We spend between three and five hours per day in prayer, either together in the heart of the church for common prayer, or alone in the early hours of the day.

The first office starts at 4.15 am. A time of solitary reflection from 5.15am–7.30am, is followed by the office of Lauds, after which we start our daily work. Mass is generally celebrated in late morning, except on Sundays and important feast days of the Christian calendar when Mass is celebrated at 9.50am. Our midday meal is framed by two short prayers of ten minutes; we then resume our work activities until evening prayers.

We work to fulfil our chosen way of life and to support our community, the emphasis of Cistercian life is on manual labour and self-sufficiency. Through our work, we have contact with many people living outside the community. In this way we aim to make the world a better place as much through architectural beauty, as by our care of the natural environment and countryside.

Our Cistercian forefathers, the first monks of the order of Citeaux, built nearly 500 monasteries over an 80-year period. They also revolutionised agriculture and actively participated in the discovery and development of many of today’s famous wine growing areas.

Entrepreneurs, in effect…