St. Peter Dominican convent

The convent grounds are completely enclosed by a wall built in 1609. Like a reservoir, our life too lies behind protective boundaries: quiet on the outside, yet full of strength within. From a person's inner life grows a spiritual strength that radiates outwards through prayer, bearing and intercession. Many people drive past our convent every day, often without lightness in their hearts. We carry them with us in prayer.

In May we were able to celebrate 750 years of unbroken convent history, a span of time that is anything but a matter of course. As early as 1275 Beguines lived here, devout women who led a shared spiritual life. The knight Hartmann gave them his tower and the lands belonging to it for all time. Between 1624 and 1629, amid great privation, the present convent was built. The sisters lived poor and modest lives, just as we do today.

A convent needs a church. We secure its upkeep through our work in the altar-bread bakery and the garden, and through donations. As Dominicans we belong to the Order of Preachers. St Thomas Aquinas summed up our mission in the words «Contemplata aliis tradere»: what we contemplate, we pass on. The poet Silja Walter put it this way: «Someone has to be at home when the whole world is rushing about.»

In this sense we see ourselves as a still point in life, bound to God. Out of this bond, new views of the wonder of this world open up for many people. Put simply and clearly: God is here.

St. Peter Dominican Convent, Strehlgasse 18, 6430 Schwyz · Tel. 041 811 21 84 · Frauenkloster St. Peter am Bach