NEW HABITS: Sister Scholastika vows to turn a profit
The good sisters of Arenberg, a Dominican convent in Koblenz in western Germany, aren't getting much peace and quiet these days. Workmen clamber over the scaffolding that covers the convent's 19th century brick buildings, while earth-moving equipment attacks the frozen ground. But the noisy work serves a worthy goal offering the benefits of the contemplative life to an audience of paying customers. The Arenberg convent's once somber guesthouse and sanatorium are being transformed into a bright and airy "wellness and meditation center." Why? It was a matter of financial life and death, explains Sister Maris Stella, the prioress. The sisters...
