History
St. Joseph’s Abbey was settled in 1950 on the former site of Alta Cresta Farms, under the extraordinary vision and leadership of Dom Edmund Futterer. The Trappists that settled the abbey moved there from their previous location in Cumberland Rhode Island.
Father Thomas Keating was elected abbot of the abbey in 1961. Keating, one of the architects of the contemplative prayer movement, retired in 1981. Along with Meninger and Pennington, Keating founded the centering prayer movement in the 1970s while abbot of St. Joseph's. The three held retreats at the abbey to teach this method of prayer.
After the short term of Dom Pascal Skutecky, due to poor health, Dom Augustine Roberts became the fourth Abbot in June 1984 and served two six-year yerms. His autobiography is "Finding The Treasure: Letters From A Global Monk". The current Abbot, Damian Carr, was elected in June 1996.
Read more about this topic: St. Joseph's Abbey (Spencer, Massachusetts)
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