Catholic Pater Noster Carmelite convent (from the Latin - "Our Father") is dedicated to the main prayer of all Christians. Its location on the Mount of Olives is no coincidence - the tradition says that it was here that Jesus taught how to pray to Heavenly Father.

A specific point in the New Testament contains: Matthew writes that Jesus ascended the mountain, and Luke does says it happened "in one place." Certainly we can only say that the text of the most important prayers of the people came directly from Jesus: "Pray like this: Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven; our daily bread Give us this day; And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen "(Matthew 6: 9-13).

Tradition holds that Jesus taught the apostles in a certain cave on the Mount of Olives, strengthened during the Crusades, in the XI century. Earlier, in the IV century, this place was built by the Emperor Constantine the majestic three-level church in memory of the Ascension of Christ. It was called the Mount of Olives (from the Greek word "eleonas" - "olive grove"). From the church, which was destroyed by the Persians in the VII century, there were only fragments of mosaic floor. A small temple built here in the XII century Swensen brothers from Denmark, too, has not been preserved - was destroyed when the Mamelukes.

The revival of Christian traditions in these ruins began in the late XIX century, when the area where there was the Mount of Olives, bought a French princess of Italian origin Aurelia d'Auvergne de la Tour. She began active searches and excavations remnants of Olives, but quickly realized that it is better to build a new facility. The princess was very fond of the "Our Father" and wanted to build not only a church, but the monastery as a sign of constant prayer. Carmelite convent in this beautiful place, with stunning views over Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, was opened in 1874. For a sample taken of the structure of the monumental Camposanto cemetery in Pisa.

Princess Aurelia died in 1889 in Florence, but buried themselves in the monastery. White marble sarcophagus with the figure of the deceased Aurelia by French sculptor Jean-Auguste Barre stands at the entrance to the Church of the Pater Noster monastery.

At the monastery of tourists are not allowed, but you can visit the temple and the very grotto where, according to tradition, Jesus spoke to his disciples, and the wide open space, framed unfinished walls. This unfinished building - the church of the Sacred Heart, which the French government began to build in 1920, but never completed. Here, inside the abbey church located ceramic plaques with the text "Our Father" in different languages ​​- more than 140, and their number is increasing all the time. In the tabernacle behind the altar (it is striking against the backdrop of modest white walls of the temple) carved text of the prayer in Latin: Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum ...