The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani |
| Order | Trappists |
| Established | December 21, 1848 |
| Mother house | Melleray Abbey |
| Diocese | Archdiocese of Louisville |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Dom Eutropius Proust, O.C.S.O. |
| Abbot | Dom Elias Dietz, O.C.S.O. |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | William Keely |
| Style | Neo-Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | October 1852 |
| Site | |
| Location | 3642 Monks Road, Trappist, Kentucky 40051 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Website | Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani |
The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a monastery near Bardstown, Kentucky, in Nelson County, a part of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae), better known as the Trappists. Founded on 21 December 1848 and raised to an abbey in 1851, Gethsemani is considered to be the motherhouse of all Trappist and Trappistine monasteries in the United States of America. Gethsemani is the oldest monastery in the United States that is still operating.
Following the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Trappist monks live a contemplative life of faithful prayer and work. The monastery is situated on a working farm of 2,000 acres (810 ha). The monks support themselves and the abbey through its store, Gethsemani Farms, offering handmade Trappist cheeses, fruitcake, and bourbon fudge (both onsite and by mail order).
Gethsemani was the home of Trappist monk, social activist and author Thomas Merton from 1941 until his death in 1968.
In September 1805, French Trappists from the Abbey of La Valsainte in Switzerland traveled from Pennsylvania to Louisville, Kentucky. From Louisville, they traveled south to the area of Bardstown to meet with Stephen Badin, the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States. Badin invited the monks and members of their Order to make their home in the area. Their stay was short-lived and they left in 1809 after a season of bad flooding.
Four decades later, in 1847, Dom Maxime, Abbot of the Abbey of Melleray in France, sent two monks to Kentucky to find a tract of land on which the Order could build a monastery. Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget in Louisville greeted the pair and guided them to Nelson County, to a tract of land owned by the Sisters of Loretto that was called Gethsemani where the previous community of Trappists had lived. The two monks were able to contract a deal for the land.
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