Ealing Abbey is not a romantic ruin in a secluded
medieval landscape! We do live in the tradition of medieval monks,
and monks
going back over 1,500 years to the time of our founder, St Benedict,
but today we are a thriving community living in west London.
We are seeking God as members of the Roman Catholic
Church, living the monastic way of life as a community according
to the Rule of St Benedict. We pray together in common (the Divine
Office) and we meditate daily.
Work is one of the principal ways that we share
our life of prayer and community with others. Our main works are
parish work, serving as staff and on the Governing body of St Benedict's School, running the Benedictine Study and Arts Centre (BSAC) for undergrate level study in theology and languages, The Institutum Liturgicum for liturgical research and graduate level education in LIturgy, hospitality, sharing our life with others who
wish to find spiritual space, and a small craft pottery.
The timetable of a typical day, we call it the
'Horarium', is:
6.00 Matins;
7.00 Community
Mass;
7.40 Lauds;
9.00 Terce,
12.45pm Sext;
16.00 None
18.35 Vespers;
20.00 Compline.
The monastery was founded in 1897 from Downside
as a parish, at the invitation of Cardinal Vaughan, then Archbishop
of Westminster. It was canonically erected as a dependent Priory
in 1916, with Dom Wulstan Pearson as its first Prior; he became
the first Bishop of Lancaster in 1925. In 1947 it became an independent
Conventual Priory, and in 1955 it was raised to the status of an
Abbey by Pope Pius XII with Dom Charles Pontifex as its first Abbot.
A School was started by Dom Sebastian Cave in 1902. It is now fully co-educational.and there are
now about 770 pupils in the Senior School and 300 pupils in the Junior School.
The Parish, served from the monastery, is one of the largest
in the country. There is guest accommodation for individuals who
wish to spend some time apart or share our life, and there is a
flourishing group of Oblates. |