History of the Monastery

Located in the rural part of Kerala’s district Idukki, Pius Nagar lies close to the village Marayoor. The locally situated Carmelite monks living close to Marayoor gave it its name to honor their saint patron pope Pius X. Currently, Pius Nagar has about 3000 inhabitants and is situated between Marayoor and Kanthaloor. The majority of those is Hinduistic with a certain share of Christians and Muslims as well. Pius Nagar is spread over an area of about 10 square kilometers. Before the arrival of the Carmelite monks, the region wasn’t particularly inhabited or even known as a settlement.

Having arrived in the year 1960, the Carmelite monks erected a small chapel under the patronage of pope St. Pius X. Their main reason to come here was to build the foundation of a priest seminar, a philosophical institution to train young, spiritual Carmelite monks. So, in 1962, the building process of those premises began. The training included 3 years of lectures in both philosophy and humanities. 1965, the first students started their studies. The institution had a surprisingly great start featuring a curriculum, almost 50 students and 10 priests. The location used to uphold its high academic level with a focus on prayers and contemplation.

Soon after, St. Pius Monastery got established further among the poor and needing. Just its presence proved to be a powerful influence and source of inspiration for anyone getting in touch with it. Quite a lot of poor agricultural workers – both male and female – were able to work the monastery’s fields on a regular basis. All of them were supported and treated in an extremely friendly and caring way by the monastery’s monks who were relentless in their effort to help those people and improve their lives and life situation. Furthermore, those monks formed a spirit and understanding of fellowship and affections among the poor people.