Abbey News
Musicians Gather for Annual Program
31 Jul 2025
The week of July 28-31 was filled with the sounds of music across the Kylemore estate – including at the monastery. The Ceol na Mara summer school for strings brought adults and youngsters from across Ireland and abroad – and their instruments – to the estate, where they enjoyed both learning chamber music and string…
Sharing Time Together
23 Jul 2025
On July 22, Sister Shalom of the Missionaries of Charity (St. Teresa of Kolkata’s community from India) visited her friends, Sister Clare and Sister Noreen at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception at Kylemore Abbey. It was an opportunity to share stories and enjoy time together!
Irish Saint’s Relative Visits Kylemore
13 Jul 2025
At Mass on Sunday, July 13, Father Martin Plunkett concelebrated with Father Boniface Hill, OSB in the monastery chapel. Father Plunkett, pastor of a parish in the diocese of Westminster in England, is a relative of the 17th century Irish martyr St. Oliver Plunkett, who was Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland and…
Notre Dame President Visits Benedictines
10 Jul 2025
On Thursday afternoon, Fr. Robert Dowd, CSC, president of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, visited the Benedictine community at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception with members of his family, while spending time at Notre Dame’s Global Centre on the Kylemore grounds. Fr. Dowd brought gifts for the community members, and Mother Karol…
Pair of Kylemore’s Connemara Ponies Travel East
23 Jun 2025
In mid-June, two of Kylemore Abbey’s Connemara ponies traveled to County Kildare, Irish National Stud for the summer. Mother Karol O’Connell, abbess, saw off Park Ruby and her filly foal, Peaceful Maisie, with treats and gentle strokes before their departure via one of Kylemore’s HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) vehicles. The significance of the selection of…
English Benedictine Congregation Bursars Gather at Kylemore
11 Jun 2025
While it might seem that Benedictines – monks and nuns – live apart from the world, there remain quite a few practical considerations that must be handled on a daily basis. The monastic “bursar” is one who handles these practical matters: paying bills, and so forth. This week, the bursars from a number of Benedictine…
Members of French Sénat Visit with Benedictines
10 Jun 2025
On Saturday, June 7, three members of the French Sénat visited Kylemore Abbey, spending time in conversation with Sister Marie Benoit – from one of their constituencies – and Mother Karol, along with touring the estate. The senators were unable to give Mother Karol a commemorative medallion of the French Sénat with onsite, but she…
Ukranian Visitors at the Monastery
7 Jun 2025
On May 20, the Benedictine community was graced with a visit from Mother Klara, abbess of the Benedictines at Zhytomyr Abbey, Ukraine, and her brother, Father Benedict, a Franciscan – along with Father Jarek Kurek, a Benedictine monk. They had an opportunity to meet with the Ukrainian employees who serve with such dedication as part…
Sister Genevieve on the Radio
5 Jun 2025
On Thursday, June 5, Sister Genevieve Harrington was interviewed by host John Staunton on Connemara Community Radio (87.8 FM and 106.1 FM) about upcoming retreats being offered by the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception at Kylemore Abbey, including Day Retreats and a weekend Discernment Retreat, along with special events planned for St. Benedict’s Week –…
Choirs from the U.S. sing in monastery chapel
5 Jun 2025
Beautiful music wafting forth from a monastery chapel is quite traditional, but the voices of the University of Southern Indiana Chamber Choir delighted all those who could hear them within the chapel and beyond the walls on Friday, May 30, as they sang an assortment of sacred, folk and Irish music during their concert, directed…