Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani

An abbey of the Order of Reformed Cistercians, commonly called
Trappists, established in 1848 in Nelson Co., Kentucky, in the
Diocese of Louisville, being the first abbey on American soil. On
26 Oct., 1848, a colony of forty Trappists left the Abbey of
Melleray, in the Diocese of Nantes, France, under the leadership
of Dom Eutrope Proust, and arrived at New Orleans early in
December. They travelled by river to Louisville, Kentucky, where
Bishop Flaget, who had greatly desired their coming, received
them. On 21 December they took possession of the lands destined
for their establishment, and shortly afterwards their number was
increased by a second colony of twenty religious from the mother -
house. The monks undertook the work of clearing their lands with
indomitable energy, and little by little arose the imposing
structures which form the present abbey. This is an immense
quadrilateral, one side of which is formed by the church, whilst
the other three sides contain the monastic quarters, with a
commodious guesthouse for those who desire to spend a few days in
solitude.

In 1850 a pontifical Brief (21 July) erected the new monastery
into an abbey. By a unanimous vote Dom Europe was elected abbot,
and on 1 May, 1851, received the abbatial blessing from Bishop M.
J. Spalding of Louisville, in the old cathedral of Bardstown. It
was the first ceremony of the kind performed and returned to
France. He left Dom Benedict Berger in charge, who was soon after
elected abbot, and received the abbatial blessing in St.
Catherine's Church, New Haven, Kentucky, 9 May, 1861. Dom Benedict
insisted with true religious zeal on the observance of the rule,
and under his administration the abbey buildings were finished.
The church was solemnly consecrated by Archbishop Purcell of
Cincinnati, 15 Nov., 1866. Stricken with paralysis in 1887, Dom
Benedict resigned his charge in 1889. The administration then
passed to Dom M. Edward Chaix-Bourbon, who was elected abbot 9
May, 1890, and received the abbatial blessing in the church of the
monastery, 29 September following. Dom Edward applied himself
especially to improve the school attached to the abbey since its
foundation. He erected new buildings, and transformed it into a
college. During a visit to France, upon the advice of physicians,
he had to renounce his hopes of seeing Gethsemani again, and on 24
Jan., 1898, he was succeeded by Dom M. Edmond M. Obrecht, first
appointed superior and shortly afterwards elected abbot by
unanimous vote; he received the abbatial blessing at Gathsemani,
28 Oct., 1898. Through the generosity of Mgr. Batz of Milwaukee,
Dom Edmund was able to create the splendid library which contains
more than thirty thousand volumes of the principal authors on
ecclesiastical sciences.

That the regime of La Trappe is entirely incompatible with the
American temperament is a prejudice without foundation. The
community has always numbered some, and now numbers over one-
third, Americans amongest its religious, some of whom were raised
in luxury, and all have found health and happiness at Gethsemani.
Another prejudice is the belief that the Trappist life, being a
penitent life, is only intended for criminals. Life at Gethsemi is
the same as Cistercian life at Clairvaux, a life of contemplation
and penance. Moreover, recent decrees of sovereign pontiffs and
the constitutions of the order forbid the reception of men who
have given public scandel. The community of Gethsemani is at
present (1908) composed of 80 religious: 34 members of the choir,
22 of whom are priests, whilst the others are preparing themselves
, by the regular studies, for the priesthood; 46 are lay brothers
who are more especially engaged in the work of the farm.

EDMOND M. OBRECHT
Transcribed by Joseph P.Thomas

Dedicated to Father E. T. Dewane


From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.

Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).

This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the  entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight,
editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
contribute to this  worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-
mail at (knight.org/advent). For  more information please download
the file cathen.txt/.zip.

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