Dolores “Dee-dee” Mihaliak learns more about the Catholic faith when she goes to work in an old horse stall and tack room transformed into a boutique.
“We just learned from scratch doing this,” she says. “Every day, we learn about the Catholic faith alongside others. We pray we can be a helper in God’s work.”
Mihaliak enjoys meeting people at The Domestic Monastery, an Avon shop she and her husband, Charles “Charlie,” opened in 2019. Items in the shop are a reflection of the Catholic faith and also tell stories of the many craftsmen who made them.
The shop carries a large inventory including prayer books, artwork, chapel veils, garden statues, jewelry, rosaries, children’s articles and baby items. A Christmas room inside the shop is open year-round. On occasion, several religious items are given to the shop by customers who no longer have need for them.
“People bring us things,” Mihaliak says, “for the true, the good and the beautiful.”
While Mihaliak acknowledges there are a lot of Catholic-related shops, The Domestic Monastery sells merchandise geared toward “beautiful Catholic art,” she says. “Your home should have pieces to elevate your heart that are beautiful and uplifting. We wanted a place where a family can shop.”
When the shop opens each morning, Mihaliak recites the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. At noontime, anyone who is in the shop is invited to pray the Angelus. At 3 p.m., Mihaliak and others pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the intentions requested by customers that have been written in a prayer book located in the shop.
“We pray we can be a helper in God’s work,” she says. “We need to be joyful for people to be like us. We have to be joyful and inviting people.”
In addition to visiting the shop, passersby are invited to pray the stations of the cross which were recently installed along the perimeter of the property. An outdoor stage for concerts and plays, with seating for hundreds, is located on the property and available for use. An outdoor garden devoted to Mary is currently being developed.
In a fenced area, visitors may witness the antics by three sheep and two donkeys that live on the property. “Kids love to come and feed the sheep and donkeys,” Mihaliak says. She adds that the public is invited to the sheep shearing twice a year.
Raised Catholic, Mihaliak and her husband are active parishioners of St. Francis Parish in New Britain. In the past, they conducted daylong marriage retreats in the Waterbury area.
On the shop’s website, follow along with Charles Mihaliak and son Charles Paul as they explore what it means to be Catholic in the modern world through weekly reflections posted under the “Work and Bray” link. Biographies of the shop’s artists are also featured on the website.
Recently, Carol Brut traveled from Westfield, Mass., and visited the shop. “I love it,” she says. “There are so many Catholic items. I just started a devotion to the Holy Face.” The devotion honors the face of Jesus, particularly as he appeared during the Passion.
Mihaliak says she is blessed by the people she met since opening the shop. “I’m shocked what I’ve gotten out of this,” she says. “This is another place besides the parish where we can talk about the faith.”Story and Photos
Story and photos by Karen A. Avitabile
Catholic Transcript