Sister
Maria Sheer, OCD shows the baptismal gown she made that will be raffled
Dec. 20. Money from the raffle will go toward an additon at the Carmelite
Monastery outside Eldridge. The gown is on display at the Eldridge library.Raffle set for December 20
Carmelite Sister makes gown to benefit monastery
Sister
Maria Sheer, OCD shows the baptismal gown she made that will be raffled
Dec. 20. Money from the raffle will go toward an additon at the Carmelite
Monastery outside Eldridge. The gown is on display at the Eldridge library.
A handmade baptismal gown,sewn by Sister Maria Antonia Scheer, OCD will be raffled Dec. 20 to help the Carmelite Sisters pay for the new addition to their monastery outside Eldridge.
Sister Mary Jo Loebig, OCD, said the gown will be the only item raffled. It is on display at the Eldridge Public Library. Tickets are available at the library or by calling or stopping by the monastery, They are $1 each or six for $5.
Sr. Scheer said it took around a year and a half to complete the gown. There were many breaks in between, she said.
THE GOWN IS adorned in lace, cutouts and roses. "The material on the back is from China." Sr. Scheer said, and "There is a bonnet to go with it."
Sr. Scheer has made other baptismal gowns, including one for her nephew out of his mother's wedding dress. She will make baptismal gowns for anyone, "as long as they're not in a rush."
Some take about a month to make, depending on how ornate or simple the gown will be, she said.
THE MONASTERY addition began in October, Sr. Loebig said. "We hoped to be in by Christmas, but it will be more like mid-January." The addition is being built on to the old wing.
"Due to greater numbers in the community and crowded space even before that, the addition was needed", she said. "We will have more sleeping rooms and more work areas in other parts of the building."
The sisters moved from Bettendorf to Eldridge in 1975.