Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire - Monastic Life

Monastic Life

The monastic community follows the Rule of St Benedict under the guidance of an Abbot, centred around the Divine Office and Mass prayed daily in the Abbey Church.

Following the post-Reformation English tradition the monks have been involved in educational and pastoral work. In 1926 Belmont Abbey School was founded. This continued to expand in the post war years. Two prep schools were also founded, Alderwasley and Llanarth, Monmouthshire. These in turn were closed, and the school at Belmont was itself closed in 1993, but there is a loyal association of old boys and girls.

Today the monks undertake numerous works including the pastoral care of the Catholics in Herefordshire, west Cumbria and South Wales. In addition the community maintains a small foundation at Pachacamac near Lima, Peru - the Monastery of the Incarnation.

The monks also run the retreat, guesthouse and conference centre, Hedley Lodge. A programme of educational visits is offered to schools throughout the West Midlands and Wales.

The community currently numbers 39 monks in England and Peru. In 2001 its former Abbot Mark Jabalé was appointed Bishop of Menevia. His successor as Abbot is Paul Stonham. Current Prior is Dom Nicholas Wetz.

In 2006 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded Belmont Abbey a grant for their project "Discovering Belmont Abbey, to make the Abbey Church more accessible to a wide range of people, to enlarge its educational activities and restore the fabric of the church. Work is to commence in August 2008.