It sounds somewhat amazing that a number of elderly Dominican brothers are now living in convents of sisters. This has to do with the Dutch legislation concerning the care for the elderly. An elderly person or a person with ill health sometimes becomes restrained in walking and other forms of movements. If he/she is suffering from a disease, ailment or has a psychological problems that requires dedicated medical care and assistance, the person may make an appeal to the General Laws on medical care concerning the specific illness.

The person may, depending on the seriousness of the condition, be admitted into a special shelter for the elderly, where the old age pension (A.O.W. = General Old Age Law) will be applied. If the person has other incomes from other pensions, then part of that revenue will also be transferred to the accommodating Institution.

In response to this, several convents of Dominican Sisters in the Netherlands have erected new buildings or renovated their existing structures to meet the Dutch standards for shelters for the elderly. Through this process, the sisters turn their convents to special shelters for the elderly and devote their time to their care. They also make the extra rooms in their convents available to those who wish to live in a cloistered environment.

With the approval of the Provincial, five Dutch Dominican brothers are currently living in such shelters. The sisters, the medical staff of the centre with many co-workers (both men and women) take adequate care of the brothers.

During his recent canonical visitation to the Dutch Province in January 2013, the Master of the Order, fr Bruno Cadorè paid a visit to the shelter to see the brothers. With fraternal love, he encouraged them. This is a new understanding of cloistered cohabitation, an understanding that is a source of strength for the elderly.