Nestled in the heart of the Yarra Valley, 60 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, Tarrawarra Abbey is home to a small community of Cistercian monks. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
The men belong to the worldwide Cistercian Order of Strict Observance, leading a monastic life centred on prayer and contemplation.
Tarrawarra Abbey celebrated its 70th anniversary recently, with Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli leading those gathered in a Mass of Thanksgiving.
Located on 400 hectares of rich agricultural land, Tarrawarra Abbey was founded on November 1, 1954, by Mount St Joseph Abbey in Roscrea, Ireland.
The then Melbourne Archbishop, Daniel Mannix, officially opened the new abbey on December 19, 1954, saying how proud and delighted he was to perform the blessing ceremony “and to turn the first sod for the new abbey, which is going to last for hundreds of years”.
Life at Tarrawarra Abbey is a contemporary version of the ancient tradition of Cistercian monasticism with an Australian accent.
The monks are committed to a disciplined life of silence, solitude and prayer, having taken the vows of stability, fidelity to monastic life and obedience.
Alongside liturgical and personal prayer, contemplation and sacred reading, there is study, the commitment to community living and practical work.
Reflecting on the 70 years of monastic life in Tarrawarra, Abbot Dom Steele said: “When the first Irish monks came out from Roscrea, they were real pioneers. It took several months to get here; they were far from home, far from all their usual supports. They came on a one-way ticket; there was no going back.
“In a sense, they were on their own in a new world. They came to a place that was heavily burdened with debt – they could not even pay the interest on it, let alone begin to build themselves a monastery, a home, and they had to make a living.
“And yet they came anyway, putting all their trust in Providence.
“In the same way, newcomers who answer the call to monastic life, especially those who come from overseas, still need to leave everything to come and join us; they, too, need to put all their trust in the Lord.”
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Tarrawarra Abbey celebrates 70th anniversary of foundation (Melbourne Catholic)
