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St. Scholastica Monastery

A Community of Benedictine Sisters in Fort Smith, AR

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    • Community Members
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    • Ministries
    • Girls’ Education Matters
  • Bakery
  • Vocations
    • Questions
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  • Oblates
    • Become An Oblate
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    • Prayer Schedule & Prayer Request
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Hesychia House of Prayer

Hesychia House of prayer is nestled among the Ozark Mountains in New Blaine, Arkansas. The sisters who staff it live a life of prayer and work and offer hospitality to adults of any faith who are seeking quiet time alone with God.

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Location & Contact:

204 St. Scholastica Road, 

New Blaine, Arkansas 72851

To reserve a reservation for a hermitage please email us at hesychia@stscho.org or call or text us at (479) 938-7375. This is necessary to make a reservation.

Director:

   Sister Lisa Atkins, RSM

Assistant Director:

   Sister Anita DeSalvo, RSM

Founding Director:

   Sister Louise Sharum, OSB

There are four hermitages available for a stay as long as a day up to a couple months or so. All guests are to provide all their own food and do all their own cooking. The hermitages are provided with a small-sized refrigerator and stove. Each hermitage has a microwave, Mr. Coffee, cabinet oven, toaster, and cooking utensils. Linens are also provided.

Guests using any facility at Hesychia are welcome to join the sisters for the community prayer which consists of the Eucharist and praying the Liturgy of the Hours. They are also welcome to use the chapel for private reflection, the deck of the main house, and the library. The sisters are willing to meet with guests for spiritual direction if asked to do so. Adventurous folks may be interested in using the hiking trails in the 200 acres of wooded area or walk the country roads.

The suggested donation for the hermitages is $50/night for the first week and $35/night thereafter; a $20 donation is requested for a day only. However, if a short-term guest (one staying for one week or less) is unable to pay the requested amount, a lesser amount can be arranged, as we do not want anyone wishing to spend time with God here to stay away for financial reasons. Donations can be made by clicking here.

Retreatants, please read this COVID Policy Information before visiting Hesychia House of Prayer

Internet/Wifi at Hesychia


Our internet capacity is limited. Therefore, before your arrive at Hesychia, we ask that you download any spiritual digital books, videos, or music to your electronic devices with the WIFI at your home. Cellular service from AT&T is available. However, cellular service from other carriers may or may not be available. As cell phone carriers adapt and cover more of rural America, this could change and evolve service may improve.

St. Scholastica Monastery

St. Scholastica Monastery sits on 66 scenic acres with walking paths through gardens and past grottoes, shrines, and gazebos where visitors can sit, reflect, and meditate. Our labyrinth, built with the help of the Friends of the Center, is designed in an eleven-circuit design with four quadrants used in many Gothic cathedrals; most notably the Chartres Cathedral built in 1200. Historically, pilgrims would walk the labyrinth as a questing, searching journey in hope of becoming closer to God. Visitors are welcome to walk the monastery grounds during the day.

To arrange for an interior tour of the monastery, call (479) 783-4147 at least one day in advance.

St. Scholastica Monastery

A Community of Benedictine Sisters in Fort Smith, AR

479-783-4147

1315 S. Albert Pike Avenue
Fort Smith, Arkansas

General: monastery@stscho.org
Support: tech@stscho.org

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Hours:

24/7

St. Scholastica Monastery Fort Smith
Hesychia House of Prayer

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  • Before arriving at Hesychia please take a photo/scan/print off and send completed vaccine record to Hesychia@stscho.org; a fully completed vaccinated record must arrive at Hesychia before your arrival in order to come to Hesychia.
  • Retreatants must be 14 days post a full vaccination period before arriving.
  • Retreatants must be symptom-free of signs of Covid for 14 days and not have been "knowingly exposed" to close contact with Covid for 14 days.
  • Be sure to bring enough clothes/personal wear for your length of stay in one of our short term stay hermitages unless a retreatant is utilizing the long-stay hermitage (several weeks/months at Sacro Speco Hermitage as a stacked washer/dryer is provided).
  • Provide own transportation.
  • Retreatants bring and cook food in hermitages.
  • Sisters are available for Spiritual Companioning upon request-we can do the Spiritual Companioning on hermitage porches or on the back deck (behind the library) or Zoom.
  • Masks must be worn when walking about on the property.
  • Retreatant will be screened on arrival utilizing the Monastery COVID Screening Form.