The 800th anniversary of the founding of the Dominican Cloistered Nuns by St. Dominic is being celebrated locally at the Monastery of the Angels in Hollywood, where nuns are in their ninth decade of service to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

They trace their history to Prouille, a little town in southern France, where St. Dominic associated them with his work in "holy preaching." Starting in 1206 with a dozen sisters (nine believed to be converts), St. Dominic would eventually invest this community into the Order of Preachers. These contemplative women became a part of the "holy preaching" as witnesses to the faith. It is this mission which the nuns of the Monastery of the Angels carry on today, through unceasing prayer, sacrifice and community life.

Today there are 250 monasteries worldwide with 16 in the U.S., the first being the Monastery of St. Dominic at Newark, N.J. In 1924, Bishop John Cantwell of Los Angeles invited the nuns to bring cloistered Dominican life to Southern California. Mother Mary Eucharist Reynaud and five companions accepted and in June settled in a temporary dwelling on 28th Street. In short order, perpetual adoration was established and maintained.

By 1948, a permanent building was erected in Hollywood, and through the work of the sisters and their supporters two cloisters in Asia --- Karachi, Pakistan (1959) and Bocaue, Philippines (1977) --- were established.

To celebrate the 800th anniversary, every Dominican monastery worldwide has been declared a place of pilgrimage, starting with the First Sunday of Advent 2006 and extending through Epiphany Sunday 2008. Pope Benedict XVI has granted a plenary indulgence to all who visit a monastery during that time; the indulgence can be gained through reciting the Lord's Prayer and Creed under the usual conditions of confession and Communion with prayers for the pope.

"The nuns of the Monastery of the Angels rejoice that they are part of the long line of Dominican nuns whose lives are dedicated to living completely for God," said a statement from the sisters. "The time for rejoicing generates a profound sense of gratitude. We thank God for these past 800 years and pray that we will be ever faithful to our calling."