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ABOUT ST. ANDREW'S ABBEY
LIKE MOST other Benedictine monasteries, St. Andrew's Abbey can trace its heritage, its "line of descent," back into the remote middle ages. The community at Valyermo was originally founded in 1929 in China as a daughter house of the Belgian abbey of St. André, now known as Sint Andries, Zevenkerken. St. André was at that time a member (in fact, one of the founding abbeys) of the Congregation of the Annunciation. Thus when the community at Valyermo achieved full independence from St. André in 1965, it, too, remained a member of the Congregation of the Annunciation.
BEYOND ST. André, the line of descent for Valyermo stretches back to the Abbey of Beuron in Germany, which founded St. André as a monastic procura (training center) in 1898. Beuron had itself been founded in 1863 by the ancient Benedictine Abbey of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls in Rome. The origins of the abbey of St. Paul are lost in the mists of antiquity: the monastery was founded sometime in the sixth or seventh century; but the church dates back to the fourth century. Thus with St. Paul's uncertain origins, Valyermo's line of descent disappears into the obscure early centuries of Benedictine monasticism.
WHAT IS A BENEDICTINE MONK?
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PRAYER The primary work of every monk is prayer. The monks gather as a community five times each day to sing the Divine Praises and celebrate the Holy Eucharist. |
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COMMUNITY Monastic life at St. Andrew’s Abbey is an imitation of the early Christian community: they devoted themselves to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers. (Acts 2:44-47) |
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WORK The monks engage in a variety of work and ministries. The principal ministry is the ministry of hospitality. Additional ministries include offering retreats, spiritual direction, teaching, assisting at local parishes and chaplaincies. |
Periods of common and private prayer, manual labor and study are intertwined, giving the entire day the character of Divine Praise.
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