On the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, March 19, 2025, Isak Ailu Pulk Eira was received as a novice in the Carthusian Order at St Hugh's Charterhouse in Parkminster, England. With this, he also received his new religious name: Dom Irenaeus Eira.
"I stand as a beggar before the mercy of God, praying that he will heal all the infirmities of my soul and fulfil all my desires with his bounty," said the founder of the Order, Saint Bruno. It is a prayer that strongly resonates with Isak Eira.
From reindeer herding to the monastery gate
Isak was born in Tromsø to Sámi parents in 2000 and grew up in Kautokeino in a family engaged in reindeer herding. Throughout his upbringing, he actively participated in the reindeer livelihood alongside his schooling. During his military service in 2020, he began earnestly seeking God. The Rosary became a gateway to the Catholic faith, and in June 2021, he was received into the Catholic Church.
In an interview with katolsk.no in 2022, he shared that he had never met a Catholic before deciding to convert: "I felt drawn to the Catholic Church. It is ancient, has endured much, and has proven its steadfastness."
During a short trial period with the Cistercians at Munkeby Abbey in Trøndelag, he read Hans Fredrik Dahl’s book The Carthusian: Texts from My Brother Dom Filip – and that became the turning point. He later undertook a two-month vocation retreat at Parkminster, after which he was accepted as a candidate.
– He then went back to Norway to settle all his worldly affairs with the hope of returning quickly. Yet there was one obstacle – he had to be released from any future military service. He applied to the military authorities, but they responded with a six-month delay. So, we decided to receive Isak without waiting for a reply from the Norwegian army, putting all our trust in God’s Providence. Finally, after six months, they responded positively, says Father David, the relieved novice master, to katolsk.no.
On October 4, 2024 – the memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi – Isak returned to Parkminster for good.
The strictest Order in the Church
The Carthusian Order is considered the strictest of all religious families in the Catholic Church. Founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne (c. 1030–1101) in 1084, it combines the eremitical and monastic life in a unique way: “a community of hermits.”
In modern times, the order became known through the three-hour documentary Into Great Silence.
The novitiate that Isak has now entered lasts for two years, followed by five years under temporary vows, before solemn vows may be made.
“It takes time to grow to maturity, to arrive at the unshackled liberty to give oneself, to love as we are loved. This comes about little by little, learning to listen to the Spirit, to let his light and love penetrate our hearts, and reconcile us with God, with ourselves, and with our neighbors,” writes the monastery on its website.
The Statutes of the Carthusian Order (10.1) state:
“Dead to sin and consecrated to God by baptism, the monk by religious profession is still more totally dedicated to the Father and set free from the world; he will be able henceforth to strive more directly towards perfect love. The firm and stable pact which binds him to the Lord makes him share in the mystery of the indissoluble union of Christ and the Church; before the world he bears witness to that new life won for us by Christ's Redemption.”
If Dom Irenaeus remains and makes his solemn profession as a Carthusian monk, he will become the first Sámi monk in the 940-year history of the Order.
A hidden life in silence and prayer
St Hugh’s Charterhouse was founded in 1873 and is today the only Carthusian monastery in the United Kingdom. It is located in Parkminster, southern England, and is home to nearly 20 monks from around the world – including France, India, Poland, South Africa, Vietnam, Japan, and now: Kautokeino.
Each monk lives alone in a hermitage – called a cell – with a private garden and workshop, spending almost the entire day there in prayer, work, reading, and silence. They come together only for Matins and Lauds (morning prayer), Mass, and Vespers (evening prayer) – all celebrated with ancient Gregorian chant, using no artificial instruments, only human voices.
“Silence is the air the solitary breathes,” the order itself writes. In this silence, the monk is shaped into a vessel for the world’s salvation – a witness of prayer who bears the entire world before God.
A Life for God Alone
“My relationship with Christ is the most important thing in my life. Faith is the anchor,” Isak said in the 2022 interview. He described faith as a power that gives life meaning and called the Church “incredibly important in my life.”
Now, he follows that calling into the Church’s most hidden and radical way of life. The road ahead is long and demanding, but as the Statutes of the Order state:
“When the monk is established on this rock, there is no end to his joy – the joy of being a child of God, of sharing in Christ's sonship and in His tenderness and compassion for all creation.”
St Hugh’s Charterhouse
