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Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity

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Father Patrick OCSO on the fields of the monastery pointing up to the Snowbasin Ski Area where some of the events of the 2002 Winter Olympics were held

The Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity was a Trappist[1] Cistercian[2] monastery in Huntsville, Utah, United States. They were Catholic contemplative monks of an enclosed religious order known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO).

History

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The abbey was founded in 1947 as a daughter house of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky at the invitation of Bishop Hunt of Salt Lake City.[3] The monks briefly used temporary World War II barracks which had been left on the location, and soon moved to Quonset huts. Plans to replace the deteriorating huts[4] were placed on hold in 2007.[5]

The monks had a special relationship with the Missionaries of Charity. In 1972, Mother Teresa visited Huntsville Abbey for a retreat with the monks, at the invitation of Brother Nicholas Prinster, one of the monks who had spent some time with her.[6] He died in 2018.[7]

The monks of Utah were involved with the founding of a Trappistine monastery of nuns in Arizona. Over the years, many of the priests from Utah were sent to be the chaplain for Santa Rita Abbey.[8] National Geographic produced a short video about the Trappist Monks of Holy Trinity Abbey.[9]

One of the notable monks at the abbey was former Abbot Casimir Bernas OCSO, who wrote almost 400 reviews of biblical and theological journals and textbooks.[10] A former monk, Walter M. Miller Jr., wrote a fictional book based on the monastery in Utah, A Canticle for Leibowitz. Utah author Richard Crangle wrote another fictional work loosely based on the monks of the monastery, titled Temptations Behind Stained Glass: A Canticle of Desires and Redemptions.[11] A former Utah Trappist monk priest, George Fowler, wrote Dance of a fallen monk: a journey to spiritual enlightenment about his 20 years at the monastery, before he eventually left the Catholic Church to marry a former nun.[12]

Father Charles Cummings, OCSO was an editor of Cistercian Studies Quarterly. He was also the author of monastic books, including Spirituality and the desert experience;[13] Eco-spirituality : toward a reverent life;[14] Songs of freedom: the psalter as a school of prayer;[15] and two editions of Monastic Practices.[16]

The monks supported themselves by farming and beekeeping on the abbey's 1,840 acres of land. Among other goods, they sold bread, multigrain cereal, creamed honey, and handmade clocks in the gift shop.[17]

The abbey had 32 monks when it was founded, and at one point it held 84 monks and novices.[18] As the number of monks at the abbey dwindled and the average age among those remaining increased, its industries were gradually discontinued. The decision was made to sell and close down the abbey.[19]

On August 27, 2017, the abbey celebrated its final mass and was closed afterward.[20] Two monks transferred their vow of stability to Genesee Abbey, another Trappist abbey in New York.[21] One monk, Father Charles Cummings, OCSO became the chaplain at Our Lady of Angels monastery for the Trappist nuns in Crozet, Virginia.[22] He died in 2020 while transferring his vow of stability to the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, CA.[23] The remaining monks moved to a nursing home in Salt Lake City.[24] The influence of the monks on their neighbors in the valley was documented in a commentary printed in the Ogden, Utah newspaper.[25]

In 2018, a documentary film, book and poster by John Slattery, cinematographer and director, titled PRESENT TIME: Journal of a Country Monastery, were crowdfunded to document the 70-year history of the abbey.[26][27][28][29][30]

Brother David McManus, OCSO was the last librarian for the monks. He died in 2019.[31]

Father David Altman and Father Patrick Boyle were interviewed by the local diocesan newspaper as they reviewed the finished limited edition of the book that has been released in advance of the DVD Present Time.[32] Father David Altman was again interviewed by the Intermountain Catholic about the "stay-at-home-order" due to the COVID-19 pandemic being similar to having the entire world to adjust to certain monastic ways.[33]

Michael Patrick O'Brien wrote a brief memoir in 2021 about his childhood contact with the monks; it is entitled Monastery Mornings: My Unusual Boyhood Among the Saints and Monks[34]

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  • Abbot Brendan Freeman blessing the monks
    Abbot Brendan Freeman blessing the monks
  • Abbey Road of Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity
    Abbey Road of Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity
  • Fall leaves of the trees planted by the Trappist Cistercian monks along Abbey Road
    Fall leaves of the trees planted by the Trappist Cistercian monks along Abbey Road
  • Fields of the monastery looking towards the hermitage
    Fields of the monastery looking towards the hermitage
  • Bringing in the body of Brother Boniface for his prayers the night before his funeral
    Bringing in the body of Brother Boniface for his prayers the night before his funeral
  • Funeral mass of Brother Boniface
    Funeral mass of Brother Boniface
  • Brother Boniface being prayed over by Father Malachy
    Brother Boniface being prayed over by Father Malachy

References

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  1. ^ "Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance: OCSO". www.ocso.org. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  2. ^ "Order of Cistercians of Strict Observance". www.ocso.org. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "Home". www.monks.org. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  4. ^ "To Build a Monastery". Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  5. ^ Kristen Moulton (August 30, 2007). "Ogden Valley's Trappist monks celebrate new abbott". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  6. ^ O'Brien, Mike (September 16, 2018). "Huntsville Abbey hosted Mother Teresa in 1972". Intermountain Catholic. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  7. ^ "Brother Nicholas Prinster, OCSO". Intermoutain Catholic. June 29, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  8. ^ "Monastic Community of the Trappistine Branch of Cistercian Nuns | Santa Rita Abbey". Santa Rita Abbey. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  9. ^ Trappist Monks, archived from the original on July 29, 2014, retrieved 2018-03-21
  10. ^ Bernas, Casimir (October 3, 2018). "WorldCat". WorldCat.org. Retrieved Oct 3, 2018.
  11. ^ Crangle, Richard (August 16, 2015). Temptations behind stained glass: a canticle of desires and redemptions. Tate Pub & Enterprises Ll. OCLC 908915210 – via Open WorldCat.
  12. ^ Fowler, George (1996). Dance of a fallen monk : a journey to spiritual enlightenment. OCLC 865187723. Retrieved May 15, 2020 – via www.worldcat.org.
  13. ^ Cummings, Charles (1978). Spirituality and the desert experience. Denville, N.J.: Dimension. ISBN 9780871930675.
  14. ^ Cummings, Charles (1991). Eco-Spirituality : toward a reverent life. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press.
  15. ^ Cummings, Charles (1986). Songs of freedom: the psalter as a school of prayer. Denville, NJ: Dimension Books. ISBN 9780871932457.
  16. ^ Cummings, Charles (1986). Monastic Practices. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. ISBN 9780879078751.
  17. ^ O'Brien, Michael (April 15, 2018). "Commentary : Still hearing the bells of Brother Nicholas from the Huntsville Abbey". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  18. ^ Kristen Moulton (March 16, 2010). "Saying Goodbye to Brother Felix". Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  19. ^ Eagar, Emilee (August 17, 2014), "End of an era: Huntsville bookshop closing, monastery not far behind", Deseret News, archived from the original on September 29, 2018
  20. ^ "To Close A Monastery". October 3, 2017 – via Vimeo.
  21. ^ "Genesee Abbey | Becoming a Trappist Monk or Nun". www.trappists.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  22. ^ "Our Lady of the Angels Monastery | Welcome". www.olamonastery.org. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  23. ^ "Father Charles Cummings, OCSO". Intermountain Catholic. Jan 24, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  24. ^ "The World Is Changing. This Trappist Abbey Isn't. Can It Last?". The New York Times. 2018-03-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  25. ^ O'Brien, Michael Patrick (April 13, 2017). "The monks and the saints - 70 years together in the Ogden Valley". Ogden Standard-Examiner. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  26. ^ "PRESENT TIME: journal of a country monastery". Seed&Spark.
  27. ^ "The Beginning - and End of a Monastery". Catholic Journal. July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  28. ^ Chaplin, Lori Hadacek (September 26, 2018). "Film Chronicles Utah Abbey's Final Years". Catholic Digest. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  29. ^ "California director captures quiet lives of monks". angelus news. July 24, 2018. Retrieved Feb 23, 2019.
  30. ^ Reilly, Hillary (June 20, 2018). "New documentary offers intimate glimpse of Huntsville Monastery". SignPost (Weber State University). Retrieved Feb 23, 2019.
  31. ^ "Trappist Brother David McManus Laid to rest". Intermountain Catholic. November 8, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  32. ^ Petersen, Linda (March 15, 2019). "Utah's former Trappist monastery is focus of movie, book". Intermountain Catholic. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  33. ^ Petersen, Linda (May 8, 2020). "Trappist monk: During pandemic, practice prayer, patience, and perseverance". Intermountain Catholic. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  34. ^ Paraclete Press, ISBN 978-1640606494.
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