Sharing the Benedictine Life

In the spirit of Saint Benedict’s call to receive all guests as Christ and to show them all kindness , it is our privilege to welcome you. We invite you to share in the peaceful rhythm our monastic life during your stay. You are always welcome to join us in the chapel for our daily prayer services and the holy Eucharist (see the daily schedule).

To support you in your search for God, we strive to maintain a quiet environment that provides ample time for privacy, prayer, reading and reflection. We foster an atmosphere of silence and gentle solitude as it is most conducive to this shared way of life and allows the heart to rest.

Guestmaster

Overnight guests are welcome at the monastery. Our guestmaster monk is a monk assigned to welcome and support guests upon their arrival and during their stay.

Guest Compendium

To orient you to our life and its rhythms, a Guest Compendium will be found in your room. This guide will acquaint you with our customs and provide helpful details for your stay, including our liturgical schedule, meal times and guidelines regarding silence, technology, and walking the grounds. We hope this information allows you to easily share in the peace of our monastic life.

Accommodations

Each guest room is furnished with one or two twin beds and heated during the colder months. Guests may also take advantage of some shared common areas.

Because the electricity in both the Guesthouse and the Ranch House is supplied entirely by our solar power system, our energy capacity is limited. We ask that you do not bring or use high-draw appliances such as hair dryers, hot plates, coffee makers, blenders, electric blankets, or heating pads. Necessary medical equipment, however, is always permitted.

Linens, towels, and blankets are provided in the guests’ rooms. Please bring your own toiletries. A flashlight is recommended for walking outside and to  and from the Church at night. You may also wish to bring a bottle for water to have in your room. You can fill  it with filtered water in the guesthouse common room kitchen or in the guest refractory adjacent to the main refectory. The Monastery is about 6500 feet above sea level. The summer months of July and August can be quite wet. Snow is common in winter as is mud in spring. The weather can be very cold during winter and quite hot on summer days with cool mornings. You need to bring appropriate clothing. No shorts should be worn in the Church, refectory or guesthouse areas

Guesthouse Common Rooms

The common rooms in both the Main Guesthouse and the Ranch House are available at all times for all overnight guests. These are the designated spaces for conversation during your stay. Because many guests also use these rooms for quiet reading or preparing a snack, we ask that you remain mindful and respectful of others. Please keep the doors closed to help maintain the silence enjoyed throughout the the rest of the retreat areas.

Both locations feature a central table area with chairs, as well as a small kitchenette equipped with a sink, a small refrigerator and basic tableware. To help you feel at home, we provide electric kettles, French presses, ground and instant coffee and a small variety of teas and sweeteners.

For your convenience, both common rooms include a restroom. The Ranch House common room also houses the shared shower facilities for its guests.

Meals

Simple, fresh meals are provided during your stay. The main meal of the day is shared with the monks in the main refectory. A light breakfast is available after Mass, and a light evening meal is provided after Vespers. Both of these lighter meals are served in the guest refectory, adjacent to the main refectory.

We serve simple dishes of fish, poultry, and vegetarian fare such as rice , beans, and salad. All meals are held in silence, accompanied only by table reading at the main meal.

Guests with special dietary needs are welcome to bring their own supplementary food. The monks can not guarantee an allergen free environment.

Length of Stay

To support the quiet and structure of your time at the monastery, all stays are for individual, self-directed retreats with a minimum stay of two nights. Please observe the following scheduling parameters when planning your visit:

Arrival Days: Arrivals are strictly limited to Tuesdays and Fridays
Tuesday Arrivals: Stays beginning on a Tuesday require a minimum of three nights and a maximum of five nights.
Friday Arrivals: Stays beginning on a Friday are for exactly two nights.
Capacity : Our maximum capacity is now limited to 10 guests.

Arrivals and Departures

Arrivals are strictly limited to Tuesdays and Fridays, please plan on arriving between 2:30 and 5:00pm. Please  come to the guestmaster office in the Guest Lobby when you arrive.  Retreatants should depart the room by 9:30am on the day of departure or after the Mass on Sunday. You may checkout at other times if you wish, and the procedure for that will be given to you in writing when you first check in with the guestmaster. We no longer host overnight guests on Sunday or Monday nights

The grounds map on this website shows the location of the Guesthouse and Ranch House.

Liturgy

Guests are encouraged to take part in the daily Eucharist (Mass) and other prayers of the Monastery by singing the psalms, hymns and responses. Books for this are provided in the church. See the Liturgy Schedule. Catholic priests who wish to concelebrate should bring a letter of suitability from their Bishop or Superior and then come to the sacristy immediately before the Eucharist. We follow the guideline of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops with regard to reception of Communion at the Eucharist by non-Catholics. Guidelines are in the guest rooms and in the church.

Photography

Overnight guests make take photographs of the surrounding landscape and the grounds of the Monastery; the outside and inside of the buildings you are permitted to enter. Inside the Abbey Church, you may photograph all around the interior if there are no services at the time. Please do not take photographs during any of the services unless you have specific permission.

Silence

Sound carries far in the canyon, and all conversation should be quiet. Talk in the Guesthouse courtyard is heard by those who wish to be quiet in their rooms, so the common room is the place to speak. We ask our guests to keep a deeper level of quiet after Compline in the evening until after breakfast in the morning. We ask that guests not engage other guests in conversation so that the guesthouse can be a place having a deep spirit of silence. Those guests who might wish to observe silence during the day can wear the medallion and cord that will be available in the guest rooms. Other guests and the monks are asked to respect the silence of such a guest. We ask our guests to keep the church and the other buildings as places of special silence.

Work

If a guest wishes to work during that period each day (except Sunday), he or she may come to the Giftshop lobby after Terce, about 9:30 a.m. (see the Liturgy Schedule). Work is usually something like watching the gift shop, cleaning, or engaging in some maintenance projects. Work will be adapted to the ability and desires of the guests.

Hiking

Hiking in the area is generally permitted and the appropriate place is the area south of the church, toward the Guesthouse and beyond. The National Forest south of the Monastery is also a good place to hike. Long hikes off the property are fine, but we ask the guests to notify the guestmaster of the direction being taken and the expected time of return. Hikes on the mesas above the Monastery must never be taken alone and only when the guestmaster has been informed. The terrain of the mesas is quite hazardous and guests who fail to observe this rule will be asked to leave.

Phones and Internet

There are no telephones generally available to guests at the monastery. If someone needs to reach you in case of an emergency, they can call (575-613-4233) or send an email to cidguestmaster@christdesert.org. There is no cell phone service available at the monastery due to our remote location in the Chama canyon.

Internet access is limited to the guest lobby in the morning from after Mass until Terce and in the evening from after Vespers until Compline.

Pets

We cannot accommodate pets at the monastery, the only exception being service animals.

Guest Guidelines

Guests are free to walk in those places not considered private by the monks. Private areas are marked with signs. In general the areas  north of the abbey church are part of monastic cloister and private. The church is open shortly before Vigils at 5:00 am. until slightly after Compline at 7:30 pm. The monastic refectory is open to resident guests  only at meal times. The guest refectory and guest reception area are open from after Vigils and closed after Compline The rest of the monastery is not open to guests unless it is for assigned work or with permission of the Prior or Abbot. Guests who wish to speak with one of the monks may arrange this through the guestmaster.

Directions

The monastery is located 75 miles north of Santa Fe and 53 miles south of Chama, via U.S. Route 84. Click here for Google driving directions If you are coming from Santa Fe, drive to Espanola, cross the Rio Grande River and use Route 84  going north. At Abiquiu stay on Route 84, driving about 11 miles to the Ghost Ranch Visitor’s Center entrance and then just 2 miles from there north on Route 84 is a sign pointing left that reads “Monastery.” You turn left at that point, heading west on Forest Service Road 151. If you are coming from Chama on Route 84, the entrance to Road 151 is just 1 mile south of Echo Amphitheater. Forest Service Road 151 is winding, steep and narrow at some points. It is mostly gravel but there are sections of dirt and clay surfaces that turn quite slippery when wet. Drivers of 2-wheel drive vehicles should allow time for the road to dry after a rain. In the winter the road can be negotiated most safely when frozen, i.e., during the evening or night and in the early morning hours. See “Driving Directions” for a map as well as news of and updates regarding the driving conditions of our road during the winter.

Transportation

Guests will need to provide their own way to and from the Monastery. There is no public transportation in our area. Traffic on our 13 mile long “drive way” is light; hitchhikers will probably find that they must hike the entire way. The closest major airport is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, about 125 miles from the Monastery. There is a bus service from the airport in Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Cars can be rented at either the Albuquerque or Santa Fe airport.

Policy and Questions

We reserve the right to refuse any reservations or to ask guests to leave. If you have any questions, you are welcome to email the guestmaster at cidguestmaster@christdesert.org.