Mount St Joseph Today

Campus

Today Mount Saint Joseph Abbey is a place that is vibrant and alive. A constant flow of people move around the grounds, tending to the everyday business of running the monastic campus. There are about 20 monks in the community of Mount Saint Joseph. Their monastery building is at the heart of the grounds. Around this lie the various areas of business that enable the monastery to exist and flourish. The Guesthouses, the College and of course the Farms, surround the monastery, bringing the working life close to home.

The main Guesthouse features prominently in the grounds. The main driveway into the monastery leads straight to this building. Clairvaux House, the former ladies guesthouse, is a house near the entrance gates, and is now a guesthouse for all visitors. These houses welcome people throughout the year, and are the main accommodation places for participants at retreats, seminars and conferences that take place at Mount Saint Joseph throughout the seasons.

Over the years both farming and the College have been integral parts of life in the grounds of Mount Saint Joseph. The beef farm and dairy farm are very much part of the everyday work. Through this side of the labour, the rich land that exists in this area can be used to its full potential, providing the basis on which the farm can prosper.

The presence of the College in close proximity to the monastery buildings also brings life to the grounds. Thus the grounds of Mount Saint Joseph are a home not only to the monks in the community, but also to the hundreds of boys that are enrolled in the school each year.

Much conservation work is ongoing to maintain buildings, and restore others to their original glory. The extensive restoration work on the stained glass windows of the monastery led to renewed interest in their beauty. This in turn led to the detailed research carried out that is evident in the publication of Lumen Christi. Future projects are underway to continue the conservation work, and enable the creation of areas that will welcome future visitors to the beautiful grounds of Mount Saint Joseph Abbey.