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The film begins at the mother house near Marble Arch, London, where the order was established in 1903, before moving on to newer houses on the Atlantic shores of Cork Harbour, the Irish Republic, and in Largs, Scotland.
It also offers a window into the lives of the nuns in monasteries situated in such locations as Pacific fishing villages in Latin America, aloft Andean peaks, amid the Blue Mountains of Australia and the rural beauty of New Zealand, as well as the frenetic bustle of cosmopolitan Rome. It shows nuns entering the convents as novices as well as making their final professions and movingly reveals how the monasteries both benefit and are supported by the communities in which they flourish.
This unique and beautifully-made film, the work of a former West End fashion and beauty photographer, also offers the viewer a vivid and authentic insight into the spirituality of the mothers, based on work, prayer and, most importantly, on perpetual adoration of Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist.
The film shows the infamous 'black map' tracing the route along which scores of Catholic martyrs were drawn to the Tyburn Tree to be executed. It also tells how a French nun, Marie Adele Garnier, fulfilled a prophecy, made amid the frenzy of the persecution, of how a religious house would stand at Tyburn in honour of the ultimate sacrifices made by Catholics during the Reformation;
Scenes in Ireland show the nuns of St Benedict’s Priory at work in their colonial-style former British Admiralty building overlooking scenic Cork Harbour, and visitors absorbing the peace and tranquillity of a garden constructed especially for the bereaved parents of deceased children.
Mother Xavier McMonagle said: “I think this film would interest everyone who is keen to discover more about how cloistered Benedictine nuns actually live and how their charism of prayer, Eucharistic adoration and hospitality influence the wider Catholic and Christian community.
“Also, the joy and beauty of lives dedicated to the contemplative monastic life which flow out from this film make it a powerful educational medium for those who sincerely seek God and godliness in a secular world.
“I would see this film as having its place in restoring the religious faith in religious life itself today, in families and schools as part of promoting the value of monastic life, a tool for leading people to prayer and also for promoting vocations to the religious and monastic life in general.
“Finally I feel strongly that it will serve as an introduction to the holiness of the foundress of the Tyburn Nuns - Mother Marie Adele Garnier and her charism of Eucharistic adoration.”
Director Michael Luke Davies said: “I was moved to tears many times by the beauty of what I was filming. For me, it exceeded my expectations of what I could film … It was an incredible experience I shall never forget for the rest of my life. The things I have seen and the moments I have shared with these beautiful religious people I will keep with me for ever.”
Tyburn Convent Gloria Deo will be available for purchase following the launch of the DVD at Tyburn Convent, priced £15. To request copies of the Tyburn Convent Gloria Deo please contact Mother Hildegarde at Tyburn Convent on 020 7723 7262, by sending an email to the nuns at admin@tyburnconvent.org.uk, or by writing to them at Tyburn Convent, 8 Hyde Park Place, London W2 2LJ. Copies of the DVD will soon also be available for purchase through Catholic bookshops.
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