New Camaldoli Hermitage

Last updated

New Camaldoli Hermitage
Monastery information
Full nameImmaculate Heart Hermitage
Order Camaldolese Benedictines
Established1958;66 years ago (1958)
Mother houseSacro Eremo of Camaldoli, Poppi, Arezzo, Italy
Dedicated to Immaculate Heart of Mary
Diocese Monterey
PriorIgnatius M. Tully
Site
Location Big Sur, California,
United States
Coordinates 36°01′15″N121°33′02″W / 36.02083°N 121.55056°W / 36.02083; -121.55056
Website https://www.contemplation.com/

New Camaldoli Hermitage (formally called Immaculate Heart Hermitage) is a rural Camaldolese Benedictine hermitage in the Santa Lucia Mountains of Big Sur, California, in the United States. The Camaldolese branch of the Benedictine family was founded by St. Romuald in the late 10th century. The hermitage was consecrated under the Immaculate Heart of Mary and was known by that name for its first decades, but its official name is New Camaldoli. [1]

Contents

Panomara from the New Camaldoli Hermitage. New Camaldoli Hermitage Panorama (19959310891).jpg
Panomara from the New Camaldoli Hermitage.

The hermitage was founded in 1958 by two monks from the motherhouse in Camaldoli in Tuscany, who had spent two years searching for a site that combined solitude and natural beauty. It is located at an altitude of approximately 1,300 feet (400 meters), and is approached by a winding road nearly two miles long, which gives the visitor a clear view of the landscape and Pacific coastline.

The hermitage is located 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Big Sur Coast Highway (Highway 1), .75 miles (1.21 km) south of the Lucia Lodge. It is situated between San Luis Obispo (85 miles (137 km) to the south) and Monterey (55 miles (89 km) to the north).

History

The Dani family: (L-R) daughter Mary Elizabeth, father Gabriel, daughter Lucia, and mother Elizabeth Dani Family 1900.jpg
The Dani family: (L–R) daughter Mary Elizabeth, father Gabriel, daughter Lucia, and mother Elizabeth

Before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1700s, the land may have first been occupied the Salinan Antonianos subtribe who are believed to have lived on the coast and inland as far north as Soledad. It is believed the northern limit of the tribe along the Santa Lucia Mountains is Junipero Serra Peak, east of Slates Hot Springs. The Salinan named it Pimkolam. [2] [3]

In 1925, Moore bought the Sheridan Press, the Circle M Ranch in Wyoming, and the Dani property in the same year, which he also named the Circle M Ranch. He raised horses in Wyoming that he raced at Hialeah in Florida. [4]

Radio personality John Nesbitt bought the ranch in 1942 and he moved his family to the ranch in 1947. [5] It was later owned by the Smart brothers of King City. [6] The Benedictine Order of Camaldolese monks acquired part of the Lucia Ranch property, now known as the Circle M ranch, in 1958. [7]

Vows

Upon committing to live as a hermit, a monk must commit to the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability. [8]

Hermitage life

A dozen monks live and work at the hermitage.[ citation needed ] Each monk lives in a small cottage, called a "cell," which is divided from its neighbors by a high wall and includes a small garden. Labors include a guest ministry, retreats, a bakery, a book store, cooking, and writing.

In January 2024, Ignatius M. Tully was elected prior of the hermitage. [9]

Expansion

New Camaldoli has founded two daughter communities, Incarnation Monastery in Berkeley, California, near the Graduate Theological Union, in 1979 and the Monastery of the Risen Christ in San Luis Obispo, California, in 2014. [10] [11] [12]

St. Romuald’s brief rule

Sit in your cell as in paradise.Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms—never leave it. If you have just come to the monastery, and in spite of your good will you cannot accomplish what you want, take every opportunity you can to sing the Psalms in your heart and to understand them with your mind. And if your mind wanders as you read, do not give up; hurry back and apply your mind to the words once more. Realize above all that you are in God's presence, and stand there with the attitude of one who stands before the emperor. Empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his mother brings him. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Sur</span> Coastal region of California, United States

Big Sur is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur has been called the "longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States", a sublime "national treasure that demands extraordinary procedures to protect it from development", and "one of the most beautiful coastlines anywhere in the world, an isolated stretch of road, mythic in reputation". The views, redwood forests, hiking, beaches, and other recreational opportunities have made Big Sur a popular destination for visitors from across the world. With 4.5 to 7 million visitors annually, it is among the top tourist destinations in the United States, comparable to Yosemite National Park, but with considerably fewer services, and less parking, roads, and related infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romuald</span> Founder of the Camaldolese order

Romuald was the founder of the Camaldolese order and a major figure in the eleventh-century "Renaissance of eremitical asceticism". Romuald spent about 30 years traversing Italy, founding and reforming monasteries and hermitages.

Hermitage, The Hermitage or L'Hermitage may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camaldolese</span> Monastic communities of the Order of St Benedict

The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona, commonly called Camaldolese, is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Its name is derived from the Holy Hermitage of Camaldoli, high in the mountains of central Italy, near the city of Arezzo. Its members add the nominal letters E.C.M.C. after their names to indicate their membership in the congregation. Apart from the Roman Catholic monasteries, in recent times ecumenical Christian hermitages with a Camaldolese spirituality have arisen as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bede Griffiths</span> British Catholic proponent of Christian Missionary (1906–1993)

Bede Griffiths OSB Cam, born Alan Richard Griffiths and also known by the end of his life as Swami Dayananda, was a British-born Catholic priest and Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams in South India and became a noted missionary. Griffiths was a part of the Christian Ashram Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinas Valley</span> Valley in Monterey County, California, U.S.

The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinan</span> Native people and language of Monterey County, California

The Salinan are a Native American tribe whose ancestral territory is in the southern Salinas Valley and the Santa Lucia Range in the Central Coast of California. Today, the Salinan governments are now working toward federal tribal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Lucia Range</span> Mountain range in California, United States

The Santa Lucia Range or Santa Lucia Mountains is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for 140 miles (230 km) to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than 11 miles (18 km) from the coast. The range forms the steepest coastal slope in the contiguous United States. Cone Peak at 5,158 feet (1,572 m) tall and three miles (5 km) from the coast, is the highest peak in proximity to the ocean in the lower 48 United States. The range was a barrier to exploring the coast of central California for early Spanish explorers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermitage of Camaldoli</span>

The Hermitage of Camaldoli, in Italian Complesso dell'Eremo dei Camaldoli, is a hermitage in Naples, Campania, Italy — also known in Italian as Eremo Santissimo Salvatore Camaldoli. Originally intended as an actual hermitage, a place for religious seclusion for male ascetics, the complex has served Brigidine nuns since 1998. The complex is located at Via dell'Eremo 87, at an elevation of 458 meters (1502'), the highest point in Naples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence</span>

Santa Maria degli Angeli is the former church of a now-defunct monastery of that name in Florence, Italy. It belonged to the Camaldolese order, which was a reformed branch of the Benedictines. The order is based on the hermitage which was founded near Arezzo in 1012 by the hermit St. Romuald at Camaldoli, hence the name. Very little of the medieval building exists today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fonte Avellana</span> Roman Catholic hermitage in Italy

Fonte Avellana or the Venerable Hermitage of the Holy Cross, is a Roman Catholic hermitage in Serra Sant'Abbondio in the Marche region of Italy. It was once also the name of an order of hermits based at this hermitage.

Cyprian Consiglio, O.S.B. Cam., is an American composer, musician, Camaldolese monk and Catholic priest. He is noted for his musical work to support the practice of meditation. He is the author of four books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermitage (religious retreat)</span> Place of seclusion

A hermitage most authentically refers to a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, or a building or settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion. Particularly as a name or part of the name of properties its meaning is often imprecise, harking to a distant period of local history, components of the building material, or recalling any former sanctuary or holy place. Secondary churches or establishments run from a monastery were often called "hermitages".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Steindl-Rast</span> American Catholic monk (born 1926)

David Steindl-Rast OSB is an American Catholic Benedictine monk, author, and lecturer. He is committed to interfaith dialogue and has dealt with the interaction between spirituality and science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Huston</span> American novelist

Paula Huston is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and creative nonfiction writer.

In some religious orders of the Catholic Church, a congregation is a group of religious houses. In monastic orders, this would be monasteries; in orders of canons regular, this would be chapters. Each congregation operates as an autonomous or independent subdivision of the religious order, and is presided over by a superior with a title such as abbot general, arch-abbot, abbot president, president, abbot ordinary, provost general or superior general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Sur Coast Highway</span> Scenic section of California State Route 1

Big Sur Coast Highway is a section of California State Route 1 through the Big Sur region of California that is widely considered to be one of the most scenic driving routes in the United States, if not the world. It is both a National Scenic Highway and a California Scenic Highway, and was described by Australian painter Francis McComas as the "greatest meeting of land and water in the world". Condé Nast Traveler named State Route 1 through Big Sur one of the top ten world-famous streets, comparable to Broadway in New York City and the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The road itself is a destination for visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucia, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Lucia is a hamlet located 22 miles (35 km) south of Big Sur Village and 38 miles (61 km) north of Hearst Castle. The area is sparsely settled

The 56 acres (23 ha) Wagon Caves rock formation is an archeological site that was used by the Salinan Antonianos subtribe who occupied at least two villages in the area more than a thousand years apart. The caves are located about 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Jolon, California.

References

  1. "New Camaldoli Hermitage- Who We Are". New Camaldoli Hermitage. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  2. Jewell, Jennifer (October 12, 2018). "Obi Kaufmann & The California Field Atlas; Botanical Artistry Of October, Part 2". Cultivating Place (Podcast). North State Public Radio . Retrieved February 13, 2019 via SoundCloud.
  3. Kaufmann, Obi (2017a). The California Field Atlas. Heyday Books. ISBN   978-1-59714-402-5.
  4. "Daniels Family at San Simeon", The Times, p. 5, November 25, 1936
  5. The San Francisco Examiner San Francisco, California 11 Aug 1960
  6. "This Road Deserves its Fame". The Californian. February 11, 1959. p. 7.
  7. Norman, J.; Society, B.S.H. (2004). Big Sur. Images of America (in German). Arcadia. p. 108. ISBN   978-0-7385-2913-4.
  8. The Silent Men, The Californian, October 1, 1960, p. 20
  9. "What's New: New Prior for Big Sur". Order of St. Benedict. July 2013. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  10. New Camaldoli Hermitage Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 2019-3-21.
  11. Incarnation Monastery Archived 2021-11-19 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed 2019-3-28.
  12. Monastery of the Risen Christ Archived 2021-11-19 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed 2021-11-19.
  13. The privilege of love : Camaldolese Benedictine spirituality. Peter-Damian Belisle. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press. 2002. p. 92. ISBN   0-8146-2773-0. OCLC   47081371. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)