Saint Andrew's Abbey- Valyermo, California
Posted by: 
calgriz
N 34° 27.479 W 117° 52.074
11S E 420282 N 3813280
Sainyt Andrew's Benedictine Abbey planed for the remodeling of the Hidden Springs Ranch, Valyermo CA.
Waymark Code: WMKPR0
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/12/2014
Views: 5
Expelled by the Chinese Communist regime, the monks of St. Benedict's Priory of Chengtu, China, have found a new home in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. With the authorization of His Eminence James Francis Cardinal McIntyre, Archbishop of Los Angeles, they soon reopened their monastery under the new name of St. Andrew's Priory on the former Hidden Springs Ranch at Valyermo.
St. Benedict's Priory of Chengtu, founded in 1929 by the famous Abbey of St. Andre, Belgium, conducted a diocesan major seminary and a state-recognized school for non-Catholic students. Shortly after World War II, the Priory established the Institute of Western and Oriental Cultural Studies, with a 10,000 volume library.
On Christmas day, 1949, the Communists took over the city of Chengtu. The institute was dissolved, the library confiscated, and the Benedictine monks put under house arrest. After three years of hardship, the monks were finally expelled from Communist China in 1952.
In 1954, the parent Abbey of St. Andre in Belgium decided to transfer the Priory to Southern California. The Cardinal-Archbishop of Los Angeles authorized its establishment in the Archdiocese.
Plans for the remodeling of the Hidden Springs Ranch, Valyermo, are ready. A diary barn has become the monks' living quarters, a stable is converted to a chapel, where they will celebrate Holy Mass and chant the Divine Office. The main ranch house is used as a guesthouse for retreatants and visitors who wish to spend a few days of peace and prayer in the monastic atmoshpere. Besides leading monastic life and chanting the Divine Office, the monks of St. Andrew's will conduct retreats and devote themselves to intellectual and educational activities. They engage in farming, in order to become self-supporting.
St. Andrew's Abbey
www.saintandrewsabbey.com/
31001 Valyermo Rd, Valyermo, CA 93563
(661) 944-2178
Full name of the abbey/monastery/convent: St. Andrew's Abbey
Address:
31001 Valyermo Rd,
Valyermo,, CA USA
93563
Religious affiliation: Benedictine Order of Monks
Date founded/constructed: 1954
Web Site: [Web Link]
Status of Use: Acitvely Used
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