Our Lady of Gethsemane Abbey, December 21, 2023 –175 years ago on this day, a group of monks from the Trappist monastery of Melleray in France arrived at the site of what was to become the Abbey of Gethsemani. These monks endured hardship along the way – one of the group died during the ocean voyage and several more in the year following due to the toll on their health from the journey. The leader of the group, and the first abbot of Gethsemani, Dom Eutropius Proust, fell ill himself and his recovery was uncertain. But he did recover.

Since then, over 2,300 men have entered the abbey, though only a minority persevered in the vocation. But all, whether they persevered until death or not, have contributed to keep this monastery alive through these 175 years.

We were blessed for this ceremony to have our own Archbishop Shelton Fabre preside at the Mass and give us a wonderful homily which summarized our vocation’s gift to the Church. We also welcomed several priests from the neighborhood who concelebrated with us.
We would like to thank the archbishop for his kind attention to us, and to all who attended the ceremony. And on a broader scale, we would like to thank all those who have helped support us through the nearly two centuries we have been established at this place. We could not have survived without the help and kindness of many thousands of you.

For those interested in exploring joining our way of life, we invite you to visit our page Becoming a Trappist