The following is the official trailer for a new documentary on the Benedictine monks of Norcia. The documentary itself due to be released this coming December.
The Monastery of San Benedetto in Norcia now has 19 members, of whom 8 are solemnly professed monks (see this). The community has five priests. The average age of the community? 28 years old.
The monastery is officially "bi-formal", with the daily Conventual Mass always sung according to the 1962 Missal. However, the priests also celebrate the Novus Ordo for the parishes in the villages surrounding them (see this article). The monks sing the traditional Benedictine Office, in Latin. The monks are also committed to strict monastic observance; among other things, they eat only one meal per day from September 14 to Ash Wednesday (at 3:00 PM!) and they can taste meat only three times a year (Christmas, Easter Sunday, and Thanksgiving -- the monastery being predominantly American.)
For this year, the monastery got two postulants while one of the monks was ordained to the diaconate and then to the priesthood.
For this year, the monastery got two postulants while one of the monks was ordained to the diaconate and then to the priesthood.
