March 12, 2024 How are Cistercian Altar Breads made?
Every monastery of our Trappist Cistercian order supports itself by a small industry in which the community members actively participate. Here in the US these monastic industries include candy, cheese, creamed honey, fruitcake, mushrooms, and other food items. Here at Santa Rita Abbey in southern Arizona we make whole wheat altar breads and sell them to parishes across the country. Unlike candy and fruitcake, altar breads aren’t the sort of thing a person can order as gifts for Christmas–this is food on an another level!
We are grateful to the media department of the Diocese of Tucson for creating this wonderful video about our altar bread bakery in conjunction with the Eucharistic Revival currently underway in the US.