The Irish abbey of Mount Melleray will be closing in January along with two other abbeys, with their respective monks transferred to another location on an interim basis.
The tough decision comes after “much reflection and soul searching" and as part of consolidation efforts to ensure a future for Cistercian life in Ireland, reports the Waterford News & Star.
“We have been confronted with these difficult decisions as we address the reality of falling numbers and ageing communities; issues which other similar communities are also addressing at this time,” says Dom Rufus Pound, Superior ad nutum at the Abbey of Our Lady of Silence, where the monks from the three closing abbeys will coalesce for the time being.
