Our History

Sister Jan grew up all over the world and part of her years were spent in Beirut, Lebanon.  It was there that she first visited the town of Beit Mery.  It is a lovely town east of Beirut, in the mountains, that has been a refuge in times of war and a vacation place since  antiquity.  Her family reluctantly left Lebanon during the 6 day War in 1967 and only returned once.  Lebanon, the country and it's people, will always hold a special place in her heart.  It was in Lebanon that she found herself drawn to the Catholic Church.

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During the time that Sr. Jan was discerning her vocation to the eremitical life she decided to "try" out the life in rural central Texas.  She named   the place Beit Mery Hermitage in 1981 and stayed there until 1983.  She felt strongly that if God was calling her to the life of a hermit then she should get a good education in Theology.

  In 1983, Sister Jan moved to Berkeley, California and enrolled in the Masters in Applied Spirituality at the University of San Francisco which was held during the summer months.  During the autumn, winter and spring she took courses at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.  After more discernment Sister Jan approached Bishop John S. Cummins of Oakland about making vows as a hermit in the Diocese.  On 28 July 1985, she professed her perpetual vows as a hermit.  She again named the hermitage Beit Mery as a reminder to pray for all those who measure the safety of their lives by how far away the violence is.  This was at the time Lebanon was in the midst of a civil war. 

Over the years in Oakland Sister Jan came to understand that a central part of the eremitical life was Hospitality.  To be a hermit is to be  radically open to God and to God's people in prayer.  She discovered through prayer that she was being called to incarnate that  hospitality to God and God's people.  The way she understood that was to make a place where others could come and enter into the solitude of God.  (to be continued)