The monastic community of Benedictine sisters in the Monastery of St Nicholas in Trogir comprises three nuns. They are Reverend Mother Ivana Šeravić, Sister M. Alojzija Dorvak and Sister M. Katarina Zrno. Although small in number, the community endeavours to remain true to its vocation and respond boldly to the challenges that time and the community place before it. In addition to prayer, on which this life draws for its energy, work is the other essential component of the life of the community. Day starts with the first canonical prayer at 5.30 am, and ends with the last prayer at 9 pm. Between these two points, personal and joint prayers are harmoniously interchanged with the various activities necessary for the life of the community. These are two realities that are only apparently contradictory. On the one hand, cultivated here is the silence and retirement that the contemplative life requires; on the other, there are the openness and kindness to all with whom the community comes into contact, which the apostolic life demands. Also needing to be cherished is the feeling of family in the community, which nourishes togetherness, and is achieved by various recreational moments. In all this it is needful to find and to preserve a balance, which is helped by the daily schedule of the community. What essentially determines this daily order is liturgical payer, above all the prayers of the Book of Hours, the official prayer of the Church, and the Eucharistic celebration, the peak of liturgical celebration. The timetable is given below:
This monastic reality in the form of prayer is closely followed by the working activity that alternates with it. Whether the work is intellectual or manual, both of them have the same objective and purpose. Apart from the primary, existential level, there are several levels of work. Above all, the development of each individual member, and then of the community as a whole, and the transformation of the world according to the idea of God, to his greater glory. The range of work goes from the everyday household jobs necessary for the life of the community to studies. Then, there are the execution of the sacristan service, of various administrative jobs, work in the Kairos Collection of artworks, handicrafts and the making of souvenirs, and continued work on the renovation of the monastic complex, the preservation, that is, of the cultural and sacred heritage owned by the monastery.
