Sacred Garden: Passionist Monastery Glen Osmond in the Adelaide City region of South Australia

Set in the Adelaide foothills at the Passionist Monastery at Glen Osmond is a haven and place of contemplation known as The Sacred Garden.

It contains fourteen sculptures depicting the Stations of the Cross. The marble has been painstakingly chipped away to leave a lasting reminder of Christ's final moments on earth. The works depict the passion of Christ and the passionate devotion of the man who sculpted them. Father Mark Cooper explains:

“The sculptures were made in Pietra Sante which is a province in Italy. They were made by Franco Miozzo. They were in the artisans workshops where, for many generations men and women had carved these stations and other sculptures in Carrara marble. They have all been hand carved. Each of the sculptures throughout the sacred garden has been formed out of the one block of Carrara marble.”

So from a sculptors' workshop near Rome, established well over a century ago, come these marble masterpieces. But their first Australian home was in Goulbourn, New South Wales at the training centre for the Passionists priests - a Catholic order dating back to the early seventeen hundreds.

The sculptures were shipped to Glen Osmond two years ago and for much of that time the restorers have been hard at work bring Franco Miozzo's labor of love to its full glory.

Set in the base of some of the Stations of the Cross, which tell the story of Christ's final hours up to his crucifixion and burial, are Miozzo's little signature pieces - small exquisitely-crafted flowers. Perhaps they're a reflection of Franco Miozzo's overriding philosophy that even in the worst of times there are moments of beauty. It's a view which Father Mark Cooper says underpins why the Garden is here:

“One of the sculptures in fact might remind someone of their mother or father and the agony they experienced in their own dying. Or one person may come here needing a bit of solitude because their daughter or son is experiencing real pain in their own life.”

When establishing the walkways for the Sacred Garden workers uncovered a much older path. More than likely it was used by the Passionists priests and brothers who had their own village and dairy here more than a century ago.

“There’s a path where the cows would have been brought down in those early days from the original monastery which is no longer standing.”

Now, in its place - a Sacred Garden which is open to everybody.

“You don’t have to be a catholic to come here. You can be anyone from the community, from whatever religious background. Even a person who simply wants to come and enjoy the beauty of these arts forms.

The Garden is open daily between 9am and 5pm. It’s on the southern side of the Monastery at 15 Cross Road Glen Osmond.