Saint Aelred's was founded by six monks who came to the hills to build a house of prayer. Today the community farms, makes bread and receives about two thousand guests a year.
| Order | Benedictine monks |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952 |
| Patron | Saint Aelred of Rievaulx |
| Diocese | A made-up diocese |
| Motto | Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus |
| Superior | Abbot Gregory (fictional) |
Our charism
We follow the Rule of Saint Benedict: the Work of God, sacred reading, manual labour and a stable life in one community under an abbot. Our particular work is hospitality, and the guesthouse is the heart of it.
Prayer
The Divine Office sung in choir seven times a day, and the conventual Mass.
Work
The farm, the bakery and the bindery support the community and the poor.
Hospitality
Guests stay with us for a day or a week of silence and prayer.
A day in the monastery
The day begins with Vigils before dawn and ends with Compline and the Great Silence. Between them come Lauds, Mass, the little hours, Vespers, the morning and afternoon work, and lectio divina.
Our history
1952
Six monks arrive and convert a dairy barn into the first chapel.
1971
The abbey church is consecrated.
2019
The new guesthouse opens with twenty rooms.