Name of Church Prince of Peace Abbey
Address 650 Benet Hill Road, Oceanside, CA 92058
Phone number (760) 967-4200, ext. 200
Website www.princeofpeaceabbey.org and https://princeofpeaceabbey.blogspot.com/
Mass times One Mass daily; Sundays, 10:30 a.m. and Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. Visitors are welcome to attend Mass and liturgical offices and pray in the church. In addition to Mass, the monks do a beautiful job singing their prayers. The church is more contemporary than traditional, well done with much artwork. An adoration room is separate from the church, for those who wish to spend some quiet time with Our Lord.
Confessions by appointment only
Names of priests Leadership: Abbot Sharbel Ewen, OSB, Abbot Emeritus Charles Wright, OSB, Brother Raphael Meyer, OSB, prior. Nineteen others in the community are priests or brothers; see the website for a list. There are also lay employees who help out at the abbey.
School No school or catechetical classes.
Homilies The Abbey monks are prayerful men of God who strive to follow the teachings of Christ’s Church, which is reflected in their preaching and spiritual direction.
Parking Plenty
Fellow parishioners The Abbey is not a parish, but does draw many in discernment seeking a quiet place to pray and reflect. Some are discerning possible religious vocations, others are seeking direction in their lives.
Additional observations Prince of Peace Abbey is a Benedictine Monastery founded in 1958. It is a 130-acre site located on a hill in the city of Oceanside, and has great city and valley views. Its members follow a daily schedule and are typically involved in the domestic duties of running a monastery rather than outside apostolates. Individuals and groups can use the Abbey for days of recollection and retreats. There is also a gift shop inside the Visitor Center which offers a variety of religious items. There are private areas reserved only for the monks, but the gift shop, library, prayer walk with outdoor Stations of the Cross and cemetery are open to the public. The Stations walk is almost a mile, and has an ocean view. Although not far from the city, the Abbey has a country-like, back-to-nature atmosphere, with many walking trails. Watch a video about the abbey here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrVzwPxAnk.
We are fortunate to have two Benedictine Abbeys in Southern California. What great profit to the soul to spend time here or at St. Andrew’s Abbey, Valyermo. God bless you all for your hallowed vocation as monks in a noisy and turbulent world. I have to say that the monastic life brings a piece of heaven to earth for those who partake of the monastic peace at retreat. May your tribe increase!
A holy and beautiful monastery. The monks are wonderful men of God!
I realize that the abbey “is not a parish church,” as the article says, but they could still offer confessions. Maybe once a week? For an hour?
In my experience, if you want something from a Benedictine, you need to go there and ask: for the love of Christ, Father, could you hear my confession? That somebody will do it.
Beautiful and holy place and men!
Whose are the Saint relics in the church?
It should be noted that there is an error in the times of Mass at the Abbey.
All Masses at the Abbey are celebrated at 10:30 a.m. due to the COVID
pandemic.