Meath’s first monastery in 500 years
A MONASTERY has been established in Meath for the first time in almost 500 years.
The Benedictine monks of Silverstream Priory have been raising €1m to build a monastery for the past number of years. Yesterday it was opened at a canonical ceremony presided over by Bishop Michael Smith.
Silverstream is home to eight followers of the Rule of St Benedict. The community came from Tulsa, in the US, in 2012. One monk, Dom Benedict Anderson, used his social media skills to set up the Priory’s website, Facebook and Twitter.
The decree to establish Silverstream is thought to mark the first formal establishment of a monastic community in Meath since the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII during the Reformation.