St. Joseph's Abbey Church. Photo courtesy/St. Joseph's Abbey
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St. Joseph's Abbey is a monastic community of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, commonly known as Trappists. We are a contemplative order, following the Rule of St. Benedict. The community began in 1825 in Nova Scotia with monks from Belgium and France. At the beginning of the 20th century, they moved to Rhode Island, but after a devastating fire in 1950, the community decided to move once again, this time to a dairy farm in Spencer, Massachusetts. A new monastery was built there to house the quickly growing community.
Adjoining the monastery is a small retreat house with 11 private rooms. There are two retreats per week: Monday afternoon to Friday morning or Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. The retreat house closely conforms to the atmosphere of the monastery. The celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours frame the structure for each day with a generous amount of time also set aside for solitary prayer, sacred reading ("lectio divina") and contemplative quiet. Conferences are given by one of the monks each morning on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for weekday retreats and on Saturday and Sunday for the weekend retreat. Time is available for private conversation with the retreat master or for the Sacrament of Reconciliation each day. Three meals are served each day and linens are provided in the rooms.
Our guests are welcome to join the monastic community for the Liturgy of the Hours and for Mass in the Abbey Church: Vigils at 3:30 a.m.; Lauds (morning prayer) followed by Mass at 6:00 a.m. on weekdays and 6:40 a.m. on weekends; None (mid-afternoon prayer) at 2:00 p.m.; Vespers (evening prayer) at 5:40 p.m.; and Compline (night prayer) at 7:40 p.m. Silence is an important part of a retreat at the Abbey. We encourage our guests to embrace this silence during their retreat.
Reservations can be made online at www.spencerabbey.org/retreats. You may also make a reservation by phone at 508-885-8710. All the retreats offered for the next four months can be seen on the online calendar. We offer retreats for men, men and women, and women. If you have questions, please contact us by phone at the number listed above. In light of the Rule of St. Benedict, who says that all guests are to be welcomed as Christ (53.1), we are happy to share the peace and solitude of our life with those who come for a retreat.