Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, Virginia facts for kids
The Our Lady of the Angels Monastery is a special home for Trappistine nuns. It's located near Crozet, Virginia, in a beautiful valley surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. The monastery covers about 507 acres (205 hectares). The nuns here live a quiet life, mostly separate from the public.
Contents
History
A New Home for Nuns
In 1987, six nuns from Mount Saint Mary's Abbey in Massachusetts decided to start a new monastery. They were looking for a place where they could live simply and support themselves. They found an old cheese farm for sale! It even had all the old cheese-making machines still inside.
Starting a New Life
Trappists are a type of Cistercian monk or nun who believe in being self-sufficient and working with their hands. So, the idea of a monastery that made and sold cheese to support itself was perfect for the nuns. They moved into two small log cabins on the property. On May 1, 1987, Our Lady of the Angels Monastery officially began. It was the fifth home for Cistercian nuns in the United States, and the first one in the southern part of the country.
Building and Learning
Soon, work began on a new brick monastery building for the Sisters. It was built on a nearby hill and was finished on April 29, 1989. The new building included a small chapel that is open to visitors every day. Here, the Sisters attend Mass with a priest and receive communion.
Learning to make cheese was a big challenge for the nuns. They didn't know much about it, and the equipment was old! Luckily, some kind neighbors, Jim and Margaret Morris, heard about their problem. They shared their cheese-making skills and knowledge. Before long, the nuns were ready to sell their cheese. In November 1990, the Sisters began making Gouda (cheese) as their main way to support themselves.
Growing and Expanding
Of the first six nuns, Sister Barbara and Sister Mary David still live at the monastery today. Sister Barbara helps new nuns learn about their life there. The community has grown from six nuns to twelve, with ages ranging from 40 to 77. As their numbers doubled, the Sisters realized they needed more space for sleeping and working. So, in early 2006, they paused cheese-making to start an expansion of their monastery. The construction finished in February 2008. This gave the community new rooms, more space, and, very importantly, updated machines for making gouda cheese!
Gouda Cheese
The nuns order about 800 gallons of milk each week from a nearby farmer. Even though they don't advertise their two-pound rounds of gouda cheese, they usually sell all 20,000 pounds by Christmas! After that, they receive orders for Christmas gift certificates that are ready to ship by March. However, the Sisters only make enough cheese to pay their bills. They don't make extra, even when more orders come in than they can fill. Besides ordering cheese, customers also send in special prayer requests that the Sisters take very seriously.
Daily Schedule
The Sisters follow a strict daily schedule based on the Rule of St Benedict, as set by the Cistercian Order. Their day is very organized:
- 3:00 AM - Wake up
- 3:15 AM - Vigils (Night Prayer), private prayer, reading, breakfast, get ready
- 6:30 AM - Lauds (Morning Praise), followed by 30 minutes of silent prayer
- 7:00 AM - Chapter (a meeting or class with the superior)
- 7:30 AM - Eucharist (Mass), Terce (Mid-morning Prayer), then work until 11:00 AM
- 11:40 AM - Sext (Midday Prayer), dinner, optional nap, private prayer or reading
- 1:30 PM - Nones (Afternoon Prayer), then work until 4:15 PM
- 5:30 PM - Vespers (Evening Prayer), 15 minutes of silent meditation, supper, private prayer or reading
- 7:00 PM - Compline (Concluding Prayer of the day), followed by strict silence and bedtime
The nuns don't take a vow of silence, but they live in quiet contemplation instead of idle chatter. They eat their meals in silence while one Sister reads aloud. Their work changes depending on their skills, abilities, and what needs to be done. Cheese-making happens once every eight days. The Sisters also watch educational videos and listen to music together once a week. They only use computers for work.
The monastery is also home to two friendly dogs named Schipper and Zoe!
See also
- Trappists
- Cistercians
- Rule of St Benedict
