The Our Lady of Calvary Abbey, a historic Trappist monastery that has been a sanctuary for monks and the greater community in Rogersville, New Brunswick, for over a century, has closed its doors due to a lack of new monks.
“After 122 years, our life here seems to be coming to an end,” said Father Innocent Ugyeh, the monastery’s father superior. He explained that the church voted to close the abbey because of dwindling membership, with only three monks remaining, one of whom is in a special care home at age 97.
“Recruitment here is not very possible here. It’s very minimal. Not a whole lot of people want to join,” said Ugyeh.
The Municipality of Nouvelle-Arcadie, where the monastery is located, is hoping to become the new owners of the property. Most of the 647 hectares of land were originally donated to the monks in 1902 by Monseigneur Marcel-François Richard, an Acadian priest who designed the Acadian flag and founded Acadian institutions like French-language schools.
“In the letter that he sent back then, he was hoping that if the monks left, they would give it back to the community or give compensation to the community,” said Mayor Jimmy Bourque.
Bourque emphasized the importance of the site to the community and their desire to use it as a social enterprise to benefit the local area. “We see it as a retreat, to promote art, culture, history, well-being. A lot of people have been going to the grounds for meditation, to reflect on life, and we think the property could still be used for something like that,” he said.
Talks are ongoing about the future of the site, while the remaining monks continue to reside at the monastery as they determine their next steps. A celebration to mark the closure of the abbey is planned for August.
