The Monastery of Christ in the Desert
Our Benedictine monastic community near Abiquiu, New Mexico, warmly welcomes you to our Abbey on the banks of the Chama River.
The Monastery Church and Art Gallery, will be open to daytime visitors, each Monday through Saturday, from 09:00 am to 5:30pm.
The Giftshop will be open to daytime visitors from 09:30 am to 12:30 pm and 2:00pm to 3:30pm Tuesday-Saturday.
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm.
The Gifsthop is closed on Mondays and during certain monastic observances.
Be our Guest
We welcome both day visitors and overnight guests for self-directed retreats. We celebrate mass daily, and invite you to pray with us.
Support Us
This monastic community is possible only by the generous support of friends like you. While the Monastery is an officially recognized Roman Catholic organization, it does not receive any direct financial support from the Church.
Explore the Monastery
We warmly invite you to explore a photo gallery that shows where we live and how we go about our monastic life.
Monastery News & Homilies
We invite you to subscribe to our newsletters to receive these directly via email.
May 8th: Some Important Updates
Monastery Guesthouse Update: Renovations and Reservations The Monastery Guesthouse is currently closed to overnight guests as we undergo a full remodeling of our commercial kitchen and substantial upgrades for Guesthouse accessibility. We hope to complete these...
Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 1:17-23; Gospel According to Saint Luke 24:46-53 We celebrate our Lord’s Ascension, which took place forty days after his Resurrection. We recount with joy the day when Christ...
Daily Martyrology for May 17, 2026
In 1592, in Villareal, St. Paschal Baylon. He came from a family of shepherds and eventually joined the Observant Franciscans at Loreto. He performed various physical tasks in friaries in Spain. Once, during the religious wars in France, he was sent there with letters to the minister general of the order. He was known especially for his devotion to the Eucharist.In 1935, Blessed Antonia Messina, martyr. She spent her life in Sardinia, where she was an exemplary girl who became... read more
Prayer and Chant
Learn more about the Monastic Day or review our Daily Prayer Schedule.
Prayer Requests and Mass Intentions
We are glad to include your requests for prayer in our daily chanting of the psalms. Mass intentions (including the delivery of a Mass card) may be requested for small stipend.
Our Chanting
We have recordings of our chants available on CD and MP3.
Ave Maria
Daily Prayer and Mass Schedule
All are welcome to join us at daily worship. Click here for our daily prayer schedule which begins at 4:00am and ends at 7:30pm.
Current Road Conditions
Saturday, May 16th, 10:00 am
Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is dry and in good condition.
Please watch for open-range cattle standing on the road especially the many new-born calves who tend to run in front of vehicles.
Always drive carefully on the road, as there is traffic in both directions. Also, there are sometimes hikers and bikers on the road.
Be courteous by letting faster vehicles pass. Simply pull to the side and allow them to go ahead.
Pray for peace.