Cedar
True Texan
Joined : 15 May 2007
Posts : 1083
Localisation : Always Texas
|  Subject: Corpus Christi Abbey  Wed 24 Oct 2007, 9:15 pm | |
| Recently, I purchased a vintage missal from the former library a religious foundation with which I was unfamiliar. The ease of finding the 'who's,' 'what's,' 'where's' -- but not so often the 'why's  -- via the Internet made a quick identification possible, and it is good to be able to bring together the outlines of its history.
Corpus Christi Abbey had its beginnings in 1927, when Benedictine monks from the abbey of Subiaco, in Arkansas, arrived to open a high school in the city which was to share its name. Forty acres were given for facilities to be built and grounds to be worked and enjoyed by the monks and students. Operating from within a new, four-story building, Corpus Christi College Academy flourished, providing education for almost 250 students at the height of its teaching mission. In 1949, the foundation was made an independenty priory, while in 1961, Pope John XXIII elevated this Texas institution to the status of an abbey. Corpus Christi Abbey continued in its work of prayer and learning for almost a decade more.
Then, in the summer of 1971, Hurricane Cecilia swept into Corpus Christi Bay. Greatly damaged by her shorefall were the buildings which the monks had guarded for over forty years so sadly, the school was of necessity closed in 1972. Not one to be conquered by the elements, Abbot Alfred Koenig shared a fresh vision with his monks: they would endeavor to begin and build a "new monastery" .... this time located on "a cliff overlooking the placid waters of Lake Corpus Christi" * ... up to the northeast in Jim Wells County. The congregation embraced this vision and gathered together within temporary, fiberglass confines on the western bank of the lake.
From 1975 until 1986, the Benedictines flourished at their new location and in a freshly erected complex. "The lake side monastery seemed to be very conducive to monastic life," with the Abbey welcoming at least one monk into its fellowship each passing year. In addition, the monastery began a new apostolate, in the empty space left by the academy: a retreat center at which individuals and groups came to find quiet and a deepening of faith.
Not unlike a hive of bees, the congregation of Corpus Christi Abbey was led to move once again .... albeit but a short distance. A fine brick facility was built on their property -- in 1986 -- at cliff-side, with a lovely view overlooking the lake. Space abounded within to shelter nearly fifty monks. Yet, the years which were theirs did not demand such an abundant harvest. What transpired may be found on the Abbey's memorial website, reading like a sad sigh:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Styx/8125/ccabbey.html#A
All was not lost, though, in Kingdom terms. Coptic Orthodox monks -- their roots lying in distant Egypt -- had an eye for Texas and a need for a place in which to settle and to be about their spiritual work. They, too, saw what the Benedictines had focused in their vision on the shores of Lake Corpus Christi, and have come to dwell there. These monastics continue to receive those who seek out their direction and their slice of quiet, blessed space. The story's continuance is offered on these pages, beneath a canopy held aloft by Saint Mary and Saint Moses:
http://abbey.suscopts.org/about/
* The quotations were taken from the memorial webpage of Corpus Christi Abbey.
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The woman of the frontier made the best of her situation, for she had developed a respect for the land that gave her freedom as well as the courage to live in it.
~~~ from the perspective of Anne Seagraves |
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