In January 2025, the Community of Our Lady of Silence, comprising the members of the former Cistercian Abbeys of Mount Melleray, Mount Saint Joseph, and Mellifont, made the decision to come together for an interim period at Mount Saint Joseph Abbey, Roscrea.
This arrangement afforded us the necessary space and time to reflect carefully on our long-term future and to engage in a prayerful process of discernment regarding a permanent home for the Community.
Last week, following a formal vote of the Conventual Chapter, the monastic community decided to relocate to Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth, as our long-term home. We understand that this decision will bring great disappointment locally.
We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the wider community for its steadfast support, friendship, and generosity over many generations.
The strong bonds formed here are enduring and deeply valued. We anticipate that the transition will take place over at least the next eighteen months, allowing a proper opportunity to mark our departure and to say farewell in an appropriate and respectful manner.
A special word of appreciation is due to our wonderful staff at the Abbey, whose dedication, professionalism, and loyalty have supported our life and work in countless ways. For their generous commitment over so many years, we are profoundly grateful.
We will now enter into diligent and respectful discussions with them, with the aim of supporting and guiding all through this period of transition. We are committed to ensuring that appropriate provisions are made and that everyone is treated with fairness, dignity, and care.
While we will no longer reside on the grounds we have shared for so long with Cistercian College, our bond remains strong and enduring. We will continue in our role as Patrons and remain fully committed to the future of the College, to its mission, and to the ethos and values that have shaped generations of students.
We have every confidence in the Board of Management and in the leadership of College President, Colm Maloney, and his team. Under their stewardship, the College will act as custodian of our shared heritage and will carry forward the legacy entrusted to it, ensuring that the values intrinsic to our Cistercian tradition continue to flourish in the years ahead.
We were particularly encouraged by the decision to transition to a co-educational model and remain immensely proud of the College’s legacy and its past pupils, whose contributions to both the monastic and wider community are beyond measure. Their loyalty, service, and faithfulness remain a source of encouragement to us all.
We recognise that our departure will offer new opportunities for the College to expand and grow, and we look forward to remaining partners in its continued development long into the future.
We ask the whole community of Roscrea to keep us in prayer as we take this significant step on our journey. Please be assured that you all remain close to our hearts and in our prayer.
Difficult decisions require deep trust in God, and, with that trust, we move forward in faith, confident that the Lord has guided us on this path and will continue to do so in the years ahead.
With gratitude for the past and hope for what lies ahead, we entrust ourselves, the College, and the whole wider community of Roscrea to God’s faithful blessing and loving care.
Dom Rufus Pound OCSO
Superior, Our Lady of Silence Abbey, Roscrea