The Order of Cistercians of Strict Observance (OCSO), commonly known as the Trappists, has elected a new Abbot General who is expected to bring creativity and innovation to the role. Dom Bernardus Peeters, Abbot of Tilburg, Netherlands entered the Trappists in 1986 at the Abbey of Our Lady of Koningshoeven in Berkel-Enschot, the Netherlands, at Read more
But the Trappist monks of New Melleray Abbey are not closed off from the world’s troubles. Last week, in response to the coronavirus, the 22 monks living in the abbey, about 13 miles from Dubuque, decided to offer pine caskets Continue reading
The little-known story of the murder of 33 Trappist monks by Chinese Communists in 1947: “The body of Christ which is the Church, like the human body, was first young, but at the end of the world it will have an appearance of decline.” — St. Augustine As I sat with Brother Marcel Zhang, OCSO Read more