Mount St Bernard Abbey
|
Mount St Bernard Abbey | |
  Location within Leicestershire | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Cistercian Trappists |
| Established | 1835 |
| Abbot | Fr Erik Varden (ad nutum) |
| Site | |
| Location | Near Coalville, Leicestershire, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°44′29″N 1°19′23″W / 52.741352°N 1.323072°WCoordinates: 52°44′29″N 1°19′23″W / 52.741352°N 1.323072°W |
| Public access | yes |
Mount St Bernard Abbey is a Cistercian monastery of the Strict Observance (Trappists) near Coalville in Leicestershire, England, formerly in the parish of Whitwick and now of that in Charley, in Charnwood Forest, founded in 1835. The abbey has the distinction of having been the first permanent monastery to be founded in England since the Reformation.
The Cistercian order dates back to the 12th century and the Trappists to the mid-17th century. Mount St Bernard is the only abbey belonging to this order left in England.
History
Mount St Bernard Abbey was founded in 1835 on 222 acres (0.90 km2) of land given by Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps De Lisle, who wanted to re-introduce monastic life to the country. He was helped by a loan from Bishop Thomas Walsh, the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District.
The land that the monks took possession of in September 1835 was wild and largely uncultivated, but it contained an ancient enclosure known as Tin Meadow, and it was into the near-derelict Tin Meadow House, a small four-roomed cottage, that the first monks came to make their home. The first monks were Augustine, Luke, Xavier, Cyprian, Placid, Simeon and Fr Odilo Woolfrey.[1]
Work was then begun on a temporary monastery, which was opened in 1837, to the designs of William Railton, an architect most famed today for having designed Nelson's Column in London. In 1844, a new, permanent monastery was opened on the site where it still stands, through donations from John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, and other benefactors. It was designed by Augustus Pugin, who offered his services free of charge. 'The whole of the buildings', wrote Pugin, 'are erected in the greatest severity of the lancet style, with massive walls and buttresses, long and narrow windows, high gables and roofs, with deeply arched doorways. Solemnity and simplicity are the characteristics of the monastery, and every portion of the architecture and fittings corresponds to the austerity of the Order for whom it has been raised'.
In 1848, the monastery was granted the status of an abbey by Pope Pius IX and its first abbot was appointed, Dom Bernard Palmer. It was united with the Cistercian congregation by a papal brief in 1849.
In 1856 a reformatory school for young Catholic delinquents was founded at Mount Saint Bernard.[2] It closed in 1881 after several episodes of disorder, but re-opened temporarily in 1884-5 to house boys who had burnt and sunk their own reformatory ship moored in the Mersey.[3]
The abbey suffered from financial problems and a lack of monks joining the community through the 19th century. This improved in the 20th century and the church was extended between 1935 and 1939 from the designs of Albert Herbert of Leicester, although it was not consecrated until 1945, by the Bishop of Nottingham. Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi was a monk at the abbey from 1950 until his death in 1964.
The buildings were listed as Grade II in 1989.[4] The central tower contains two bells, cast by Taylor's of Loughborough in 1936, and which are swung slowly by means of an electrical mechanism.[5]
In 2005, the skeletons of more than six hundred medieval Trappist monks were re-buried in the grounds of Mount Saint Bernard. The remains had originally been found by workmen excavating an extension to London Underground's Jubilee line in 1998, on a site which had once been occupied by the Abbey of Stratford and Langthorpe. This had been one of the wealthiest monasteries in England, closed in Henry VIII's dissolution in 1538.[6]
Abbots and Superiors, 1835 to Present
| Abbot/Superior | Dates of Office |
|---|---|
 Odilo Woolfrey (1803 - 1856) | Superior: 1835 - 39 |
| Benedict Johnson | Superior: 1839 - 41 |
| Bernard Palmer (1782 - 1852) | Prior: 1841 - 49; Abbot: 1849 -52 |
| Bernard Burder (1814 - 1881) | Superior: 1852 - 53; Abbot: 1853 - 58 |
| Bartholemew Anderson | Superior: 1859 - 63; Abbot: 1863 - 90 |
| Wilfred Hipwood | Abbot: 1890 - 1910 |
 Lewis Carew | Superior: 1910 - 27 |
| Celsus O'Connell | Superior: 1927 - 29; Abbot: 1929 - 33 |
| Malachy Brasil (1883 - 1965) | Abbot: 1933 - 59 |
| Ambrose Southey (1923 - 2013) | Abbot: 1959 - 74 |
| Cyril Bunce | Abbot: 1974 - 80 |
| John Moakler | Superior: 1980 - 82; Abbot: 1982 - 2001 |
| Joseph Delargy | Abbot: 2001 - 13 |
 Erik Varden (1974 -) | Superior 2013 - 15; Abbot 2015 - |
The small, founding community of monks was originally led by Father Odilo Woolfrey, who also assumed the duties of parish priest for the neighbouring Catholic churches of Grace Dieu and Whitwick.[7] Odilo's brother, Father Norbert Woolfrey also came to Saint Bernards and acted for a while as parish priest at Loughborough.[8] Both brothers later embarked on missionary work in Australia. Odilo Woolfrey died on 31 March 1856, and is buried with his brother Norbert, in the churchyard of St Thomas Becket's, Lewisham, Sydney.[9]
In 1848, the monastery became an abbey and Dom Bernard Palmer was elected as its first abbot, thus becoming the first post-reformation abbot in England.[7] Until his death in 1852, he was the only mitred abbot in England.[1]
On the death of Abbot Palmer, the subprior, Father Bernard Burder, was appointed provisional superior and was elected as second abbot in 1853.[1] The tenure of Dom Bernard Burder, a convert Anglican clergyman, proved to be somewhat unsettled. Abbot Burder had considered that the rigorous Trappist life was too hard for Englishmen and had made plans for separating the monastery from the Trappist General Chapter and affiliating it to the Benedictines. In addition, many of the monastic community had become profoundly disturbed by the way in which a nearby boys' reformatory, begun by the abbot in 1856, had begun to affect the life of the monastery. The outcome was inevitable and the abbot resigned his office in 1858, following an enquiry by papal commission.[1]
In 1859, Father Bartholemew Anderson was appointed superior, being elected abbot in 1863, and was to lead the community for thirty years. Three of his brothers were also monks of Mount Saint Bernard.[1] Abbot Anderson oversaw a number of additions made to the monastery buildings, including the Clock Tower and the octagonal Chapter House. He also had a particular interest in ecumenicalism and was involved with the Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom. The extension of such courtesy to non-Catholics was unusual at that time and among the guests welcomed by the abbot was the prime minister, William Gladstone, who paid a special visit in 1873.[1]
In 1890, Dom Wilfred Hipwood became abbot. Described as a gentle and scholarly man, his twenty years as abbot were marred by almost constant ill-health and a decline in numbers; by the time of his death in 1910, the community numbered fewer than thirty monks.[1]
In 1910, Father Louis Carew, a former definitor of the order, was sent to Mount Saint Bernard as provisional superior, though numbers continued to remain low during his period of governance. Father Louis died in 1927, whilst on holiday in Ireland.[1]
Father Louis was succeeded as superior of Mount Saint Bernard by the prior of Mount Melleray Abbey, Father Celsus O'Connell. The community began to grow almost immediately and by 1929 it was again possible to hold an abbatial election at the monastery. Dom Celsus was elected as the new abbot, but after only four years, he moved back to Mount Melleray, when he was elected abbot of that house.[1]
Fortunately, the monastery's revival continued under his successor, Dom Malachy Brasil - the third Irishman to rule the abbey, who took charge in 1933, elected as abbot by the monks of Mount Saint Bernard on the basis of his excellent reputation, gained as prior of Roscrea. It was during Dom Malachy's time that the abbey attained its present day form, with the completion of the abbey church, just over one hundred years after the foundation of the monastery. This and other noteworthy achievements of Dom Malachy is described in his obituary, written by the monks of Nunraw:
"His first move, we were informed, was to call in an outsider to improve the chant and discharge of the divine office. After examining the accounts and revenue of the abbey he planned the building of the monastic church. Already Pugin, the famous architect of the nineteenth century had designed a small church of which the nave had been completed. There it stood for nearly a century unfinished. With admirable courage the new superior changed the plans and built practically another church twice the size of what was previously designed. There were critics, of course, of the monastic edifice with a nave in the east and one in the west with the altar in the centre Since Vatican II however, visitors to the monastery say that Dom Malachy was a century ahead of his time. Next he beautified the grounds, enlarged the guesthouse and brought it up-to-date. Not a year passed during his time as superior that did not witness improvements made in both the buildings and farm. During this period the personnel of the community also increased and reached the highest ever. He received subjects, professed them and had a large number of his monks raised to the priesthood. When eventually he laid aside the pastoral staff in 1959 he left to his successor a flourishing abbey".[10]
It is also noted that it was during Dom Malachy's abbacy that the community was joined by the first Nigerians to become Cistercian monks.[1]
Dom Malachy resigned in 1959, having celebrated his silver jubilee as abbot and spent his final years at the Cistercian monastery of Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw in Scotland, where he was laid to rest in 1965.[11]
The new abbot, Father Ambrose Southey, was the first Englishman to govern the abbey for more than half a century. During the period of his office, the community made a foundation in the West Cameroons - the monastery of Our Lady of Bamenda, founded in 1963 - now an independent community composed mainly of African monks. Dom Ambrose was already abbot vicar of the order when, in 1974 he was elected abbot general, the highest office in the order.[1] Dom Ambose stepped down as Abbot-General in 1990 and later became superior of Bamenda Abbey (Cameroon) which he served from 1993 until 1996, and superior of Scourmont Abbey (Belgium), from 1996 until 1998. Dom Ambrose later accepted the ministry of chaplain for the community of Vitorchiano and remained there until he returned definitively to his "community of stability", Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, where he died on 24 August 2013, aged ninety years.[12]
In 1974, the monastery elected their prior, Father Cyril Bunce as abbot, and who was succeeded by John Moakler in 1980, in turn succeeded by Dom Joseph Delargy in 2001.
Dom Joseph Delargy retired as abbot in June 2013, after completing two six-year terms. The abbatial election was inconclusive, and Norwegian-born Father Erik Varden was appointed Superior ad nutum (i.e. with the agreement of the community).[13] On 16 April 2015, Erik Varden became the eleventh abbot of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, following a further election.[14]
Present day
The monks get up at 3:15 am every day and go to bed at 8:00 pm. The three focuses of monastic life at Mount St Bernard Abbey are prayer, work and reading with study. They take part in daily liturgical prayer, known as Opus Dei or Canonical Hours. They meditatively read the Bible, which is called Lectio Divina. Silence and solitude are very important to the order and the abbey. Their work includes running their 200-acre (0.81 km2) dairy farm, pottery, bookbinding, beekeeping and tending the vegetable garden and orchard. They also run a gift shop where they sell the items that they make in the abbey. The abbey has a guesthouse for friends and family of the monks, retreatants and those who are interested in the monastic life.
Life at the Abbey was briefly shown in Richard Dawkins' 2012 television programme Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life.[15]
Mount St Bernard Abbey maintains an ecumenical link with the Anglican Cistercians, a dispersed and uncloistered order of single, celibate, and married men that is officially recognized within the Church of England.[16]
According to a BBC article of 2005, the monastery had a full quota of 35 brothers, with approximately 50 applications to join the monastery every year. It was also noted that in the region of 5000 guests stayed at the monastery annually. Guests can stay up to five days and there is no charge, although the abbey encourages visitors to make a contribution toward the running of the guest house.[17]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Mount Saint Bernard Abbey: A Brief Historical Sketch", late 20th-century leaflet by St Bernard Monastery
- ↑ English Benedictine Congregation History Commission –– Symposium 1982, NINETEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH CISTERCIAN SPIRITUALITY, Dom Hilary Costello
- ↑ Whitwick Community Information
- ↑ English Heritage listing
- ↑ http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ccaajpa/1and2.html
- ↑ Leicester Mercury, July 24, 2009.
- 1 2 Robinson, Albert F: "Holy Cross, Whitwick - A Brief History, 1837 - 1937", published by Whitwick Historical Group, 1987
- ↑ http://www.stmarysloughborough.org.uk/about-us/history/
- ↑ http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/106380975
- ↑ Obituary, Dom Malachy Brasil (died 1965): http://www.nunraw.com/sanctamaria/dommalachi.htm. Accessed 15.02.16.
- ↑ http://www.zisterzienserlexikon.de/wiki/Brasil,_Malachy
- ↑ cl.boutin@ocso.org. "The Death of Dom Ambrose".
- ↑ Fr Donald. "Dom Donald's Blog: News Mount Saint Bernard Abbey".
- ↑ http://www.zisterzienserlexikon.de/wiki/Mount_Saint_Bernard/%C3%84bteliste
- ↑ "Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life - 4oD - Channel 4".
- ↑ "Anglican Cistercians? Who and what are we?". Anglican Cistercians. 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/eastmidlands/series7/monastery.shtml
External links
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