Hello! This has been an extraordinary year for Santa Rita Abbey with the passing of three of three of our Sisters this summer followed by the premier of the documentary, Final Vows this fall. Here are a few scenes from the last several months ... [caption id="attachment_41030" align="alignnone" width="642"] The birth of twin fawns behind the statute of St Joseph and the Child Jesus at the end of July. This doe…
Please would you consider contributing to our Retreat House Maintenance Fund? Earlier this year we replaced the double doors in the kitchen and in San Carlos. We need your help to be able to do the doors in five more rooms! Each set of two doors costs $2,631.32, for a total of $13,156.60 for all five rooms. This is a special price that is good only to the end of…
We have exciting news! Final Vows a documentary by filmmaker Victoria Westover about our monastery, will be playing at the Fox Theater in Tucson, Arizona Sunday, September 8, 2024, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. One time only! There will be a Q&A session following the film with Mother Vicki, Sister Pam, and the filmmaker and cinematographer. Get tickets and watch the trailer here Can't make it? In 2025 the film…
Three of our Sisters went home to God this summer: Sisters Kate, Jacqui and Margarita - two of them on the very same day, and the third exactly four weeks later! We are grateful to God for the lives of our beloved Sisters, most especially for the years in which they lived in our midst. We all have many memories to cherish. Below are Mother Vicki's eulogies in honor of our…
The circle of life continues! Last weekend we had the joy of meeting and holding Baby Mila, the granddaughter of Bernie, one of our altar bread bakery employees. We don't often get to hold a baby! …
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…
February 17 is the world premiere of Final Vows a documentary film by Victoria Westover about Santa Rita Abbey! It was in 2018 that Victoria Westover first approached our Mother Victoria Murray about her desire to create a documentary film about nuns. We were very cautious at first. It is true that other monasteries in our Trappist Cistercian order had documentary films made about them, and we wished we…
Good news! Our beloved Retreat House is open at last! Who knew it would take a full year to get a new roof and then to repair and paint the damaged drywall? Now at last the work is done. Thank you for your patience. And thank you again to all who responded to our 2022 fundraising appeal. We look forward to welcoming you back to our retreat house…
