St. Benedict Week at Kylemore Abbey will feature a number of special events from July 11 to July 19 at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception.
On Saturday, July 11, Mass for the Feast Day of St. Benedict will include the blessing of St. Benedict medals.
On Sunday, July 12, at 4:00 PM, Brother Colmán Ó Clabaigh, a medievalist specialising in Irish religious and monastic history from Glenstal Abbey, returns to give another engaging talk in Ostyn Hall: “Women in the Wall: The Anchorites and Recluses of Medieval Ireland.”
The anchoritic or reclusive life is the most austere form of monastic life to be found in the Church. Its practitioners dedicate themselves to lives of prayer and penance, often radically separate from the rest of the world. Medieval recluses were often enclosed in small cells abutting the north side of churches. Paradoxically, this extreme rejection of society meant that many anchorites enjoyed great authority as spiritual advisers and counsellors and it became one of the few ways in which women could exercise spiritual and pastoral authority. This lecture presents the evidence for the presence and influence of anchorites in Medieval Ireland. Drawing on the recently discovered twelfth-century Rule of Godwin of Salisbury for Anchorites, it explores the realities of this vocation and sheds a fascinating light on a neglected aspect of female religious experience.
Register to attend this presentation at Eventbrite.
Monday, July 13 is Oblate Day at the monastery, with enquiry sessions at 11:00 and 3:00 for those interested in exploring the vocation of being a Benedictine Oblate. During the 12:15 Mass, an oblation profession will welcome a new Oblate into the community.
More information about becoming a Benedictine Oblate at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception is available on the webpage.
Wednesday, July 15, the Benedictine community welcomes the Metropolitan Flute Orchestra from the United States for a performance in Ostyn Hall at 3:00 PM.
