The work of our Sisters in the Peace Hermitages is one of the hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today.

Sister Jane Burns began our Peace Hermitages in the mid-1980s, when she realized that she was being called into a life with more solitude. 3 small, simple cottages are available to individuals who are seeking a place for quiet prayer and reflection. They are located in a wooded grove on the grounds of our North American headquarters, in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia.

Bordered by 2 large parks, the hermitage location is ideal for getting in touch with nature. Guests bring their own food and linens, pay a very modest daily fee, and stay for as long as they wish. They have an opportunity for Eucharist, and for communal evening prayer, if they choose. People of all religious traditions are welcomed.

"The wooded grounds are filled with deer and rabbits, and in summer the twilight air is alive with crickets and fireflies," wrote a reviewer in Delaware Valley magazine. "There are trees as far as the eye can see, and the air smells of freshly-cut grass."

Describing the hermitage guests in The Other Side magazine, Sister Jane explained, "Many of them work with the poor, the homeless, or for peace … people of all sorts share this solitude, and I find that the more varied the people, the better." She added, "To get in touch with the silence of God is necessary for everyone. That does not mean that the touch only happens here. But it can be refreshed here. It can be strengthened."