Comments on: Are You Kiddin’ Me? – Hidden Gem – The Franciscan Monastery

By: Bitter Elitist

Bitter Elitist — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:02:11 +0000

Wow. I’ve HEARD of this but haven’t deigned to look it up. Field Trip!!

By: DC Belle

DC Belle — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:39:11 +0000

Thanks for posting.

By: Cookietime420

Cookietime420 — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:49:12 +0000

Thanks for the beautiful, personal memories Shopgirl and ReneeB. This is definitely a “sacred space.”

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:25:22 +0000

Wow!!! This looks amazing. Thanks for letting us know about it and thanks sophiagrrl for giving us transportation tips. My only visit to Brookland has been a trip to the Comcast office, which was hardly holy or solitary. Can’t wait to do this– in fact, I think this just made it to my weekend to-do list.

By: Eva

Eva — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:28:08 +0000

Easter sunrise mass at the Monastery. Beautiful.

By: Serena

Serena — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:54:51 +0000

I didn’t know about this either. Thanks for the post and the stunning photos.

By: Tatiana

Tatiana — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:33:39 +0000

I used to live a few minutes (walking) from it, but had no idea how beautiful it was! A visit is a must.

By: dani

dani — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:00:42 +0000

y’all have NEVER known this??

I guess living in Brookland for four years (i did my undergrad at CUA) has given me a different perspective.

By the way, the National Basilicia is quite breathtaking if you are in the area

By: sophiagrrl

sophiagrrl — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:52:26 +0000

It’s good to know that this is VERY metro accessible. You can walk it in less than 10 minutes (tho it’s uphill, which is annoying) or hop the Ft Lincoln Line (H6, every 10 minutes) at Brookland Metro and get off at the second stop. Voila! (Also plenty of parking.) Biking is easiest if you come into Brookland (from NW) across the Monroe St bridge, up Monroe to 14th, then down 14th to Quincy.

The various catacombs etc are all re-creations of real places, which is part of the mission of the Franciscans (preservation of the holy land, even if it means re-creating catacombs with drop panel ceilings). Also, this is THE headquarters of the Franciscans in North America and a real functioning monastery. The brothers are lovely and friendly. The upper gardens are always open (and PoP, did you find the little fountain in the way back back?) but the lower gardens close at 4 pm quite often.

By: ReneeB

ReneeB — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:46:59 +0000

When my now husband’s plans to propose to me at the National Arboretum were foiled by the park’s early closing hours, we stubbled upon the monastery. I had no clue about his intentions and enjoyed the gardens for while. As we were leaving he called my name and he was on one knee among the flowers, ring in hand. As we are both very Catholic and he is a plant biologist, it was a wonderful blessing and a great, unexpected beginning to our lift together.