would be a shame if we left after three hundred years. So we decided to stay.”
Extra money is needed to prevent the Clarissen sisters from being in the red in a few years’ time. They now have extra income from the guest house and the sale of monastic products such as homemade herbal tea, jam and sandwich spread. Because that does not yield enough, the sisters have to make the centuries-old building more sustainable in order to save costs.
“We cannot just choose the cheapest solution.”
Because the sisters can only pay for part of the sustainability, they need help. The diocese of Den Bosch and the Conference of Dutch Religious wants to bear a large part of the costs. But more money is needed.
“The monastery is a national monument, so we can’t just choose the cheapest solution. For example, we have dozens of windows that we want to insulate. But those windows are old and handmade, so they must be preserved and restored according to the rules. That is a very expensive job”, explains Abbess Sister Angela.
“We understand that the previous alderman did not want to help us financially.”
The province also wants to contribute, provided that the municipality of Oss also does. This is stated in the heritage policy of the province. But local rules make it very difficult for the municipality of Oss to contribute to making the monastery more sustainable. The municipality only invests municipal monuments, but the monastery is a national monument.
“The municipality of Oss alone has more than 65 municipal monuments such as churches and monasteries. If you are going to maintain one monument, you must also maintain the other. So we understand that the previous alderman did not want to help us financially. But we desperately need the money,” Sister Angela says while brewing a cup of herbal tea.
“The alderman wants to support us through our social added value.”
But his successor, Sidney van den Bergh, is now trying to circumvent those rules. “He does not want to support us because we are a monument, but because of our added value to society”, explains the abbess sister. The municipal executive therefore wants to give a loan of 275,000 euros. The sisters have to repay that loan in twenty years in the form of social considerations.
“For example, we can offer education in the field of sustainability and people with a distance to the labor market can come to us. People in need, who are looking for a period of Sabbath, are also given the opportunity to relax in the monastery. Like Ukrainian refugees.”
The Osse city council will make a final decision on 6 October.