Laurence Freeman

Laurence Freeman OSB (born 17 July 1951) is a Catholic priest and a Benedictine monk of Turvey Abbey in England, a monastery of the Olivetan Congregation. He is the Director of the World Community for Christian Meditation and of its Benedictine oblate community.

Born in England in 1951, he was educated by the Benedictines and studied English literature at New College, Oxford. Before entering monastic life he worked in the fields of banking and journalism and at the United Nations.

In 1975, Freeman joined Fr John Main OSB at Ealing Abbey in London, as part of the first experimental lay community dedicated to living a Benedictine life with Christian meditation as its contemplative practice. From this was established the Christian Meditation Centre in London. In 1977 at the invitation of the Archbishop of Montreal, he went to Canada with Main to establish a Benedictine community of monks and laypeople dedicated to the practice and teaching of Christian meditation. Freeman studied theology at the Université de Montréal and at McGill University. He made his solemn monastic profession of religious vows in 1979 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1980.

After John Main’s death in 1982, Freeman continued the work of teaching meditation that had now begun to develop into a global community. He continues to travel the world giving talks and retreats. In 1991 he returned to live in England to establish the international centre of the newly formed World Community for Christian Meditation that is now present in over 100 countries.

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