Our Lady of New Clairvaux Abbey
In the peaceful countryside of northern California, the Trappist monks of New Clairvaux welcome you for a retreat of silence and prayer, among vineyards and orchards. A unique place to slow down and find renewal, alongside a remarkable abbey church built with stones from a 12th-century Spanish Cistercian monastery.
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A California monastery with medieval European roots
Our Lady of New Clairvaux Abbey was founded on July 2, 1955, by monks from Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. Twenty-six monks set out westward to establish this new monastery on a working ranch in Vina; the founding community eventually grew to include as many as 48 monks.
The monks belong to the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (OCSO), more commonly known as the Trappist order. They live according to the Rule of Saint Benedict, which is organized around a balance of communal prayer, personal prayer, work, spiritual reading, and silence.
The monastery's rural setting is deeply connected to this life of work. Over the decades, the community has cultivated orchards and vineyards, carrying on the long Benedictine tradition of living by the work of one's hands.
An extraordinary church built with stones from a medieval Spanish monastery
One of the most remarkable features of New Clairvaux is its church.
Its story begins thousands of miles away, at the 12th-century Cistercian monastery of Santa María de Óvila, in Spain. In the 20th century, stones from this medieval monastery were transported to California. After spending several decades in San Francisco, many of them finally found a new home at New Clairvaux.
These stones were used to build the abbey church, creating a link between a contemporary California Trappist community and the medieval architectural tradition of the early Cistercians.
The church reflects the core principles of Cistercian architecture: simplicity, proportion, space, and light. Rather than emphasizing ornamentation, the building itself is designed to foster recollection and contemplative prayer.
Learning to listen
A retreat at New Clairvaux is organized simply. There is no packed schedule of talks or activities to follow: retreatants are instead invited to enter the rhythm of the monastery and make room for silence.
A day might be shaped by Lauds or Vespers with the monks, time spent reading in the library, a walk through the orchards, rest, a period of prayer in the Saint Cecilia Chapel... or simply a few quiet moments in silence.
This simplicity is at the heart of the Trappist tradition: to step back for a time, not to flee the world, but to become more attentive to oneself, to others, and to God.
