I was thrilled to recently come across ‘Monastayers’ on instagram, so much of their work echoes our own here. I wanted to share it with you here in case it is of interest.
Most people have never considered staying in a monastery — not because they wouldn’t want to, but because nobody told them they could.
Monastayers exist to bridge that gap. To connect young adults with Benedictine, Trappist, and Cistercian communities across the U.K. and Ireland — not as tourists, but as temporary members of the community.
You work alongside the monks and nuns. You eat with them. You follow their rhythm. And in doing so, something new begins.
Monastayers was started by a small team who visited Worth Abbey and came back different people: more centred, more open, more loving to themselves and to the world. We’re not monks or nuns — but we think what they have is worth sharing.
The English Benediction Congregation (EBC) yesterday (8 July) elected Abbot Robert Igo OSB, Abbot of Ampleforth Abbey, as Abbot President in succession to Abbot Christopher Jamison. The election took place at Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, County Galway, during the Congregation’s 100th General Chapter.
Abbot Robert Igo has been Abbot of Ampleforth Abbey since January 2021, and he will continue in that role while he also serves his four-year term of office as Abbot President. He had joined the monastic community at Ampleforth in August 1988. From 1996 until his election as abbot, he was a member of the small community of Ampleforth monks at the Monastery of Christ the Word in Macheke, Zimbabwe. He was Prior of that community from 2005-2021.
The General Chapter is a four-yearly gathering of the superiors and delegates of the English Benedictine communities around the world, along with the officials of the congregation.
The agenda for the Kylemore Abbey meeting also comprised reflections and discussions on a number of topics, including Vocation and Initial and Continuing Formation.
Please pray for Abbot Robert and the monastic community as he takes on this new role as Abbot President and continues to serve as Abbot of Ampleforth Abbey.
Since 2023 The Lay Community of St Benedict (LCSB) have been organising a celebration of St Benedict, known as St Benedict Week, to coincide with his 11 July feast.
We are delighted to welcome our current group of interns, whose presence enriches our community. We are grateful to them for joining us. Speaking about their time here, one intern beautifully described the experience as ‘a peace the world cannot offer.’
Worth Abbey will run one programme in 2027; this will be from Monday 5th July to Friday 27th August. If you, or someone you know, is interested in joining the monastic internship, please visit worthabbey.net/interns/ for more information.
St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth near Guildford will host a special public talk this September exploring the lives, works and enduring influence of Britain’s Poets Laureate.
The Laurel and the Lantern: A Reflective Journey Through Britain’s Poets Laureate will examine how writers from Wordsworth and Tennyson to Betjeman, Ted Hughes, Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage have captured the spirit, struggles, beauty and aspirations of their age.
Presented by Rt Rev Dom Paulinus Greenwood OSB, Dr Jo Russell and Sheila Longman, the evening will combine poetry, literary insight and reflection in the peaceful surroundings of the Benedictine monastery’s Assisi Room.
The talk takes place on Friday 18 September 2026, 7.30pm–9pm, at St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth, Guildford, Surrey GU4 8QR.
Advance booking is essential. Tickets are available via www.TicketSource.com by searching “Chilworth Abbey” or at:
Early bird tickets are available until 4 September at £12 per person or £10 each for groups of three. A small booking fee applies. All proceeds support the monastery.
We live in a world shaped by speed, productivity, and constant connection. Yet many of us carry a deeper longing beneath the surface: a desire for space – to pause, to listen, and to connect with what truly matters.
Whether you are seeking the shared experience of a group retreat or more personal one-to-one accompaniment: we offer spaces shaped with care, attentiveness, and depth.
Rooted in the Christian contemplative tradition, The Oxford Well is open to people of faith, people who doubt, and those seeking. Together, we listen for the signs of God – the sacred – that lead us towards life and wholeness.
What they offer
DAY RETREATS
Our day retreats are for small groups of 6-8 people in a welcoming, “home-from-home” setting PILGRIMAGES
Our pilgrimages take place in and around Oxford, drawing on the ancient Christian tradition of journey and reflection.
1:1 SOUL-CARE / SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
We offer ongoing 1:1 soul-care / spiritual direction in person or online as a supportive space to explore faith, life, and meaning.
We also offer individual day retreats with 1:1 guidance, supporting reflection and discernment on request.
WELLNESS PRODUCTS
We retail a selection of carefully chosen wellness products designed to support you in your ongoing day to day health and wellbeing.
The first Worth Abbey Pilgrims event of the year took place on Saturday, with a very well attended and warmly received Lent talk delivered by Abbot Mark. Many people look forward to hearing Abbot Mark speak and places were in high demand. It was a joy to welcome so many guests for a morning of reflection as we begin our journey through Lent. If you were unable to attend you can watch the live recording here.
A touching collaboration between two Roman Catholic institutions has brought together a monastic community in the United Kingdom and a rural school in Australia to restore a cherished statue of Our Lady and the Child Jesus.
Benedictine monks of St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth responded generously when Michael Green, Principal of Mt Carmel School in Yass, New South Wales, sought help to repair his school’s damaged statue. The figure, deeply loved by pupils and staff, had lost its hands and feet after many years of wear.
Mr Green discovered online the story of a similar statue lovingly restored at the Chilworth monastery and, having exhausted options in Australia, reached out to ask whether the monks’ restored statue could serve as a model for recreating the missing parts.
Moved by the school’s dedication and the devotional significance of the statue, the monks agreed at once. With the support of specialist 3D scanning company Surfacescan of Ramsgate, UK, a detailed digital scan of the Chilworth statue was produced. This high resolution model will allow precise replicas of the missing hands and feet to be crafted in Australia, ensuring the restoration remains faithful to the original design and tradition.
Alongside the technical assistance, the monks offered their prayers and blessing for the project, remembering Mt Carmel School in their liturgy and asking God’s guidance for all involved.
For the school community in Yass, the restoration has become more than a practical repair. It stands as a living sign of the Church’s unity across continents, linking a small Australian school with a contemplative Benedictine community in Britain.
Once completed, the restored statue will continue to inspire prayer and devotion – now enriched by a story of faith, generosity and international cooperation. A brief video explaining what’s happening can be seen here:
Since the 5th century parishes have marked Rogation Sunday (10th May this year) by walking their boundaries, praying for the land, and gathering the community in celebration.
The British Pilgrimage Trust is offering grants to help local parishes bring this beautiful tradition to life.
£250 grants to help fund hospitality and festivities for a community to lead an outdoor procession with land blessings, and a shared lunch.
Rogation invites a community to step outside to pray for, and bless, fields and footpaths, crops and gardens, wildlife and neighbours, and to welcome the wider community into a shared celebration of place.
Applications close Sunday, 22 March.
To apply, complete the short online form outlining how your parish will celebrate. And if you’d like to support this initiative with a donation, please reply to this email, as ideally we want to fund every community who applies.
Let’s renew this ancient custom for the modern age.
Last week I received an email asking to use the liturgical wheel I designed for our ‘Ora et Labora’ liturgical journal.
It was a delight and pleasure to be able to share it. I thought others may also find this resource helpful, so I attach below the liturgical wheel and seasonal variations in case they may be of use to you or your ministry/parish.
If you do use them for anything I would love to know, do feel free to drop me an email, please however do not use them for commercial purposes.
