Plymouth, England, Oct 18, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In 2018 one of England’s historic monasteries will celebrate the millennium year of its foundation, offering a prime example of the contribution of monastic life to society amid an increasingly fast-paced world.
For the Benedictine monks who inhabit Buckfast Abbey in Devon, reaching such a significant anniversary means “we are the inheritors of a great tradition,” Abbot David Charlesworth told CNA.
“Place matters for Benedictines, so the fact that we are in a place that has been established for many centuries before we came is important.”
Not only to Benedictine monks take the traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, they also make an additional vow of stability, meaning that when they are assigned to a monastery, they stay there. While they might travel or even spend time in other monasteries, they will always be attached to the original, as an individual would be to their family home.
Charlesworth, who served as Abbot at Buckfast from 1992-1999, and was re-elected in 2009, said that in general, human beings “like the idea of roots.”
The concept of monasticism is ultimately rooted in the Gospel and expressed through the Rule of St Benedict, he said, but it is also rooted “in place, in a place, and it is from there, out of that place, that we then live our Baptismal vocation expressed through our monastic vocation.”
When it comes to living this vocation in modern times, the millennium landmark “helps to sort of galvanize our approach as to what we’re doing for the future,” Charlesworth said. This, he added, encompasses “what we’re doing personally, what we’re doing as a community, and what we’re doing as members of the Church of the Southwest of England.”
The abbot spoke to CNA about the millennium anniversary during a sit-down interview inside one of the two main guest houses at Buckfast Abbey, located in Buckfastleigh, about 25 miles northeast of Plymouth.
The abbey was founded in 1018 during the reign of King Cnut and entrusted to care of the Benedictines.
The monks who inhabited the monastery followed the “Regularis Concordia” rule, which was drafted in Winchester around the year 970 for all Benedictine monasteries in an effort to re-establish, in a sense, monastic life.
Just over 100 years later, in 1147, Buckfast became a Cistercian monastery. The Order was founded in 1098 by a group of monks seeking to live a simpler life in more strict observance of the Benedictine Rule.
Under the Cistercians Buckfast thrived, exporting wool to Italy by the 14th century. By the 15th century, the monastery had in essence become a wealthy landowner, while continuing to run an almshouse and school, and support local parishes in the area.
But in 1539 was shut down by the commissioners of King Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries in a bid to confiscate the wealth of the country’s religious institutes during the English Reformation.
The monastery was immediately vacated, stripped and left to decay. During the more than 300 years that Buckfast was without monks, the monastery changed hands four times, eventually landing in those of Dr. James Gale in 1872, who decided to sell the property, but wanted it to go back to a religious community.
Just six weeks after putting an advertisement in the paper, Buckfast was purchased by monks, who moved in shortly after, bringing a close to the 343 year gap in monastic presence at the abbey.
That first group of monks who returned to Buckfast were Benedictines who had been exiled from France and had made their way to Ireland. They moved to Buckfast in 1882 after acquiring the abbey, and began the process of restoring the property.
As the work was being carried out, the ruins to the original Cistercian design from the 1100s were discovered, and the monastery was constructed in its modern form from the ancient layout. The abbey was consecrated in 1932, with the final stone of the large bell tower being laid in 1937.
Now in 2017, the monastery is again a thriving presence in Devon. Not only does Buckfast represent a silent spiritual hub for tourists or visitors who want to get away for a day of prayer, but it also boasts of several other major activities available for people throughout the area.
The Buckfast monks essentially serve as the board of trustees for the St. Mary’s grade school that sits on their property, and the abbey hosts a center for evangelization called the School of the Annunciation, which was established as a response to Church’s call for a new evangelization.
The school offers formation to adults from all walks of life, and it also holds the status of a Catholic Institute for Higher Learning, providing distance-learning opportunities for students to obtain Master’s Degrees in Catechesis and Evangelization, validated by the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.
Buckfast also has a large conference center where they host various congresses and retreats throughout the year, including for non-Catholic groups.
The monastery also offers two refurbished guest houses for pilgrims and tourists to stay. They also have private houses available to rent if people want a longer get-away.
Buckfast also has a cafeteria and an adoration chapel open to visitors. Monks also offer pilgrims the opportunity to pray Vespers with them every evening.
The abbey is known throughout the UK for a tonic wine they brew called Buckfast Tonic Wine. Originally brewed for medicinal purposes, the wine is controversial in some areas of the UK due to its unique recipe, which contains high amounts of alcohol infused with high levels of caffeine.
Reminiscent of the monastery’s early centuries, Buckfast, which is strategically placed beside the River Dart that runs through the area, also generates their own power with a water turbine that provides enough energy not only for their own grounds, but for locals in the nearby area who want to purchase it for their own homes and neighborhoods.
Another means of income for the monastery is renting grazing ground for local farmers.
Several acres of land had been purchased for Buckfast when it was established in order to preserve the silence of the monastery and ensure that the monks were truly removed with few distractions. However, since the swath of land owned by Buckfast largely serves as a buffer-of-sorts from the outside world, they rent out certain patches to local farmers who need fresh grazing land.
And while Buckfast can’t quite claim to be celebrating 1,000 years of having monks on the property, the millennium anniversary of the monastery’s foundation is recognized as a monumental event not only for the abbey, but the entire region.
Preparations for the anniversary have been underway for 10 years. According to Charlesworth, “not only do we reassess the physical environment of the monastery, but we reassess our spiritual lives as well.”
“Everything is integrated, it’s an integrated system,” he said, noting that while the monks themselves have had retreats and meditations to reflect on, the structure of the monastery itself has also been cleaned and renovated, from the base of the Church floor to the top of the bell tower.
Paintings depicting the history and reconstruction of the monastery have also been produced, and vestments woven in honor of the upcoming anniversary. Exhibits on Buckfast and monasticism are also set to be unveiled, and study workshops are scheduled exploring the role of Christian monasticism both in the past and in the present.
The famous image of Our Lady of Buckfast that greets visitors as they approach the monastery was also redone. Crafted by a local artist with her neighbor and her neighbor’s baby as models, the statue depicts a smiling Mary holding a smiling infant Christ in a relaxed pose on her hip.
Based on the medieval original, which was destroyed during the sacking of the monastery in the 1500s, the statue, according to Charlesworth, is meant to depict “the joy of motherhood.”
“You don’t typically see statues like that,” with Mary’s soft but full smile, and her relaxed pose, he said, explaining that when he initially commissioned the statue in 2012, “I specifically asked that be emphasized…the smiling motherly face of Mary and child.”
When pilgrims arrive, he explained, they see Christ “smiling and looking at them as a child – because he was a child – and there is Mary looking at her Son in the joy of motherhood.”
Various liturgical events are also set to take place, with three major Masses scheduled throughout the year. The first will take place on the May 24 feast of Our Lady of Buckfast, which will mark the diocesan celebration.
The bishops of England, Wales, and Scotland will all be invited to the Mass. Parish priests and representatives of parishes in the area will also be invited.
The next major liturgical event will be the singing of Vespers by the abbey choir on the July 11 feast of St. Benedict. Members of both civil society and the Church of England will be invited for a civic and ecumenical celebration of the anniversary.
Another Mass will be offered on the Aug. 25 feast of the Dedication of the Abbey, which will be more of a community celebration for the abbey parish staff and their families.
On Oct. 27 a Votive Mass will be offered for the Oct. 27 feast of Saints Simon and Jude, which will be celebrated by the Benedictine Abbot Primate, Gregory Polan of Conception Abbey in Missouri, who will come in from Rome for the celebration.
The Mass will primarily be for the monks and nuns o the Benedictine family, particularly those from France and in Germany, since the first monks to re-settle Buckfast in the 19th century were French and German.
With around 120 employees on staff and 3-400,000 visitors a year, Buckfast is far from a small presence in the area. However, there are only 15 monks, including Abbot Charlesworth, who live in the enclosed monastery of the abbey.
But according to Charlesworth, “the vitality of a monastic community witness does not depend so much on the age or number of members as on their manner of living the monastic life.”
Going into the future, he hopes Buckfast Abbey is able to offer a concrete service based on “Christ-centered hospitality” to the mission of the Church as a whole, but specifically the pilgrims who come.
“The monastic life itself is our way of participating in the mission of Christ and his Church,” the abbot said, adding that it offers both the Church and the world “a strong clear sign of the very nature of the Christian life.”
Though the monks are enclosed, that doesn’t mean they are inactive or that their presence isn’t felt, he said, because if lived properly through a life of prayer and asceticism, monastic life “assumes an evangelical importance, being the attitude and behavior which demonstrates our faith at the point of contact with each other and the world.”
“To witness the contentment and pleasure that others experience here is a great joy,” he said, noting that for many of Buckfast’s visitors, the monastery is a place “where they are uplifted and find peace,” which in itself is “an important source of encouragement.”
This opportunity for peace, joy and renewal is a primary way to evangelize, particularly amid a busy and often hectic rhythm, he said.
Evangelization, he said, “should seek to orientate our human freedom towards God, who is the source of truth, goodness and beauty.”
Because of this, a life of prayer is also a mode of evangelization, he said, explaining that “the Spirit given to us in prayer and the sacraments encourages us to spread the Good News of Jesus in word and deed” to the community, and to visitors.
“For us, the three-fold mission of liturgy, hospitality and evangelization helps us to express our commitment, through our monastic calling to the life of the Gospel,” Charlesworth said, stressing that “we do not have to work away from the monastery to bear witness to Jesus.”
“Within the monastic enclosure, if we are willing to cooperate with each other and collaborate with those who share our vision, we have the resources to bring hope and joy to those in need.”
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“Mosaics by the alleged sexual abuser Rupnik, who is under investigation and awaiting a trial by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith…'”
How long does anyone who has committed such serious offenses get for those acts to still be considered “alleged?”
Until he’s convicted in a court of law. I think that relates to laws regarding libel. If someone were to accuse him, rather than mention allegations, they would be liable to a lawsuit, which would then be carried out in a civil court, with a lower standard of proof and no statute of limitations.
I get the legalese. But where’s the common sense and sense of justice? Nowhere to be found.
Sorry, but this guy’s misdeeds and his “in your face” attitude stinks.
I agree that Rupnik’s icons/paintings should be removed as quickly and quietly as possible. May Gods will be done. God bless.
Waiting for the next domino to fall. How long, oh Lord?
A “new symbolic step had to be taken to make the entrance to the basilica easier for all those who today cannot cross the threshold.” Thank you to Bishop Micas for taking another small step to console and protect victims of abuse, spiritual and physical. Slow though he may be moving, he has made another move at a most signficant holy site.
At least, Mary E, we know the second coming will resolve this Rupnik mosaic outrage.
A one-gallon can of Glidden Fundamentals Exterior Paint, White, Semi-Gloss, is available for $29.97 at WalMart.
The bishop — and anyone else who has a Rupnik to blot out — can order it online.
You’re welcome.
I think sledgehammers work better for mosaics.
Although, now that I’ve read the article, I’m wondering about what French art laws involve.
My sentiments, exactly, Amanda.
Given the totalitarian culture that now runs the French state, it’s likely that taking a sledgehammer to those mosaics might get you a trip to the guillotine.
Think of all the beautiful artwork over the last two thousand years depicting our Lady and our Lord and the church uses a mosaic that looks like it was made in the 1970’s. Then again, the current leadership of the Church are stuck in the 70’s.
All could be done much quicker if the Roman Catholics did not lose their understanding of the purpose of the sacred art. In that case, no “pressure” would be needed. Take the Virgin Mary and think hard “the shrine of the Virgin Mary was adorned by a serial sexual abuser/pervert who had seduced several nuns into a participation in orgies”. I have to be gross to make sure that my point is delivered: “the Virgin Mary – sexual pervert and rapist”. How does it sound? To me (an iconographer), the mosaics are the abuse of the Virgin Mary. They are mockery; the Virgin Mary heals, Rupnik destroys.
And so, the mosaics should be taken down for several reasons, as:
1) offensive to God
2) questionable iconography which is not helping to pray
3) “the art of a sexual pervert/abuser adorning the Catholic shrine” is nothing else but a form of spiritual abuse. Of course, it is especially offensive to the victims of the abuser, then to all who have ever endured abuse in the Catholic Church but it is also offensive (or must be) to all the Church which is the Bride of Christ.
Personally, I am not “bloodthirsty” wishing to destroy those mosaics (despite the fact that Rupnik destroyed the brilliant mosaic’s in the Vatican done by a well-known iconographer) but I would like to make a museum of abuse within the Church and relocate there those frescos. Something like a center of repentance for the abuse within the Church which is well overdue.
I have been thinking that when the time comes, Alexander Kornouknov should be consulted about the fate of the Rupnik/Aletti Center mosaics. Beginning with the Redemptorist Mater Chapel in the Vatican. How anyone can walk into that chapel and not want to scream or start throwing things around is beyond me.
I read that the destruction of one of his best (inspired really) works there made a very big impact on Kornouknov’s health. He refused to talk about it for decades. Hence, I am not sure that he would be interested. I think he concluded that it is better for a liturgical artist not to deal with the Roman Catholic Church. As a fellow iconographer who did some work for a Roman Catholic parish, I now am slowly coming to the same conclusion. There is no guarantee that our works (and we are) will be treated even with minimal respect, by those who exercise the power. Unfortunately, even if the laity appreciates the work, they cannot conceive to protest its destruction or at least to question it.
The most shocking thing about Kornouknov’s story, to me, is that it was commissioned and praised by JPII. Despite that, no one stopped Rupnik from throwing Kornouknov out of the Vatican and from demolishing his mosaics, to free the space for his own work. And it was not just about the iconographer – behind him there were also Russian Orthodox philocatholics – philosophers, theologians, clergy, writers, poets who were enthusiastic about the reunion of two Churches and aided him with working out the new iconography which was about the Western and Eastern Churches as one, the unity. I know that circle of people, they were idealists. And this is not all – the Moscow Patriarch of that time gave him his blessing specifically for that work. None of them treated it as just a commission but a very important spiritual task. Well, the Vatican and Rupnik gave their answer to the good will of the Orthodox.
As for how people are not running out from the sight of the Rupnik’s works, I speculate that they think “if it is in the Church, it must be OK”. This is how the evil works, hiding under the umbrella of authority. Plus, no tradition of praying before the images and thinking they are for decoration.
As Ruby Franke’s daughter posted when she saw her mother being taken away in handcuffs, “Finally.”
Get the jackhammer.
Destroy and cover up all “art” by the disgusting rapist Rupnik. Besides it being tainted by association, it’s just plain hideous.
As well as derivative, unimaginative and soulless. He conveniently filled the post-conciliar liturgical art void with the finesse of a rip-off “artist.”
Yes, it’s bad enough art to be removed on that basis alone.
Jackhammer!
I think the accusers, take a step back and let judgement be that ileft to the lord, father almighty. The artwork stands as worship or repentance for sins, as one receives from a priest in a confessional.
That said, delaying investigation, obfuscation and making a mockery of the investigation to leave many accusers ignored and further distancing themselves from the Church, the Bride of Christ is reprehensible and grossly aligning with the Devil’s desires and not that of the Church.
Time for a Crusade! We are the the Church, we are God’s people. Time to take back our faith from the hands of those who stand in the way, and think they are Teflon protected. Time for a whirlwind or two. I pray for our Lord to intervene and offer his hand to all in need. Let us pray!
Within the ecclesial framework, believers are enjoined to cultivate patience and practice anticipatory faith regarding the stewardship exercised by divinely appointed representatives. This stance reflects a fundamental theological conviction in divine sovereignty, acknowledging that while some may deviate from established precepts, ultimate accountability rests within the purview of divine judgment. Such judgment, informed by infinite mercy and love, is properly reserved to the divine.
Regarding Rupnick’s purported artwork, a reasoned course of action from body of Christ would involve formal communication with each Church leader which is a custodian of each piece of his artwork. Each communication should articulate the theological and ethical concerns necessitating the immediate concealment and eventual removal of the artwork. The rationale should emphasize the Church’s imperative to uphold its public persona as a teacher of holiness and obedience to divine law and doctrine. This approach would underscore the Church’s commitment to maintaining its integrity as a moral and spiritual authority within the broader community.
In a journey of 10,000 miles one must take the first step.
What about the shrine to Rupnik art in San Giovanni Rotundo? There was big money used to build this new shrine at Padre Pio’s home, and it is full of Rupnik mosaics, gold gilded floor to ceiling. We saw it while on pilgrimage in 2010. And his name listed quite proudly on their website.
Covered the images, eh? Wow. Is that supposed to be what passes for courage? I wonder what St. Paul would say about it.