Navarra has seen 22 religious communities close since 2020, in a process that reflects the sustained decline in vocations and the aging of the congregations. This is covered in a report by Diario de Navarra, which provides a snapshot of the progressive disappearance of active religious life in the region.
For decades, the Navarrese region—with Pamplona as its hub—was a prominent center for vocations, to the point of hosting dozens of novitiates. However, the trend has reversed in recent years, forcing many orders to regroup their members in homes adapted for elderly nuns and to abandon their historic headquarters.
Closure of communities and lack of replacement
The main reason for these closures is twofold: the advanced age of the nuns and the absence of new vocations. In many cases, the communities have chosen to relocate their members to shared residences, where they can receive adequate care.
This process has affected both small community apartments and large convents with decades—even centuries—of presence in various Navarrese localities.
One of the most significant cases is that of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, who have closed seven communities in these years, almost a third of their presence in Navarra. Their work was largely linked to elderly residences and care centers, activities they have had to abandon due to lack of replacement.
From convents to hotels: the new fate of many buildings
The closure of communities has also opened a new front: the fate of religious buildings. According to the Archdiocese, the diocese does not control these assets, which depend directly on each congregation.
Among the new uses, conversion into hotels is repeated in several cases, becoming one of the most visible signs of the transformation of former religious spaces.
This is the case of the former Roncesvalles university residence in Pamplona, managed by the Company of Mary, which today operates as the MET Pamplona hotel. Also, the convent of the Sagrada Familia de Burdeos in Lekaroz, with two centuries of presence in the area, has been transformed into the rural hotel Harana Palacio de Oharriz.
Alongside these examples, other buildings have been destined for residences, social projects, or have passed into the hands of foundations, while some remain empty and for sale.
Presences that disappear after decades
The impact of these closures is particularly felt in localities where the congregations had been present for more than a century. In Viana, for example, the Daughters of Charity left in 2022 after more than 160 years of activity linked to education and elderly care.
At the Hospital de Navarra, the same congregation ended in 2020 more than two centuries of healthcare and pastoral service. At that time, the community consisted of eight nuns, far from the more than one hundred that had once formed it in the past.
Communities have also ceased in Bera, Falces, Peralta, or Gerendian, in many cases linked to nursing homes or care activities.
Empty buildings and uncertain future
In addition to the already transformed buildings, others remain without a defined destination. This is the case of several historic convents, such as that of the Clarisas of Arizkun, inhabited since the 18th century, or that of Lekunberri, with more than a century of religious presence.
In Corella, the former convent of the Discalced Carmelites is also on the market, while the town hall studies possible uses, recognizing the complexity of the building.
Vocations crisis and loss of presence
In a few years, Navarra has gone from being a land with a strong presence of religious orders to seeing historic convents close, empty, or change use. A reality that is repeating in other dioceses and that raises questions about the future of religious life and its presence in society.