Altar Breads
Whole Wheat Altar Breads Prepared by The Sisters of Santa Rita
The Trappist Cistercian Nuns at Santa Rita Abbey founded Cistercian Altar Breads in Southern Arizona over fourty-five years ago. Our altar bread work enables us to support our monastery and to share with the poor. We actively cultivate an atmosphere of prayerful recollection at our work, and we like to think that our prayer is an extra special ingredient in our altar bread recipe. It is a both privilege and a joy for us to prepare the bread which becomes the Body of Christ for the People of God!
Our History
Our monastery, Our Lady of the Santa Rita Mountains, was founded in 1972 by Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey, Wrentham, Massachusetts. In the late 1970’s they took their first steps in the altar bread industry. We began Cistercian Altar Breads with one baking plate, a one-at-a-time people’s host cutter, and a handful of altar bread parish customers.
Over the course of four and a half decades, our production capacity and our customer list have grown tremendously. Today, our Sisters produce millions of high quality whole wheat altar breads annually for over 200 churches all across the United States.
Who Makes the Altar Breads?
Several of the Sisters at Santa Rita abbey share in the daily operations of our bakery. We love our work and the unity of working in solidarity in such a meaningful way. Sister Pam heads our altar bread department. In addition, we are assisted by four wonderful employees who take on various tasks of the baking and cutting process. Beyond the walls of our bakery, we are mindful to keep all of our altar bread customers in our daily prayer, most especially at the Eucharist.
Altar Breads Available for Order
The Trappist Cistercian Nuns at Santa Rita Abbey have been baking altar breads since 1980. It is a joy for us to prepare the bread which becomes the Bread of Life for the People of God, and we like to think that our prayer is an extra special ingredient in our altar bread recipe. Santa Rita Abbey’s altar breads are 100% whole wheat, baked in accordance with Roman Catholic liturgical norms. Our breads are approximately 1.5 mm in thickness and come in five different sizes. All our breads are plain, without any markings, except for the scored concelebration hosts.
People’s Hosts 1-1/8”
Our 1-1/8” host is our smallest altar bread size. It is commonly used for communion bread to the sick.
Available for $7.50
per bag of 500
People’s Hosts 1-3/8”
Our 1-3/8” host is our most popular altar bread size, significantly more substantial than the 1-1/8” communion bread, yet more economical than the 1-1/2” breads.
Available for $10.75
per bag of 500
People’s Hosts 1-1/2”
Our 1-1/2” host is our largest of our people’s hosts. It is suitable for parishes seeking a slightly more substantial bread than the standard 1-3/8”.
Available for $11.80
per bag of 500
Priest’s Hosts 2-1/2”
This is the smallest of our Priest breads, made just right to break into four pieces.
Available for $5.80 per bag of 50 or
$3.48 per bag of 30
Scored Concelebration Hosts
5-1/2”
These breads are scored for easy breaking into sixteen pieces. They are large enough to be seen well in a large church but still appropriate for smaller worship groups or mass.
Available for $17.50 per bag of 25
or $7.00 per bag of 10
Unscored Concelebration Hosts 5-1/2”
These are the same size as our Scored Concelebration Hosts without the score lines.
Available for $15.00 per bag of 25;
$6.00 per bag of 10
Unfortunately, we are not accepting new customers at the present time. We are concentrating on supplying the parish customers we already have. We are contemplative nuns in the Benedictine-Cistercian tradition, and we strive for a healthy balance between prayer, work and lectio divina. This requires that we limit our production schedule and our customer list.