On December 21, 2022, the monks of Gethsemani Abbey, located in Trappist, Kentucky began a year of celebration commemorating the 175th anniversary of the founding of the monastery.  It was in 1848 that Dom Eutropius Proust led a band of courageous monks from the Abbey of Melleray in France to a new home in what was then the near-wilderness of Kentucky. After an arduous journey, beset by difficulties, they arrived at the present location on the 21st of December to begin their life there. Throughout the whole journey, they carried a wooden cross, inscribed with their destination and the words, “Vive Jesus, Vive sa croix.” That cross still remains at Gethsemani, usually displayed in a prominent place in the cloister. For this time of celebration, the monks have brought the historic cross into the church where it served as the main cross for the commemoration mass. Dom Elias Dietz, abbot of Gethsemani Abbey presided at the mass and gave the homily.