New Melleray: Cistercian Monks Receiving
All as Christ and Preferring Christ Above All

Fr. Jonah Wharff died unexpectedly last night, Dec. 27. The funeral will be on Friday, Dec. 30, at 11:15 a.m. in the Abbey Church.

Welcome to New Melleray Abbey. We are delighted that you are visiting our monastery. 

New Melleray is a community of Roman Catholic monks. We belong to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly known as Trappists. Disciples of Jesus Christ, we join countless men and women who throughout fifteen hundred years have discovered the Rule of Saint Benedict to offer a challenging and effective way of living the Gospel. Our communal way of monastic life in the Cistercian tradition serves our desire to be wholly oriented to the experience of the living God.

Located southwest of Dubuque, Iowa, New Melleray was founded in 1849 by monks of our Order from Mount Melleray Abbey, Ireland. Like all monasteries, New Melleray Abbey is a school of charity. The monastery is a place where we learn to love God, to love ourselves, and to love each other. Together with its fertile farmland and rugged woodlands our monastery provides us with solitude and precious silence.

Through our guest house and other forms of monastic hospitality we are happy to offer to our brothers and sisters who follow other paths a place where they may find acceptance, peace, and prayer. With Trappist Caskets we support ourselves and supply employment to local men and women by making and selling simple wooden caskets and burial urns of exceptional quality.

Again, welcome to New Melleray’s home page. We invite you to explore our website to find out more about us. You might start by checking out one of these links.