Saint Michael's Abbey is a

Norbertine The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

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 ...

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 ...

in Silverado,

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

.LA Times
Retrieved 11 November 2009. The

canons regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

of the abbey live a life combining both the monastic life with an active

priestly Priestly is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Miranda Priestly, a character in ''The Devil Wears Prada'' * Paul Priestly, a character in ''EastEnders'' See also * Priestley (disambiguation) * Priestly source, one of the propose ...

ministry.LA Times
Retrieved 11 November 2009.

History

Hungarian Origins

The Abbey was founded in 1961 by seven canons
Retrieved 11 November 2009. from the

Abbey of St. Michael in Csorna, Hungary,[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/60006405.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+25%2C+1990&author=PATRICK+MOTT&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=1&desc=One+En-Chanted+Christmas+Eve+At+St.+Michael%27s+Abbey%2C+Midnight+Mass+Is+Sung+in+Both+Latin+and+Gregorian+Chant. LA Times]. Retrieved 11 November 2009. whose roots go back to the 12th century.OC Register
Retrieved 11 November 2009. The founders originally left

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

to avoid oppression soon after

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

officials nationalized Catholic schools in 1948. On the night of 11 July 1950, word came to the abbey in Csorna that the police would arrive the next day to arrest the confreres and suppress the community. That night, seven canons left, in two groups, to hike across country to the Austrian border. Several of them arrived in New York in 1952, from which they made their way west where they were welcomed by the Abbey of St. Norbert in

De Pere, Wisconsin De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, Je ...

, with whom they lived for several years, saving money to begin their own monastery.

Foundation in California

At the invitation of

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

James Francis McIntyre James Francis Aloysius McIntyre (June 25, 1886 – July 16, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1948 to 1970, and was created a cardinal in 1953. He was a highly successful buil ...

Archbishop of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church (Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particularly ...

, they first moved to

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

, in 1957 and taught at Mater Dei High School, establishing a monastic community the next year. The founding abbot was Ladislaus Parker, O.Praem. In 1960 the Norbertine Fathers purchased the site from Jack Cook, the founder of nearby

Cook's Corner Cook's Corner is an Orange County, California bar built in 1884 that is popular with motorcyclists. It is located between the city of Lake Forest and the unincorporated community of Silverado. Cook's Corner is situated at the intersection of ...

.BikerWear
2 January 2010. The canonry opened a

junior seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and de ...

in 1962, which evolved into St. Michael's Preparatory School, a nationally-renowned residential all-boys high school, which closed in 2022 when the canons moved to their new monastery. The status of abbey was conferred on St. Michael's in 1984. St Michael Statue

Recent history

The current abbot is Eugene J. Hayes, O.Praem., J.C.D., S.T.L. He was elected for a life-time term as abbot with a mandatory retirement age of 75 years on 27 June 1995 and received the abbatial blessing on 15 September 1995. More recently, plans have developed for an expansion project to develop a new site, due in part to geological instability at the current Abbey.OC Register
Retrieved 11 November 2009. In the early part of 2018, the building campaign attained its goal of $120 million. The groundbreaking for the new abbey took place at the site of 327 acres in Silverado Canyon on 18 March 2018.

Bethlehem Priory

In 1997 the abbey founded a monastery of

canonesses regular Canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the ca ...

Tehachapi, California Tehachapi (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") is a city in Kern County, California, United States, in the Tehachapi Mountains, at an elevation of , between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. Tehachapi is east-southeast ...

. On 29 January 2011, the sisters' community in Tehachapi was incorporated into the worldwide Norbertine Order. In a ceremony at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Fresno, the first nine sisters made their solemn profession as members of the newly established Canonry of the Bethlehem Priory of St. Joseph, in the hands of the Norbertine Abbot General, Thomas Handgratinger. Their total membership is 20 canonesses, the majority of whom are still in stages of formation before perpetual vows. In that same ceremony the Abbot of St. Michael's Abbey was named the Father Abbot of the Sisters' Canonry and as such serves as the their external superior.

2021 Move

In January 2021, at the start of the 900th anniversary year of the founding of the Norbertine Order, the community of St. Michael's Abbey moved from its original location on

El Toro Road There are 34 routes assigned to the "S" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "S" zone includes county highways in Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Santa Barbara counties. S ...

to its new location: 327 acres on

Silverado Canyon Silverado Canyon is a roughly 2,500-foot-deep (760 m) gorge in the Santa Ana Mountains, in the U.S. state of California. The small stream it is associated with, Silverado Creek, rises on the north slope of Modjeska Peak at the elevation of and f ...

Road, 8 miles away. With the new facility came a new worship space as well, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption. Both the abbey and the church were dedicated on 4 May 2021.

Diocese of Springfield in Illinois

In a statement on 1 March 2022, the canons of St Michael Abbey announced plans to establish a community in the

Diocese of Springfield in Illinois The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois ( la, Diœcesis Campifontis in Illinois) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the south central Illinois region of the United States. The prelate is a bishop serving ...

and the creation of the Evermode Institute, a center for Catholic spiritual and intellectual formation. The community will be known as the Corpus Christi Priory. The Institute will be named after St.

Evermode of Ratzeburg Evermode, or Evermod (c. 1100 – 17 February 1178), was one of the first Premonstratensian canons regular, and became the lifelong companion of Norbert of Xanten, who founded the order in France in 1120. Evermode was born in Belgium. After ...

, a close collaborator of St. Norbert. The Institute will be located at the site of the former Chiara Center on the grounds of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis in Springfield, which the Diocese took control of June 2021 and will focus on intellectual and spiritual formation of those who teach the faith in the Diocese, such as catechists and parish schoolteachers.

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

In August 2021, it was announced that the canons would be caring for the spiritual needs of pilgrims at the

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Catholic shrine located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The grounds include a visitors' center and outdoor devotional areas such a ...

in La Crosse, Wisconsin, replacing the

Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate , image = Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.png , image_size = 150px , caption = , abbreviation = FFI / FI , motto = ''Ave Maria'' ( en, Hail Mary) , formation = , founde ...

Vocational formation

St. Michael's Abbey accepts members who are between the ages of 18 and 29. The initial four years are spent in the monastery, studying the required novitiate courses followed by a three-year cycle in

Thomistic philosophy Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions a ...

, after which the brothers are sent to study at St Philip's Seminary in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

, under the direction of the fathers of the Toronto Oratory. Upon completion of the three-year course in theology the students are granted the masters in theology degree. During this period or immediately after there is required a one-year apostolic experience usually at the Abbey's Preparatory School. Following solemn profession all are required to have one year in Rome while living at the Norbertine Generalate and pursuing courses in pastoral theology at the Angelicum, the pontifical university under the direction of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

. The association between the Abbey and the Angelicum dates back to 1973. At the conclusion of this formation the brothers may then be ordained as

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

s and then priests before beginning to serve in the various ministries of the Order.Institute on Religious Life
17 November 2009. The members of the abbey wear the traditional white habit of the Premonstratensian Order.

Ministries

Priests of the Abbey serve in five dioceses in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

: Fresno,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Orange, San Bernardino and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. Priests of the Abbey serve in high schools, parishes, offer retreats and spiritual direction. Activities of the Abbey also include local parish ministry.LA Times
Retrieved 11 November 2009. An annual summer camp gives local youth a chance to experience the religious life of the monastery.
Retrieved 11 November 2009. St. Michael's Abbey is an affiliate of the Institute on Religious Life. Roughly half of the nearly 100 members live at the monastery itself with the rest living in dependent houses.

Liturgy

Upon the conclusion of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, St. Michael's founding Abbot, Ladislaus Parker, O.Praem. (19 Dec 1915 – 3 January 2010), decided "to hold steadfast to all that was good in the old and not to shy away either from that which is new." The Abbey is well known for its use of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

,LA Times
Retrieved 11 November 2009. of which four albums have been released.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Premonstratensian monasteries in the United States Buildings and structures in Orange County, California Organizations based in Orange County, California Christian organizations established in 1961