The Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity was a

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Huntsville, Utah Huntsville is a town in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 608 at the 2010 census. It is located in Ogden Valley. It is part of the Ogden– Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Ogden Valley ce ...

, United States. They were

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

contemplative In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation. Etymology The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...

monks of an enclosed religious order known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO).

History

The abbey was founded in 1947 as a daughter house of the

Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a Catholic monastery in the United States near Bardstown, Kentucky, in Nelson County. The abbey is part of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (''Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae''), ...

in Kentucky at the invitation of Bishop Hunt of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. The monks briefly used temporary World War II barracks which had been left on the location, and soon moved to

Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I ...

s. Plans to replace the deteriorating huts were placed on hold in 2007. The monks had a special relationship with the

Missionaries of Charity The Missionaries of Charity ( la, Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate) is a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as ...

. In 1972,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

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. He died in 2018. 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. ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' produced a short video about the Trappist Monks of Holy Trinity Abbey. 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. A former monk,

Walter M. Miller Jr. Walter Michael Miller Jr. (January 23, 1923 – January 9, 1996) was an American science fiction writer. His fix-up novel, ''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' (1959), the only novel published in his lifetime, won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel. ...

, wrote an fictional book based on the monastery in Utah, ''

A Canticle for Leibowitz ''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' is a post-apocalyptic social science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller Jr., first published in 1959. Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating n ...

.'' 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''. 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. 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''; ''Eco-spirituality : toward a reverent life''; ''Songs of freedom: the psalter as a school of prayer''; and two editions of ''Monastic Practices''. The monks supported themselves by farming and

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

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. The abbey had 32 monks when it was founded, and at one point it held 84 monks and novices. 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. On August 27, 2017, the abbey celebrated its final mass and was closed afterward. Two monks transferred their vow of stability to

Genesee Abbey The Abbey of the Genesee is a community of more than two dozen contemplative monks located near Piffard in the town of York, New York. They are a member of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly known as the Trappists. They we ...

, another Trappist abbey in New York. One monk, Father Charles Cummings, OCSO became the chaplain at Our Lady of Angels monastery for the Trappist nuns in Crozet, Virginia. He died in 2020 while transferring his vow of stability to the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, CA. The remaining monks moved to a nursing home in Salt Lake City. The influence of the monks on their neighbors in the valley was documented in a commentary printed in the Ogden, Utah newspaper. 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. Brother David McManus, OCSO was the last librarian for the monks. He died in 2019. 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.'' Father David Altman was again interviewed by the ''Intermountain Catholic'' about the " stay-at-home-order" due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

being similar to having the entire world to adjust to certain monastic ways.

Gallery

File:Fr Brendan Freeman Monstrance.jpg, Abbot Brendan Freeman blessing the monks File:HTA Abbey Road.jpg, Abbey Road of Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity File:Abbey Road Fall Leaves HTA.jpg, Fall leaves of the trees planted by the Trappist Cistercian monks along Abbey Road File:HTA looking south by the hermitage.jpg, Fields of the monastery looking towards the hermitage File:HTA funeral of Bro Boniface OCSO bringing in the body day before.jpg, Bringing in the body of Brother Boniface for his prayers the night before his funeral File:HTA Funeral of Bro Boniface OCSO.jpg, Funeral mass of Brother Boniface File:Oilpaintresizefrmalachy.jpg, Brother Boniface being prayed over by Father Malachy

References

External links

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, state=collapsed Trappist monasteries in the United States Catholic Church in Utah 1947 establishments in Utah 2017 disestablishments in Utah Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City