Mount Saviour

Summer Experience

A four-week experience in a Catholic Benedictine monastery that draws participants – through prayer, community life, work and study – into a world of relationships and networks that reveal God.

July 1 – July 31

An experience for men ages 20-35

The Monastery

Mount Saviour Monastery, a community of Catholic Benedictine monks, was founded in 1950 to adapt Benedictine life to the current situation in North America. One of more than 400 Benedictine monasteries worldwide, Mount Saviour is part of a fifteen-centuries-old tradition of spirituality and common life that has constantly adapted itself to changing times and conditions. During the more than fifty years of its existence, the monastery has become a spiritual center for many people.

Situated on 1,000 acres of land atop a ridge overlooking the Chemung valley, the monastery is located between Elmira and Corning, New York.

The Monks

The monks of Mount Saviour, who come from all walks of life, have chosen to live a simple life in common. Their days are spent balancing prayer, study, work, community events and service to others. They support themselves through the operation of a sheep farm, craft shops, a bookstore, and guesthouses fort men and women.

The Directors

The summer program is organized and directed by oblates and friends of the monastery. They volunteer their services to share with others an experience on monastic life and spirituality that they feel has greatly benefited their own lives.

Dr. Anthony J. Cernera, President of Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut, directs the morning classes and coordinates the afternoon work schedule with the monks.

Several friends of the monastery teach classes on selected subjects.

The Purpose

The Mount Saviour Summer Experience I offered as a service to people who wish as opportunity to live as a Christian community with an intensity not commonly available in today’s world. Participants are able to search the depths of their souls as well as to experience the riches of the Christian tradition.

The Program

The monks of Mount Saviour conduct as annual summer program for men, ages 20-35, from July 1 – July 31. There is no fee for the five weeks, but the participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from the monastery. The number of participants is limited to ten.

The summer program consists of spending a five-week period inside the monastery sharing the communal and prayer life of the monks. Because Mount Saviour is a small Christian community, one can sense there the specifically Christian dimension of life together. This experience and the faith that comes with it are helpful to people throughout their lives as lay persons.

The mornings are divided between communal and private prayer with several hours devoted to study. Brief courses are taught by monks and oblates (lay affiliates) of the monastery on such topics as prayer, Scripture, history and theology.

The afternoons are spent joining the brothers in the work of the monastery. Members of the group also spend time with each other and the directors to process the experience and place it in perspective.