The first new monastery since the Reformation has opened in the Diocese of Meath, in the east of Ireland.
The Benedictine monastery, currently with eight monks, occupies Silverstream priory, the former residence of the Visitation Sisters, in Stamullen, Co Meath. The community came from Tulsa in the United States five years ago.
Bishop Smith of Meath signed a decree on Sunday “erecting the Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar as a monastic institute of consecrated life of diocesan right in the Diocese of Meath”.
The decree is believed to mark the first formal establishment of a monastic community in the Diocese of Meath since the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1536.
Bishop Smith said: “I am delighted to recognise the unique presence of this new monastery. Through their prayer, study and hospitality, the monks are ‘speaking to the heart’ and their quiet witness is a reminder that the Lord continues to provide the Church with new gifts and grace.”
The monastery is contemplative in nature, with a particular focus on the liturgy and Eucharistic Adoration. The community’s constitution and canonical norms were approved by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei last month. The commission works with several traditionalist groups including the Society of St Pius X.
The Benedictine monks at Silverstream Priory are an enclosed order. They offer hospitality to “clergy in need of a spiritual respite”. The priory’s website says: “The guesthouse at Silverstream Priory is open to priests, seminarians, male Religious, and men who desire to discern the possibility of a vocation to our Benedictine life. We are happy to offer an environment of silence, marked by the sacred rhythm of the Hours, and the radiance of the Eucharistic Face of Christ.” The monks also run a bookshop.
Catholic schools in Scotland reach out to Irish teachers
Irish teachers will be recruited to fill vacancies in Catholic schools in Scotland in a scheme run by the University of Glasgow.Starting this summer, 15 trained teachers from Ireland will attend a summer school to introduce them to the Scottish curriculum, before spending two years teaching in Scottish schools.
They will spend four days a week teaching and the fifth day studying for a Master’s degree at the university.
Ireland has a surplus of teachers, while Catholic schools in Scotland face a shortage.
Professor Eamonn Conway, head of theology and religious studies at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, in the west of Ireland, told the Scottish Catholic Observer: “It can be hard for new teachers to get a job here. And of course there’s a long history of Irish going across the sea to Scotland and we’re proud to have played a part in your evangelisation as you have in ours.”
Barbara Couper, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service, welcomed the Scottish government’s initiative to address the shortage.
Cardinal urges care for the sick
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster has blessed a new “jumbulance” for pilgrimages to Lourdes.The coach-sized ambulance is specially converted to take disabled and sick pilgrims.
In a pastoral letter on Sunday to welcome the new diocesan season, Cardinal Nichols said: “For the next six months, I ask you all to focus on one particular corporal work of mercy: caring for the sick.”
