Catholic
New Monastery Stained Glass in Progress
I learned the art of stained glass while studying at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. I always enjoyed getting involved in different types of arts or crafts, but was never really good at them. I made several small windows during my time in theology school and always thought about the possibility of continuing to make…
Wild Winter Weather
It has been a strange weather week. On Wednesday it was 45 degrees out, but the lake was frozen solid. I decided to get out my ice skates for the first time this season. It was perfect skating weather, so I played some hockey for a while. The top layer of ice was getting a…
A New Semester
The seminarians returned to campus Sunday evening by 10:00 PM. There were no classes on Monday, but it was time for those who needed to make corrections and adjustments to their schedule to have that taken care of. The pre-theologians were in charge of hosting the annual Epiphany Party, which is normally scheduled for the…
2016
Happy New Year and Happy Feast of Mary, Mother of God! These days at the Abbey have been quiet and restful for the most part. Several of the monks had their parents visit around Christmas and the days following. A couple of my classmates from college seminary even dropped by and we had a chance to…
Christmas in a Monastery
How do the monks prepare and celebrate Christmas? Check out the new video capturing some of the sights and sounds of the past few days. Merry Christmas!
Celebrating Christmas
A behind-the-scenes look at the preparations and celebration of Christmas at Conception Abbey.
Christmas Blessings!
Christmas Greetings and Best Wishes for a New Year of Happiness! The monks are grateful for so many blessings, especially our family, friends, and benefactors. We celebrated Midnight Mass with a Basilica filled with people from the area. The nice and dry weather was conducive to travel, so we had a good number of guests. I…
Christmas Tree Trimming
It’s that time of year when grown men dressed in black robes channel their inner child and gather with great excitement to decorate the Christmas tree. Okay, maybe I’m only referring to Br. Cyprian. The monks had their annual tree trimming party in the monastery recreation room. Several monks contributed ornaments to the trees and…
Celebrating with our Employees
Each year in the days leading up to Christmas, we have our Employee Christmas Luncheon. It is a time for the close-knit Conception community- monks and employees- to gather and give thanks for many blessings. Specifically, we recognize and honor employees who are celebrating anniversaries of employment with us: 20, 25, 30 and even 40…