St. Leo Abbey Florida -- Beauty, Balance, Benedictines

[Via Cassian]

St. Leo Abbey is a Catholic Benedictine monastery founded in 1889 located 45 minutes north of Tampa, Florida, USA, off of I-75 at Exit 285. Map and GPS Coordinates. The abbey is part of the American-Cassinese Congregation.

In 1881 Edmund Dunne received the site on which the monastery was built as part of a much larger tract of land Dunne acquired as payment for his legal services that helped the state of Florida through a financial crisis.

Dunne established a Catholic colony on the land, founded several saint-named towns, San Antonio, St. Joseph, St. Leo, and invited the German-speaking Benedictine monks to provide the priests for the German-speaking, Catholic settlers. Dunne wanted the monks to build their abbey on the same land where Dunne had built his house, on top of a hill.

The Catholic-only part of this early Florida master-planned community lasted only a few years, but some of the small towns still exist as does the beautiful St. Leo Abbey.

Like many other Benedictine houses, St. Leo Abbey began with an accompanying school for boys and an adjacent, but separate Benedictine convent for sisters. Both still exist today, although the boys school grew and is now the separately operated St. Leo University with about 1,200 on-campus students.

In the 1940s and lasting for about 20 years, the Queen of Carmel Convent located immediately adjacent to the Abbey’s church was the home of a group of Carmelites. First was a group of Carmelite sisters from New York and later was a group of Carmelite nuns from Mexico. Today the former convent is called Carmel Hall and houses many of the teen retreats. The spirit of those dear Carmelites has become a permanent part of St. Leo Abbey.

St. Leo Abbey has a retreat-center operation for any kind of group retreat and a small guest house for private retreats by individuals. Costs for an overnight stay include meals with the monks.

Benedictine hospitality — you are welcomed as Christ — invites guests and day visitors who want to restore the balance of ora et labora to their lives. Ora et labora is the Benedictine motto “prayer and work.” The Benedictine's 1,500-year-old traditions of praying the divine office several times a day (seven prayer sessions a day is an early Christian tradition) and ordering the day to lift hearts to God helped build western civilization and works just as well for individual lives.

People of any faith or no faith are welcome to pray with the monks or attend Mass in the early morning.

Many towns throughout Europe built up around Benedictine monasteries and the monasteries served pilgrims along the pilgrim roads that united all of Europe in the Middle Ages. Today modern spiritual pilgrims who want their lives to be a “journey to dwell with God” find St. Leo Abbey’s guestmaster ready to welcome them in the same ancient tradition.

St. Leo Abbey celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2009. The interior of the abbey's Lombard Romanesque church of the Holy Cross was renovated and looks wonderful. The church is known for its 11-ton crucifix based on the image on the Shroud of Turin. It's one of the largest carvings based on the Shroud in the world.

My wife and I are oblates at St. Leo Abbey. We enjoy visiting for a day a rest as often as possible and for the occasional weekend spiritual retreat.

St. Leo Abbey is Florida’s best-kept spiritual secret.

+Peace
John
Tampa, Florida, USA

 

[Fantine]

It certainly sounds beautiful. I looked on their website for a retreat schedule and couldn't find one.

Do they have a schedule of retreat programs or are all retreats self-directed?

 

[Via Cassian]

Group retreats are organized by outside groups who use the abbey as the retreat venue. I do not know the scope of the program the abbey would provide to individuals/couples on private retreats. Most private retreats I know about are self-directed. Brother Jacob, Guestmaster, is the monk to speak with or e-mail.

More info:

Group Retreats. Participants in St. Leo Abbey’s group retreats most often come through contact with the group leaders holding the retreat, for example, there are church, marriage, recovery, teen, and religious organizations who hold their retreats at the abbey. While some are membership organizations — a person needs to be a member of the organization to attend one of the group’s retreats, I have the impression that most of the adult retreats are by organizations who would welcome anyone interested. For these types of retreats, e-mail or call Brother Jacob who is the St. Leo Guestmaster. He may be able to give you the contact information for such groups.

Private Retreats (Couples and Individuals). For these types of retreats, some people want to be "left alone" and bring their own books for any study, if any. As you wrote, these are the self-directed retreats. That’s what my wife and I do. We study a theme in the weeks leading up to our retreat and then try to continue it mostly in silence at the abbey. Invariably something better always arrives and we follow what happens to us at the abbey.

I am not sure whether the abbey would provide some spiritual direction for people on a private retreat. I know I would like that. Brother Jacob Guestmaster is the one to ask. People on private retreats stay in the Guest House.

If you have any other questions, please ask or PM or email me.

And, I thank you for posting your question! It is exhibit 1 in my efforts to have the abbey develop its own group-retreat program for guests and develop retreat packages for private retreats!

A yearly schedule of retreats available to the general public (Catholic and non-Catholics) would be a way to have more people learn Benedictine practices and participate in interesting weekend spiritual retreats. Your question proved my point!

OK, I will print your post and wave it excitedly in the air the next time I see the abbot. Hmm, that does not sound like a Benedictine approach to the matter — I will rethink my plan! (I am just kidding. The abbot would be very interested in knowing the type of retreats people are asking about. We are fortunate to have a wonderful new abbot who has continued to emphasize traditional monastic practices for the monks as the heart of the abbey.)

Likewise, I think the abbey should provide several forms of individual retreat packages, based on particular topics, and in which the guest would be given materials, a schedule, spiritual direction, and follow-up suggestions for back home. Again, if the guests want such direction as I would for some of our retreats.

Thanks again.


　

 

[Aesjn]

I was JUST there for vespers and afterwards the guest monk asked me if I "was at the seminary in Miami" and I said "No... I'm not Catholic." And now my brain is totally exploding wondering why in the world he would ask me that. It's very confusing to me anyway.

Edit: OH, yeah, and St Leo Abbey is the coolest place on earth.. seriously. I went by there once just to see what it was like about three years ago and have been hooked ever since. The place alone got me to reconsider Christianity and knowing there is a place like that will probably keep drawing me back.

 

[Via Cassian]

I was JUST there for vespers and afterwards the guest monk asked me if I "was at the seminary in Miami" and I said "No... I'm not Catholic." And now my brain is totally exploding wondering why in the world he would ask me that. It's very confusing to me anyway.

Edit: OH, yeah, and St Leo Abbey is the coolest place on earth.. seriously. I went by there once just to see what it was like about three years ago and have been hooked ever since. The place alone got me to reconsider Christianity and knowing there is a place like that will probably keep drawing me back.

Maybe it was your look of high intelligence that caused him to ask that question! In contrast, my wife and I were never asked about our status or religion — we first started visiting the abbey when we had no thought about becoming Catholic. In fact, at one point we said to one the monks we knew well by then, "you know, we are not Catholic." The immediate and smiling reply was, "that’s OK."

Your comment about St. Leo Abbey being a cool place that keeps drawing you back is what we hear a lot. Not from everyone, of course. But it is common to hear people say that "there’s a spirit about the place you can feel."

 

[Aesjn]

Hmm, I don't think it was that...

I've been curious, is it possible for one's "main church" to be the church at St Leo? I would guess not, or else they wouldn't have built so many other Catholic churches within a few miles radius?

 

[Via Cassian]

Hmm, I don't think it was that...

I've been curious, is it possible for one's "main church" to be the church at St Leo? I would guess not, or else they wouldn't have built so many other Catholic churches within a few miles radius?

Don't know, but I know poeple who go to St. Leo Church of the Holy Cross most of the time. Good question.

 

[anawim]

I went to school there for a year. From the Fall of '73 to the Spring of '74.

 

[Via Cassian]

I went to school there for a year. From the Fall of '73 to the Spring of '74.

Super, anything you can tell me about the abbey or the monks during that time would be very much appreciated. Thank you very much.

 

[anawim]

Super, anything you can tell me about the abbey or the monks during that time would be very much appreciated. Thank you very much.

I remember the Prior, Fr. Leo. I don't remember the abbot's name. I also remember a Br. David, and Br. Fidelio, wh was originally from Cuba, and a Br. Jud, who passed away a few years after I left. There was also a much older brother who was from Bergamo, Italy. It seemed like a small order. Perhaps it has grown since then.

 

[MrStain]

I have never been there, but I am a graduate St. Leo University, formerly St. Leo College, which is associated with the Abbey. A friend of mine, who's husband happens to be an orthodox Anglican Priest, has made a retreat there as well. It really sounds like a wonderful place.