Neo-monastic communities are groups of people who live out a commitment to religious devotion and contemplation—such as that described in the Rule of Saint Benedict for monks—in forms adapted to the needs and challenges of the modern world.
They often observe offices of prayer, take temporary or permanent oaths and gather for worship, though they are less likely to be cloistered or sworn to celibacy than traditional monks or nuns.
Bell and Bishop of Saskatoon Chad McCharles, both members of the House of Bishops’ religious communities committee, say they have observed a small but growing groundswell of interest in neo-monastic practice especially among young people in recent years.
Bell says she was taken with the vibrancy of prayer, worship and charitable work of the Community of St. Anselm on a trip to Lambeth Palace in London in 2016. For the first time since she became bishop, she says, the diocese of Niagara has the time, staffing and resources to try to emulate their success.
The new community, to be called St. Brigid’s Community, will consist of volunteers aged 18 to 35. Bell and Canon Ian Mobsby, the diocese of Niagara’s community missioner, have recruited members to St. Brigid’s through a series of focus groups held in the diocese. Bell says she hopes for about 30 people to start.
Members will live in their own homes and use Christ’s Church Cathedral in Hamilton as a meeting and worship space. They will have leeway to determine their charism, the gift of ministry, prayer and charitable service they bring to the diocese.
Bell says she has asked that part of their charism be to pray for renewal of faith in Niagara and in the Anglican Church of Canada. She and other organizers hope the community will feed a desire for deeper spirituality and improve mental well-being among its young Anglican members.
The diocese hopes to have St. Brigid’s Community begin gathering in early 2027, Bell says.
McCharles, meanwhile, has found surprising interest from Saskatoon Anglicans between 18 and 55 in his own neo-monastic community, the Canons of the Order of St. Benedict. This September, the Saskatoon chapter will welcome its first novices since he moved there in 2025, McCharles says. He has heard of similar interest from several other chapters in Canada and the United States.
“Folks of that demographic, which I fall into myself, are seeking deep-rooted, ancient expressions of our faith,” McCharles says. “Neo-monasticism definitely fits that.”