The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict, are a mainly contemplative monastic religious order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. The male religious are also sometimes called the Black Monks, in reference to the colour of their religious habits, in contrast to other Benedictine orders such as the Olivetans, who wear white. They were founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century Italian monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule. Benedict's sister, Scholastica, possibly his twin, also became a religious from an early age, but chose to live as a hermit. They retained a close relationship until her death.
A canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon, though some women may use the title canon and not canoness similar to the way actor is used rather than actress, e.g. Sarah Foot. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the canons, there are two types: canonesses regular, who follow the Augustinian Rule, and secular canonesses, who follow no monastic Rule of Life.
Kylemore Abbey is a Benedictine Monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The Abbey was founded for Benedictine nuns who fled Belgium in World War 1. Today, Kylemore Abbey, under The Kylemore Trust, continues its mission as a Benedictine monastery, holding Kylemore and its spiritual mission, natural and built heritage in trust for the Irish nation. Kylemore Abbey also operates as one of Ireland's leading visitor attractions.
St Mary's Abbey, also known as Malling Abbey, is an abbey of Anglican Benedictine nuns located in West Malling, Kent, England. It was founded around 1090 by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester.
Stanbrook Abbey is a Catholic contemplative Benedictine Monastery with the status of an abbey, located at Wass, North Yorkshire, England.
Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country".
Amesbury Abbey was a Benedictine abbey of women at Amesbury in Wiltshire, England, founded by Queen Ælfthryth in about the year 979 on what may have been the site of an earlier monastery. The abbey was dissolved in 1177 by Henry II, who founded in its place a house of the Order of Fontevraud, known as Amesbury Priory.
Wherwell Abbey was an abbey of Benedictine nuns in Wherwell, Hampshire, England.
Saint Mary's Abbey in Colwich, Staffordshire was an abbey of Roman Catholic nuns of the English Benedictine Congregation, founded in 1623 at Cambrai, Flanders, in the Spanish Netherlands, and closed down in 2020. During the French Revolution, the community was expelled from France and settled at Mount Pleasant, Colwich, in 1836, where it remained for the next 84 years.
Dame Mary Joseph Butler was the first Irish Abbess of the Irish Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Grace, at Ypres, Flanders.
Jouarre Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Jouarre in the département of Seine-et-Marne.
Teignmouth Abbey or St. Scholastica's Abbey is a former abbey in Devon, England.
St Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde is an abbey of Benedictine nuns in the Isle of Wight, England.
East Bergholt Abbey was an abbey in Suffolk, England. It was built on land purchased in 1857 on the site of Old Hall manor.
Saint Mary's Abbey, sometimes known as Glencairn Abbey, is a monastic community of nuns located in the townland of Glencairn, County Waterford, in Ireland. The community belongs to the Trappist branch of the Cistercian order, thus the nuns are also referred to as Trappistines.
The Benedictines Sisters of Elk County were a religious congregation established in Marienstadt, Pennsylvania in 1852 by three sisters from Saint Walburge Abbey in Bavaria. There they established St. Joseph Monastery, the first convent of Benedictine Sisters in North America. They opened a school for girls, St. Benedict Academy, and in 1933 expanded their apostolate into healthcare, becoming the owner and operator of Andrew Kaul Memorial Hospital in St. Marys.
Clementine Lynch, was Abbess of the Ypres Benedictine convent during the French Revolution.
Margaret (Xavieria) Arthur was an Irish abbess who led the Benedictine convent of Irish nuns at Ypres from 1723 to 1743. Since 1920 that community has been based at Kylemore Abbey in Ireland.
