abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
of
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
nuns in the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
, England.
Monastic life
Founded in 1882 and dedicated to the Peace of the Heart of Jesus, St Cecilia's Abbey,
Ryde
Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...
, Isle of Wight, belongs to the
Benedictine Order
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
, and in particular to the
Solesmes Congregation
The Solesmes Congregation is an association of monasteries within the Benedictine Confederation headed by the Abbey of Solesmes.
History
The congregation was founded in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI as the French Benedictine Congregation, with the th ...
of
Dom Prosper Guéranger
Dom or DOM may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Dom (given name), including fictional characters
* Dom (surname)
* Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto
* Dom people, an et ...
. The nuns live a traditional monastic life of prayer, work and study in accordance with the ancient
Rule of Saint Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...
.
As one of the institutes devoted 'entirely to divine worship in the
contemplative life
Enclosed religious orders are religious orders whose members strictly separate themselves from the affairs of the external world. The term '' cloistered'' is synonymous with ''enclosed''. In the Catholic Church, enclosure is regulated by the co ...
' (Vatican II, '' Perfectae Caritatis, 9'') and following the tradition of Solesmes, St Cecilia's Abbey lays principal emphasis on the solemn celebration of the liturgy, with
Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...
. The Second Vatican Council recognised the contemplative life as belonging 'to the fulness of the Church's presence' (''Ad Gentes 18'') and noted that such communities 'will always have a distinguished part to play in Christ's Mystical Body' (''Perfectae Caritatis, 7''). As ''Lumen Gentium (4)'' expressed it, 'For even though in some instances religious do not directly mingle with their contemporaries, yet in a more profound sense these same religious are united with them in the heart of Christ and co-operate with them spiritually.'
The Community supports itself mainly through its production of altar breads, as well as in intellectual and artistic work (calligraphy, candles, etc.). Other manual work includes garden, orchard, and beekeeping.
History
The community's history has two sources: the seventeenth-century Belgian reform of Florence de Werquignoeul, and the restoration of the monastic order at Solesmes in France by Dom Prosper Guéranger in the nineteenth century.
Florence de Werquignoeul
With other great abbesses of that period, she helped to revive the order which was suffering from destruction without and from compromise within. In 1604 Florence and four companions left the
Cistercian
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, 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 Benedict, as well as the contri ...
house at Flînes for the purpose of observing the Rule in its entirety. She established the monastery of Paix Notre Dame at
Douai
Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...
in 1604. Foundations followed, and in 1627 another Paix Notre Dame grew up at
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
. In 1882 this house made a foundation at
Ventnor
Ventnor () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface D ...
on the Isle of Wight, dedicated to the Peace of the Sacred Heart, Pax Cordis Jesu. This is the origin of the present Community. At the request of the Bishop, it opened a small school for girls which flourished for some years but was given up in 1922 when the expanding community moved to the site at Appley Ryde, vacated by the return to France of the exiled nuns of the Abbey of Ste-Cécile de Solesmes. In 1926, the Priory of Pax Cordis Jesu became an abbey.
Dom Prosper Guéranger
Dom Guéranger revived the Benedictine Order in France in 1833 where it had ceased to exist for forty-three years. He bought the Priory at Solesmes, which subsequently was raised to the rank of Abbey by
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...
. In his last years, he oversaw, in collaboration with the first abbess, Mother
Cécile Bruyère
Mère Cécile Bruyère (12 October 1845 – 18 March 1909) was the first abbess of St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes (''Abbaye Sainte-Cécile de Solesmes'') and a follower of Dom Prosper Guéranger in the revival of Benedictine spirituality in 19th c ...
, the establishment of a community of women under the
Rule of St Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...
at the abbey of Ste-Cécile de Solesmes.
Neither he nor Florence de Werquignoeul desired to create a new form of religious life but to return to an ancient but living tradition. For both, the return to Benedictine tradition could be accomplished only by the adoption and observance of the Rule: 'It is by the Rule of St Benedict that we will be Benedictines,' wrote Dom Guéranger. For Florence, too, the Rule was the foundation of her reform, 'the daily bread which had nourished in the past the fervour of all the saints in the rigour of monastic observance.'
French anti-clerical laws
Because of the anti-clerical laws of 1901, the nuns of the Abbey of Ste-Cécile de Solesmes had been obliged to leave France. They found a temporary home at Northwood House, a country house in
Cowes
Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...
on the Isle of Wight loaned to them by Mr Edmund Ward (son of
William George Ward
William George Ward (21 March 1812 – 6 July 1882) was an English theologian and mathematician. A Roman Catholic convert, his career illustrates the development of religious opinion at a time of crisis in the history of English religious thoug ...
, one of the prominent figures of the
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Un ...
and a friend of
Cardinal Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...
). When it became clear that there would be no speedy end to the exile, the French nuns had to think of a more permanent home. They bought
Appley House
Appley House (also: St Cecilia's Abbey) is an English country house and abbey in Appley Rise, Ryde, Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast ...
Edward Goldie
Edward Goldie (1856–1921) was an English ecclesiastical architect who was notable for building Roman Catholic churches, mainly in the form of Gothic Revival architecture. He was the son of George Goldie.George Goldie. The Church was solemnly dedicated to St Cecilia on 12 October 1907.
Ryde
On the return of the nuns of Ste-Cécile to France in 1922 after 20 years of exile, the community of Pax Cordis Jesu at Ventnor acquired the vacant property at Appley that came to be known as St Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde.
In 1950, after more than half a century of close contact with that congregation, St Cecilia's Abbey itself became part of the Solesmes Congregation.
In 1974,
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
issued '' Jubilate Deo'', a selection of plainchant pieces, to encourage the singing of Simple Gregorian melodies in parishes. The Community recorded the chant to support this endeavour, in what was the first recording of nuns in the UK. Between 1980 and 1992, the Community produced nine more recordings of their chant.
The nuns also do calligraphy, producing hand-lettered pieces in a variety of styles suitable for framing.
Sister Mary David (1957–2017) spent 22 years in the abbey and was its prioress.
Overseas
In 1967, the first Benedictine foundation for Indian nuns was made at Bangalore, South India, from St Cecilia's. Shanti Nilayam (House of Peace) was raised to an abbey in 1993 and has itself made several foundations. These houses belong to the
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Origin
The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...