Garanhuns (Brazil)

Project 3480 - Construction of a floor of cells

Monastery of São Bento (Garanhuns - Brazil)

The monastery of São Bento de Garanhuns was founded on 3 April 1940 by the bishop of the diocese of Garanhuns, Dom Mário de Miranda Villas Boas, the arch-abbot of the Benedictine Congregation of Brazil, Dom Lourenço Zeller, and the mayor of the municipality of Garanhuns, Dr Celso Galvão.

By decision of the General Chapter of the Congregation, and on the recommendation of Arch-Abbot Lourenço, two Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Rio de Janeiro, Dom Dom Domingos de Silos Tavares and Dom Gerardo Martins, were asked to found a monastery in the North-East, whose main task would be to run and maintain a cloistered school to train young candidates for the Brazilian abbeys, particularly those in the North-East.

The monastery was then transformed into a priory dependent on the abbey of Olinda in 1980, then erected as a conventual priory on 12 May 1986, in the diocese of Garanhuns.

The community now comprises around fifteen brothers. The brothers sell their bakery products in their shop.

Request

The monastery lacked space to welcome young men interested in the monastic life. The novitiate already has three postulants and five novices, and eight young men wishing to enter the community cannot be accommodated due to lack of space. The plan is therefore to extend an existing building by adding a floor with eight cells. Several organisations have been approached to help finance this project, as the community is experiencing financial difficulties following the Covid pandemic.

Financial assistance requested: 10,000 euros

Support this project