Introduction – The Cistercian Story

Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey belongs to a story of almost a thousand years. It is part of the Cistercian Order which was founded in France at Cîteaux in Burgundy in the year 1098. The document outlining the constitution of the Order is known as the Charter of Love. Taking it’s inspiration from the Rule of St. Benedict (RB) the cistercian life was to be one of secluded communal intercession, contemplative prayer with manual work given it’s prominent position.

In 1112 St. Bernard arrived at Cîteaux as a novice and after four years established a foundation at Clairvaux. It was through his influence that the Order spread rapidly over the coming decades. His remarkable personality and sublime mystical writings enabled Bernard to become one of the most influential religious forces in Europe. It was through his friendship with St. Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, that the Cistercians came to Mellifont in Co. Louth in the lifetime of the first generation of Cistercians (1142). By the time of the Reformation, when the Order was suppressed, forty foundations had been established throughout Ireland.

La Trappe – L’Abbaye de Melleray – Mount Melleray

An important part of the Cistercian story in Ireland is connected with the 17th century reform movement in France known as the Strict Observance. It aimed at overcoming deviations which had become customary. In spirit and orientation it advocated a return to the literal interpretation of the Rule. After the Revolution of 1789, which practically wiped out the old Cistercian Common Observance, monks of the La Trappe Monastery were the first to return to France. La Trappe soon established itself as the leader of those Abbeys under the influence of the Strict Observance, who became known as the Trappists.

In 1832 a new era began when Irish monks of the Strict Observance (identified by the letters O.C.S.O.) were forced to leave the Abbey of Melleray near Nantes in France. Through the generosity of a Protestant landlord they were given land where they established a monastery at what is now Mount Melleray Abbey near Cappoquin, Co. Waterford. From this nucleus other Cistercian monasteries emerged, including Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey in 1948. A special relationship still exists with the mother Mount Melleray in keeping with unbroken Cistercian tradition and the Constitutions of the Order. Although each monastery regulates it’s own affairs in accordance with the ordinances of the General Chapter, at which each monastery is represented, Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey is visited every two years by the abbot of it’s founding abbey – in this case Mount Melleray. The intertwined history of the two monasteries was the result of practical, historical and ecclesiastical events.

Mount Melleray – Portglenone House – Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey

The overflow of vocations at Mount Melleray and the impending sale of Portglenone House in Co. Antrim pointed to the opportune time to re-establish a Cistercian Abbey in the north of the country. Prior to the Reformation there were four monasteries in Co. Down (Comber, Inch, Newry and Grey Abbey) and one in Co. Derry at Macosquin. Consequently the votes of the community of Melleray were taken and the conclusion was favourable. Ecclesiastical permission (from the Bishop of Down and Connor) and Civil approval (from the northern government) were duly obtained and the property secured. On the 1st of September 1948 the Abbot of Mount Melleray together with two other monks took possession of Portglenone House, which is now the Guesthouse of the Abbey. Shortly afterwards more monks arrived forming a new monastic community under the guidance of the Superior.

The newly acquired property was adjacent to the village of Portglenone, and had the Lower Bann flowing along it’s west side. With it’s parklands and 300-acre farm, it provided an excellent location and the community flourished. Elegant and spacious, this property was the ancestral home of the Alexander family. The site of Portglenone Castle is situated within it’s grounds, which provided residence for Sir Francis Stafford, Governor of Ulster in the reign Queen Elizabeth I. Later about the year 1810 the castle was demolished and the present house built by the Protestant Bishop, Dr. Alexander. History records that Sir Roger Casement often stayed here. During World War II the house was occupied by American Army officers who apparently used it as a centre for entertaining the troops.

New Church and Monastery

The stately, ornate setting to a life which is essentially modest, routine and penitential was noticeable by way of contrast. With it’s stately trappings, high cornice ceilings and large rooms, in time the House also became impractical for the growing community. Other temporary buildings were added. On the 7th July 1951 the house was raised to the dignity of an Abbey. A few months later on the 8th of September Dom Oliver Farrell was elected first Abbot. Further improvements to the farm and buildings followed. After his resignation through ill health in 1958 Dom Aengus Dunphy was installed as Abbot. Soon after his election he obtained permission from the General Chapter of the Order to build a new church and monastery. To this end the services of the architect Mr. Padraig O’Muireadhaigh were engaged.

The foundation stone was laid and blessed on 19th August 1962 and work began on the site during October of that year. Contractors built the structural framework of the new Abbey and members of the community together with local tradesmen and labourers completed it. To establish continuity with our Order’s past, stones from some of the pre-Reformation Irish Cistercian Abbeys were incorporated in the Church and cloisters of Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey.