The monasteries of Reek - Reek

If you stop here for a moment, you’ll be standing right between two former monasteries. On the left is the Sint-Jozefhuis, and on the right is the former Monastery Nazareth, once called the Sint-Elizabeth Monastery. Together, they tell the story of Reek as a monastery village, where faith, education and care shaped village life from the nineteenth century onwards.

The Sint-Jozefhuis was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the Holy Family from Bergen op Zoom. They came here to provide care for the poor and offer education, and lived by the example of Jesus and Mary: simple, devoted and close to the people. The monastery housed sisters who taught local girls and cared for the elderly and the sick.

Across the road was a different world. There, in the Sint-Elizabeth Monastery, the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance of the Unity from Haren settled in 1857. Their life was much quieter: they focused on prayer and seclusion and later renamed their monastery Nazareth. In 1849, it even became an enclosed convent, and the sisters lived behind bars, cut off from the outside world.

Today, both buildings have a new purpose. The Sint-Jozefhuis is now a care facility for young adults, while Monastery Nazareth has become a private residence.

Photo Sint-Jozef: CC0 Public domain
Photos Monastery Nazareth: Wies van Leeuwen BHIC PNB001056977 and PNB001056974