English Benedictine Congregation
Encyclopedia
The English Benedictine Congregation (abbr. EBC) comprises autonomous Roman Catholic Benedictine
communities of monk
s and nuns and is technically the oldest of the 21 congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation
.
in 1535-40. The present English Congregation was revived and restored by Rome in 1607-33 when numbers of Englishmen and Welshmen had become monks in continental European monasteries and were coming to England as missioners.
At the beginning of the 21st century the EBC has Houses in the United Kingdom, the United States, South America and Africa.
Every four years the General Chapter of the EBC elects an Abbot President from among the Ruling Abbot
s with jurisdiction, and those who have been Ruling Abbots. He is assisted by a number of officials. Periodically he undertakes a Visitation of the individual Houses. The purpose of the Visitation is the preservation, strengthening and renewal of the religious life, including the laws of the Church and the Constitutions of the congregation. The President may require by Acts of Visitation, that particular points in the Rule, the Constitutions and the law of the Church be observed.
The current Abbot President is the Right Reverend Dom Richard Yeo, former Abbot of Downside Abbey
.
United States:
Zimbabwe
Peru
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
communities of monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s and nuns and is technically the oldest of the 21 congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...
.
History and administration
Although the EBC claims technical canonical continuity with the congregation erected by the Holy See in 1216, that earlier English Congregation was destroyed at the dissolution of the monasteriesDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1535-40. The present English Congregation was revived and restored by Rome in 1607-33 when numbers of Englishmen and Welshmen had become monks in continental European monasteries and were coming to England as missioners.
At the beginning of the 21st century the EBC has Houses in the United Kingdom, the United States, South America and Africa.
Every four years the General Chapter of the EBC elects an Abbot President from among the Ruling Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
s with jurisdiction, and those who have been Ruling Abbots. He is assisted by a number of officials. Periodically he undertakes a Visitation of the individual Houses. The purpose of the Visitation is the preservation, strengthening and renewal of the religious life, including the laws of the Church and the Constitutions of the congregation. The President may require by Acts of Visitation, that particular points in the Rule, the Constitutions and the law of the Church be observed.
The current Abbot President is the Right Reverend Dom Richard Yeo, former Abbot of Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey
The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation. One of its main apostolates is a school for children aged nine to eighteen...
.
Houses of the Congregation in exile
| Religious house in Europe | Location | Dates | Successor house in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Gregory's Priory, Douai Downside Abbey The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation. One of its main apostolates is a school for children aged nine to eighteen... |
Douai Douai -Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying... , France |
1607–1798 | Downside Abbey |
| Dieulouard Priory Ampleforth Abbey Ampleforth Abbey is a monastery of Benedictine Monks in North Yorkshire, England, part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It claims descent from the pre-Reformation community at Westminster Abbey through the last surviving monk from Westminster Sigebert Buckley.The current Abbot is Fr... |
France | 1608–1798 | Ampleforth Abbey |
| St. Malo Priory | St. Malo, Brittany | 1610 approx. -late 17th century | n/a |
| St. Edmund's Priory, Paris Douai Abbey Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the English county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Monks from the monastery of St. Edmund's, in Douai, France, came to Woolhampton in 1903 when the community left France as a result of... ; later St. Edmund's Abbey, Douai |
Paris | 1615-1798 (Paris); 1818-1903 (Douai) | Douai Abbey, Woolhampton |
| Cambrai Priory Stanbrook Abbey Stanbrook Abbey is an abbey built as a contemplative house for Benedictine nuns. It was founded in 1625 in Cambrai, Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, under the auspices of the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:... |
Cambrai Cambrai Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included... , Flanders |
1625–1794 | Stanbrook Abbey |
| Our Lady of Good Hope Priory, Paris Colwich Abbey Colwich Abbey is a community of Roman Catholic nuns of the English Benedictine Congregation founded in 1623 at Cambrai, Flanders, in the Spanish Netherlands... |
Paris | 1651–1794 | Colwich Abbey |
| Lamspringe Abbey Lamspringe Abbey Lamspringe Abbey is a former religious house of the English Benedictines in exile, at Lamspringe near Hildesheim in Germany.-First foundation:... |
Lamspringe Lamspringe Lamspringe is a village and a municipality in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km south of Hildesheim.... , Lower Saxony |
1630–1803 | Broadway Priory, 1826–34; Fort Augustus Abbey Fort Augustus Abbey Fort Augustus Abbey, properly St. Benedict's Abbey, at Fort Augustus, Inverness-shire, Scotland, was a Benedictine monastery, from late in the nineteenth century to 1998.-History:... , 1886–1998 |
Houses of the present Congregation
United Kingdom:- Ampleforth AbbeyAmpleforth AbbeyAmpleforth Abbey is a monastery of Benedictine Monks in North Yorkshire, England, part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It claims descent from the pre-Reformation community at Westminster Abbey through the last surviving monk from Westminster Sigebert Buckley.The current Abbot is Fr...
, fdd 1608 at Dieulouard - Belmont AbbeyBelmont Abbey, HerefordshireBelmont Abbey, in Herefordshire, England is a Catholic Benedictine monastery that forms part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It stands on a small hill overlooking the city of Hereford to the east, with views across to the Black Mountains, Wales to the west...
, fdd 1859 - Buckfast AbbeyBuckfast AbbeyBuckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Dedicated to Saint Mary, it was founded in 1018 and run by the Cistercian order from 1147 until it was destroyed under the Dissolution of the Monasteries...
, fdd 1882 - Colwich AbbeyColwich AbbeyColwich Abbey is a community of Roman Catholic nuns of the English Benedictine Congregation founded in 1623 at Cambrai, Flanders, in the Spanish Netherlands...
(nuns), fdd 1651 in Paris - Curzon Park AbbeyCurzon Park AbbeyCurzon Park Abbey is one of three monasteries of nuns in the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:It began as an Anglican Benedictine convent at Feltham, Middlesex, founded by Father Ignatius on 24 June 1868...
(nuns), fdd 1868 - Douai AbbeyDouai AbbeyDouai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the English county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Monks from the monastery of St. Edmund's, in Douai, France, came to Woolhampton in 1903 when the community left France as a result of...
, fdd 1615 in Paris - Downside AbbeyDownside AbbeyThe Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation. One of its main apostolates is a school for children aged nine to eighteen...
, fdd 1607 in Douai - Ealing AbbeyEaling AbbeyEaling Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastic foundation in West London, England, and part of the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:...
, fdd 1897 - Stanbrook AbbeyStanbrook AbbeyStanbrook Abbey is an abbey built as a contemplative house for Benedictine nuns. It was founded in 1625 in Cambrai, Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, under the auspices of the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:...
(nuns) fdd 1625 in Cambrai - Worth AbbeyWorth AbbeyThe Abbey of Our Lady, Help of Christians, commonly known as Worth Abbey, is a community of Roman Catholic monks who follow the Rule of St Benedict near Turners Hill village, in West Sussex, England....
, fdd 1933
United States:
- Portsmouth AbbeyPortsmouth AbbeyPortsmouth Abbey is a monastery of the Roman Catholic English Benedictine Congregation in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The Abbey was founded on 18th October, 1918 by the Bostonian, Dom Leonard Sargent, as a priory of Downside Abbey. Its monks run the Portsmouth Abbey School....
, fdd 1918 - Saint Louis AbbeySaint Louis AbbeyThe Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis is an abbey of the Roman Catholic English Benedictine Congregation located in St. Louis County, Missouri USA. The Abbey is an important presence in the spiritual life of the Archdiocese of St. Louis...
, fdd 1955 - Saint Anselm's AbbeySaint Anselm's AbbeySt. Anselm's Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey located at 4501 South Dakota Avenue, N.E., in Washington, D.C.. It operates the prestigious boys' middle and high school St. Anselm's Abbey School.- History :...
, fdd 1923
Zimbabwe
- Monastery of Christ the WordMonastery of Christ the WordThe Monastery of Christ the Word is a priory of the English Benedictine Congregation located in Macheke, Zimbabwe, within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Harare...
, fdd 1996
Peru
- Priory of the Incarnation
Sources
- Website of the EBC
- History of the EBC
- Religiosus Ordo, The Apostolic Letter of Pope Leo XIII of 12 November 1889, concerning the modification of the government and discipline of the EBC(with an outline of the EBC history since the 16th century)
- The Benedictine Yearbook 2005