Founded in 1955 as the fifth foundation of Gethsemani Abbey, New Clairvaux Abbey is located in the Northern Sacramento Valley in California, about a hundred miles north of Sacramento.

The site of the monastery was the home of Peter Lassen and the end of the Lassen Trail. It was also the headquarters of Leland Stanford’s Great Vina Ranch which included among other agricultural and husbandry industries the largest vineyard and winery operation in the world at the end of the 19th century.  In the year 2000 the monks revived the tradition and now produce their own international award-winning New Clairvaux Vineyards wine.

The life of the monks is balanced between personal (lectio divina) and communal prayer (Liturgy) and manual labor on the monastery’s 600 acres of orchards and a vineyard.  Reflecting the diversity of California, the monastic community is multi-ethnic and multi-generational, with brothers ages ranging from their 20’s to 90’s.

The Abbey Church is constructed of stones from the medieval monastery of Santa Maria de Ovila in Spain, dating to 1190 AD, making it one of the oldest functioning buildings in the Western Hemisphere. The stones were originally brought to America by newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst in the 1930’s but sat dormant until the monks acquired them.

The Guest House is open to all faiths. Guests can schedule retreats from Monday afternoon to Friday morning or Friday afternoon to Monday morning. Guests are free to participate at the Divine Office and Mass in the monastery church.