EWTN is giving the faithful a tour of the Norbertines’ brand new $120 million St. Michael’s Abbey, in Orange County, California, a beautiful new home for the order as well as seminarians studying for priesthood. In a video just under five minutes long, EWTN makes a strong case for vocations with dazzling views of the grounds and the magnificent Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, all supported by encouraging testimonies from several of the abbey’s priests.
The video opens up with the stereotypical sights of beaches, palm trees, and tourist traps that come to mind when thinking of California, which are juxtaposed nicely with shots of a Mass procession at the secluded abbey. The change of setting is accompanied by a musical shift to monastic chanting, which sets the tone for the beautiful shots of the church’s interior. These cinematic glimpses illustrate the words of Fr. Ambrose Criste, who explains:
“It’s sort of the perfect distance between the busyness of the city, where we need to be doing our apostolic work, and the quiet of the desert, where we need to find Jesus in contemplation,” said Father Ambrose Criste, a priest at the abbey, speaking to EWTN Correspondent Colm Flynn in an interview for EWTN News In Depth.
St. Michael’s Abbey is currently the newest Catholic abbey in the world, opened in 2021. The order originally came to America in 1961, when seven Hungarian priests brought it with them when they fled Communism to settle in California. For decades the Norbertines educated boys in their nationally-renown St. Michael’s Preparatory School, as well as future priests in their seminary.
The high school was unfortunately forced to shut down when they moved to the new abbey, but they continue to educate seminarians, with a current class of around 40 and more waiting for admission. This is no small feat in a time when vocations in the US are dwindling, but Fr. Criste explains how the Norbertines and the abbey have been drawing them in by the dozen:
“I don’t think it’s rocket science. We say our prayers, we wear our religious habit, we live according to the charism of our order and the traditions of our order and we’ve never really given any of that up. And so that’s why young people want to come and be a part of it.”
The interview turns next to Father Chrysostom Baer, who has been with the order for more than 30 years. As the camera captures the opulence of the grand mosaic above the altar, Father Baer commented:
“It’s filled with the Catholic truth and the solemn celebration of the liturgy. It’s a place to work out your salvation, to grow in virtue, to overcome your vices, and help lead people to heaven.”
The beauty of St. Michael’s Abbey and the faithful sentiments of its priests are downright gorgeous in their own right, but possibly more striking are the youthful appearances of the priests. Each one has a full head of gray hair with almost boyish faces showing barely a crack or wrinkle. Maybe there’s something about a life of prayer and chant that keeps one youthful.
Learn more about St. Michael’s Abbey and the Norbertine order at their official website.
From Aleteia
These priests are so amazing. Imagine having a wait list to get into the seminary. I don’t think the Pope would be too happy about this…
I’m sure the Pope prays for vocations every day.
I usually give people some kind of slack because the Pope has so many enemies online that have slandered him.
But in the age when everybody can know the same information, people are choosing this.
If Mike Lewis is to be believed, Scott Hahn is an enemy of the pope. Absurd.
There are plenty of others.
Love the Norbertines. ❤️👍🙌🙏🙏🙏
I had no idea that St. Michael’s Prep was shuttered, but then I haven’t live in Orange County for many years. A big loss.
This kind of traditional monastery is like an antechamber to Heaven. The Norbertine canons are living the beginning of the blessed and holy spiritual life, very angelic, in Heaven, in union with Christ. St. Michael’s Abbey is a treasure house of graces. Would love to attend Mass and the Divine Office at the Norbertines’ beautiful new abbey church. A tremendous and blessed gift to poor, sin-drenched, suffering California.
Looks like the Norbertines have made a successful combination of both pre-Conciliar and post-Conciliar liturgical elements, for their canons. Still holy, beautiful and traditional, a good combination of old and new. Great idea for the Pope to carefully consider this idea. Lots of good vocations, too. Right now, they have 50 priests and 40 seminarians, and a waiting list. They had to build the new abbey because they were overflowing with vocations. Maybe the Pope, with careful consideration, might really like this successful combination of the old and new– and lots of new, young vocations.
I think the Pope would find happiness and peace of mind, enthusiastically promoting several types of good Masses, as Pope Benedict did– something for everyone– but in beautiful and holy traditional churches, oriented to God (not man)! The lovely Latin Tridentine Mass, Novus Ordo (English) vernacular Mass, and Novus Ordo Latin Mass– all are good! Plus, the Norbertines have their own Norbertine Rite of Mass. Why not, Pope Francis? Pope Benedict had it right.
Yes, and no TLM. They celebrate Mass the way Vatican II envisioned. The TLM is not the future, nor is the progressive Boomer Mass the future. St. Michael’s Abbey is modeling authentic liturgical reform mandated by Vatican II. That is the future of the Church.
No. Vatican II never intended to abolish the beautiful old Latin Mass, and did intend to keep some Latin in the Novus Ordo Mass. Read “Sacrosanctum Concilium.” To “update” authentically, does not mean that you ignirantly and savagely kill your whole history, and all that is truly good– that is an ignorant thing to do. The Roman Catholic Church, and Mass, in the 20th century, did not need nor require such tragic destructions, in the false name of so-called “reform” by idiots. That was never the intention at Vatican II. Modern man is very tragically alienated and seriously deprived of God. Our future lies in the solid roots of our past– all 2000+ years of it, going all the way back to Jesus Christ and His Apostles. Your suggestion is not at all an “authentic reform,” and “improvement”– it is an insensitive, senseless, shallow, tragic annihilation of the Catholic Church and her Mass.
It is the same Mass as said in the time of the Apostles.
The Mass is a Sacred Prayer to the Father on behalf on all mankind.
It is the Sacrifice of Calvary re-presented.
No, the TLM is not the same Mass as said in the time of the Apostles. That’s patently and demonstrably false.
Not the TLM.
No, you do not understand. Christ is truly and fully present at each valid Mass, in Holy Communion. It does not matter which form of Mass, as long as it is valid. The Mass is the Mass, always. It exists outside of Time. Christ is Eternal, in Heaven.
Does anyone know where these great Norbertines got the money for their amazing foundation?
From donations.
Phil: In January 2021 at the start of the 900th anniversary of the founding of the Norbertine Order, the community of Saint Michael’s Abbey moved from its original location on El Toro Road to its new location: 327 acres on Silverado Canyon Road, 8 miles away. The new Abbey cost $120 million to build. The Norbertines are one of the oldest orders in the world.