Mount Melleray Abbey, the 193 year old Cistercian monastery in Ireland which closed in January this year due to a dwindling number of vocations, has received a new lease of life after Florida based Ave Maria University partnered with the monks to turn it into a new study-abroad campus.
On Sunday, September 20, the restored Abbey Church was reopened and dedicated during a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan of Waterford and Lismore. In his homily, Bishop Cullinan recalled the words of the priest who celebrated the last Mass at the abbey on January 25, “God has great plans; if we trust him, all will be well.”
3 CISTERCIAN COMMUNITIES WERE MERGED
The closure of Mount Melleray was a necessary decision made after careful discernment among the three Irish Cistercian communities. A canonical vote in November 2024 formally suppressed the houses at Mount Melleray, Mellifont and Roscrea, establishing a single unified community based in Roscrea. The Cistercian community is hopeful that the presence of Ave Maria will bring renewal to the Irish Church going through a challenging time.
According to Ave Maria University’s website, the Ireland Study Abroad Program at Mount Melleray Abbey offers students a semester-long experience that immerses them in a “rhythm of study, prayer, and community life that is deeply formative” and rooted in Ireland’s rich Catholic heritage. The program received an overwhelming response, with over 300 students applying for approximately 100 available spots in the first intake.
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