Abbey of Regina Laudis

Last updated
Abbey of Regina Laudis
Monastery information
Order Benedictine
Established1947
Mother house Jouarre Abbey
Diocese Archdiocese of Hartford
People
Founder(s)Mother Benedict Duss, O.S.B.
Mother Mary Aline Trilles de Warren, O.S.B.
AbbessMother Lucia Kuppens, O.S.B.
PriorMother Olivia Frances Arnold, O.S.B.
Site
Location Bethlehem, Connecticut,
United States
Coordinates 41°36′43″N73°12′37″W / 41.6120°N 73.2103°W / 41.6120; -73.2103
Website abbeyofreginalaudis.org

The Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis was founded in 1947 by Mother Benedict Duss, O.S.B. and Mother Mary Aline Trilles de Warren, O.S.B. in Bethlehem, Connecticut. This monastic foundation was one of the first houses of contemplative Benedictine nuns in the United States. Mother Benedict and Mother Mary were both nuns of the Benedictine Abbey of Notre Dame de Jouarre in France. Mother Benedict had grown up in Paris and studied medicine at the Sorbonne. [1] Until the monastery of Regina Laudis gained abbatial status, it was a dependent priory of Jouarre Abbey, a 7th-century monastery northeast of Paris, France.

Contents

The abbey is home to an "exquisite museum quality, 18th century Neapolitan Crèche," according to the website of the Town of Bethlehem. [2]

History

Early history

A Protestant industrialist by the name of Robert Leather donated to the nuns land that became the heart of its present property of 400 acres (1.6 km2). Leather was a "devout Congregationalist" who cherished a pine-covered hill in town as a place of prayer, and he wanted it held intact and in perpetuity as a sacred place. [3]

A 1949 movie, Come to the Stable , starring Loretta Young, was based on the story of the nuns establishing the abbey in town (a children's hospital in the movie). The movie depicts how the nuns were taken in by Bethlehem artist Lauren Ford.

"Mother ... met with many obstacles, (but) support from the Church came from many, most especially the Papal Nuncio to Paris, the future Pope John XXIII, and Cardinal Montini, who would later become Pope Paul VI," according to the abbey's website. "Through a friendship of many years Pope Paul VI offered inspired wisdom and astute practical advice, suggesting from the beginning that if the new monastery was to attract the dedication of American women, they must be encouraged to have a professional basis for their contemplative life." [3]

Later history

Since its foundation as a priory in 1947, the monastery has grown to include some 40 nuns. [4] The Monastery of Regina Laudis became an independent abbey in 1976. On February 10, 1976, Mother Benedict Duss, O.S.B. was elected the first Abbess of the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis and became the first nun in America to receive the abbatial blessing.

In the late 1960s the abbey, in conjunction with its Jesuit spiritual adviser, Francis Prokes, formed a number of lay communities. As these communities grew through the 1970s and 1980s, the abbey and Prokes drew the attention of the press for practices and behavior that critics considered manipulative, authoritarian, and "cultlike". [5] The Abbey was featured on ABC's 20/20 and CBS’s West 57th and was investigated by the Vatican in the early 1990s. As a result of the investigation Prokes was forced to leave the Abbey in 1994 and other restrictions were imposed. [6] [7]

On May 13, 2001, Mother David Serna, O.S.B., prioress of the abbey, became the second Abbess of Regina Laudis. [8]

On February 1, 2015, Lucia Kuppens, O.S.B., was elected the Third Abbess of the Abbey of Regina Laudis. Kuppens is a student and lover of Shakespeare with a Ph.D. in English from Yale University. She has been coordinator of the Monastic Studies and Monastic Internship Programs of the abbey for almost thirty years. She has always insisted that intellectual life be grounded in the practicals of everyday incarnational life. She has been Cellarer of the Abbey, responsible for the maintenance of the Abbey property and buildings since 2001. Her day to day experience of our growing community trying to live within inadequate space and facilities, inspired her to propose our New Horizons renovation project for which she is Monastic Project Manager. Abbess Emerita David Serna has long acknowledged Mother Lucia's "comprehensive vision" which has predilected her now as "Mother Abbess" to lead Regina Laudis into the future.

The community is known for its commitment to the arts, most notably in the performance of Gregorian Chant. Because of the acting background of Mother Dolores Hart, O.S.B., the abbey now sponsors annual summer theatre productions. [9]

Hart has worked with fellow artists, including James and Dawn Douglas, to found The Act Association, a group that performs at The Gary-The Olivia Theater, an open-air venue which seats about 200 people. The theater was built in 1982 with the help of actress Patricia Neal. Productions have included plays by Shakespeare, Sartre, opera and musical reviews. Patricia Neal and James Douglas appeared in Love Letters in 1999. [10]

The Abbey is also home to Sister Noella Marcellino, O.S.B., an artisanal cheese maker with a doctorate in microbiology, who has specialized in the study of cheese. She was featured in the PBS Documentary The Cheese Nun. [11]

Mother and Subprioress Maria Immaculata Matarese also lives in the Abbey; she is a lawyer and had served in the Connecticut House of Representatives. [12]

Another longtime member of the Regina Laudis community, Mother Jerome von Nagel Mussayassul (1908-2006), was a noted poet and translator who had been a German baroness and an artist's wife before joining the Abbey. [13]

Monastic Art Shop

Near the main entrance, the "Monastic Art Shop" of the abbey is a store open to the public year-round. Products include crafts and food, such as pottery, candles, woven and knitted goods, wool from the convent's sheep, granola, iron work hand-forged at the abbey blacksmith shop, cheese, honey, vinegar, herbs for seasonings, hot mustard, perfumes, skin creams, cards, books, medals and other religious art objects. The abbey also has CD recordings of its nuns singing Gregorian chant.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedictines</span> Catholic monastic order

The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict, are a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedict. They are also sometimes called the Black Monks, in reference to the colour of their religious habits. They were founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scholastica</span> Italian saint (c. 480 – 543)

Scholastica is a saint of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Anglican Communion. She was born in Italy, and a ninth-century tradition makes her the twin sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia. Her feast day is 10 February, Saint Scholastica's Day. Scholastica is traditionally regarded as the founder of the Benedictine nuns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethlehem, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Bethlehem is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,385 at the 2020 census, down from 3,607 at the 2010 census. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The town center is a historic district and a census-designated place (CDP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trappists</span> Roman Catholic religious order

The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Catholic religious order of cloistered monastics that branched off from the Cistercians. They follow the Rule of Saint Benedict and have communities of both monks and nuns that are known as Trappists and Trappistines, respectively. They are named after La Trappe Abbey, the monastery from which the movement and religious order originated. The movement first began with the reforms that Abbot Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé introduced in 1664, later leading to the creation of Trappist congregations, and eventually the formal constitution as a separate religious order in 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolores Hart</span> American Roman Catholic Benedictine nun and former actress

Dolores Hart, O.S.B. is an American Roman Catholic Benedictine nun and former actress. Following her movie debut with Elvis Presley in Loving You (1957), she made 10 films in five years, including Wild Is the Wind (1957), King Creole (1958), and Where the Boys Are (1960).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedictine Confederation</span> International governing body of the Benedictine order

The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurentia McLachlan</span>

Dame Laurentia McLachlan, OSB, née Margaret McLachlan, was a Scottish Benedictine nun, Abbess of Stanbrook Abbey, and an authority on church music. She became posthumously known to a wide public when portrayed on the stage in a 1988 play, The Best of Friends.

St Mary's Abbey, also known as Malling Abbey, is an abbey of Anglican Benedictine nuns located in West Malling, Kent, England. It was founded around 1090 by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vallombrosians</span> Roman Catholic religious order, based on the Rule of St. Benedict

The Vallombrosians are a monastic religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of their motherhouse founded in Vallombrosa, situated 30 km from Florence on the northwest slope of Monte Secchieta in the Pratomagno chain. They use the postnominal abbreviation O.S.B. Vall. to distinguish themselves from other Benedictines, who generally use the abbreviation O.S.B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanbrook Abbey</span> Convent in North Yorkshire, England

Stanbrook Abbey is a Catholic contemplative Benedictine convent with the status of an abbey, located at Wass, North Yorkshire, England.

Sister Mary Louise St. John, O.S.B., was a member of the Benedictine nuns of Erie, Pennsylvania. She was an advocate for the rights of people with physical disabilities, as well as for the gay community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jouarre Abbey</span>

Jouarre Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Jouarre in the département of Seine-et-Marne.

Mother Noella Marcellino, O.S.B., is an American Benedictine nun who has earned a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Connecticut. Studying fungi in France on a Fulbright Scholarship, she concentrated on the positive effects of decay and putrefaction as well as the odors and flavors of cheese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde</span> Benedictine abbey on Isle of Wight, England

St Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde is an abbey of Benedictine nuns in the Isle of Wight, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles</span> Benedictine order of nuns

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, are a Benedictine order of nuns founded by Sr Mary Wilhelmina Lancaster OSB, in Gower, Missouri. The nuns are also recording artists, and their first two albums of recorded chants and hymns reached number one on the classical traditional Billboard charts. They were thereafter named Billboard's Classical Traditional artists of the year in 2013, the first order of nuns to win an award in the history of Billboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mater Ecclesiae Abbey</span>

Mater Ecclesiae Abbey is an Italian Benedictine territorial abbey of nuns founded in 1973. The abbey is located on Lake Orta in northern Italy, considered one of the most scenic sites in the country.

Ann Lucille Matarese is an American lawyer, politician and Roman Catholic Benedictine nun.

Vera Duss, better known in her adult work as Mother Benedict Duss, O.S.B., was an American-born French medical doctor and Roman Catholic nun, founder and head of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut from 1947 until 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie von Nagel</span>

Melanie von Nagel, known as Muska Nagel and in religion Mother Jerome von Nagel Mussayassul O.S.B., was a German-born baroness, literary translator, poet, and Roman Catholic nun at the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut.

References

  1. ↑ "Mother Benedict". Abbey of Regina Laudis. Archived from the original on 2013-02-23.
  2. ↑ "The Abbey of Regina Laudis". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-08-17. "The Abbey of Regina Laudis" Web page of the Town of Bethel Web site, accessed August 17, 2006.
  3. 1 2 "Foundation History" Web page at the Web site of the Abbey, accessed August 17, 2006
  4. ↑ "Abbey of Regina Laudis", OSB Atlas
  5. ↑ Tomasson, Robert E. (1987-08-12). "Church Scrutinizes 3 Groups of Nuns". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  6. ↑ Fox, Margalit (2005-10-10). "Mother Benedict Dies at 94; Head of a Cloistered Abbey". The New York Times . Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  7. ↑ Rourke, Mary (2005-10-05). "Lady Abbess Benedict Duss, 94; Co-Founded First Abbey for Benedictine Nuns in the U.S." Los Angeles Times .
  8. ↑ Abbey of Regina Laudis website
  9. ↑ "The Tablet . Stories | Diocese of Brooklyn". Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  10. ↑ "The Gary-The Olivia Theater" Web page at the Abbey of Regina Laudis Web site, accessed August 17, 2006.
  11. ↑ Berkshire Style-Cheese Nun
  12. ↑ 'Mother Benedict Foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis,' Antoinette Bosco, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, California: 2007, pg. 307-308, 311
  13. ↑ Bryan Marquard, "Mother Jerome, was Inspiring as Poet, Benedictine Nun; 98" Boston Globe (July 9, 2006): 25. via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.