Current Events - New Norcia Benedictine Community

New Norcia Benedictine Community

Visit New Norcia

People visit New Norcia for many reasons; for spiritual retreat, to join a tour and see inside the magnificent buildings or sometimes just to walk around the town and enjoy the peace and beautiful scenery.

In this section you will find all the information you need for your visit to New Norcia. Details of places to eat and places to stay, details of the town tours and information about some of our favourite things to do in Australia’s only monastic town.

We recommend your first port of call is the Museum & Art Gallery to speak to one of the staff about all the attractions and experiences New Norcia has to offer. The Museum & Art Gallery is also a Visitor Information Centre and is the point from which the town tours leave.

Stay at New Norcia

There are so many different options for accommodation at New Norcia.

The Hotel, with its comfortable simple rooms, home cooked meals and neo-classical architecture is a perfect place for couple and families, its scenic deck and heritage veranda a perfect place to while away sunset with a New Norcia Abbey ale or a wine from the Abbey range. The Guesthouse is perfect for a quiet, retreat like experience, a world away from the rigours of modern life. You can join a Benedictine retreat here or be housed in the Hermitage for a silent retreat. Groups of 15 -100 can be accommodated in the Old Convent and the historic boarding school colleges.

Please click on the individual areas for more information.

Eat & Drink

Eat & Drink>

Hospitality is a tenet of the Rule of St Benedict, the Rule by which the monks of New Norcia live, so wherever you choose to eat in town, our aim is for you to experience warm monastic hospitality.

Education & Research

From the earliest days of its foundation New Norcia has been focussed on education. The first Abbot, of New Norcia (Rosendo Salvado) established the Aboriginal girls and boys schools and the second Abbot of New Norcia, Fulgentius Torres built and opened the European girls and boys schools, which closed in 1991.

Since the closing of the schools, New Norcia's school buildings have been utilised for camps and groups and this section contains all the information you need if your group is interested in staying in one of the colleges or undertaking one of the education programmes.

However, New Norcia also has a tradition of research and academia, with its impressive archival records and library collection, and scholars and researchers alike have delighted over the years in the information available in the town's records.

This section also provides information on the archives and library and provides link to forms which will give you access to the records of New Norcia.

Protecting a Unique Heritage

New Norcia is Australia’s only monastic town and has a unique heritage. Founded in 1847 by Spanish Benedictine Monks, the town has had many purposes; a mission, a monastery, a provider of education and now as a place of spiritual retreat.

Delve into the town's unique history, discover the ongoing and completed work necessary for the upkeep and restoration of this special part of Australia.

But it is not only the majestic buildings set amongst the Australian bush that sets New Norcia apart; its history is also encapsulated in the archival records of New Norcia and in the library and museum collections.

In this section we also have information about how you can donate to New Norcia to help the Community restore and maintain this treasure.

What's Happening at New Norcia

What's On>

We hold a diverse array of events throughout the year at New Norcia.

In 2017 we will be hosting the Studies Day, Library Lecture, a full programme of retreats, a Writers and Arts Festival and the education programme presented by the Institute for Benedictine Studies. The New Norcia Hotel is planning all manner of special nights, starting with a regular ribs and steak night and bands throughout the year... and our Museum and Art Gallery has started work on a array of different tours which will be revealed later in the year!

So watch this space for all the updated information about "What's on at New Norcia".

Dec 24 2018

Church Service

Midnight Mass

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Dec 25 2018

Church Service

Christmas Day Mass

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Dec 29 2018

Church Service

26th Annual Ecumenical Ceremony with Carols

The carol service will feature The Georgian Singers. Afternoon tea at 4pm in the Monastery Parlour. During the ceremony there will be a collection to defray expenses and support a charity.

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Mar 1 2019
to
Mar 3 2019

Retreat

Lenten Retreat

Led by Fr David Barry osb Lent is a time traditionally devoted to spiritual purification and refinement in preparation for the great celebration of Easter.

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Mar 15 2019
to
Mar 17 2019

Guesthouse Retreat

Benedictine Experience Weekend

Benedictine spirituality is more readily experienced than defined. These weekends in the monastery guesthouse (beginning with Vespers at 6.30 p.m. on Friday, concluding after lunch on Sunday) provide the opportunity to enter fully into the monastic rhythm and balance of prayer, work, lectio divina, hospitality, and community life.

Find out more
Mar 29 2019
to
Mar 31 2019

Study Weekend

Spirituality in the works of Oscar Wilde

Led by Dr.Liam Lynch. Oscar Wilde is represented in the popular imagination primarily as a irreverent wit and literary aesthete. Yet his works reveal a profound pre-occupation with questions of a spiritual nature, and are deeply imbued with images and concepts drawn from Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism.

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May 10 2019
to
May 12 2019

Study Weekend

Philosophical Movements in the Mediterranean World at the Time of Christ

Led by Fr Robert Nixon osb. At the time of Christ and in the centuries which followed, a number of diverse and interesting philosophical movements flourished in the Mediterranean world- Platonism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism, and several others.

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May 31 2019
to
Jun 1 2019

Guesthouse Retreat

Benedictine Experience Weekend

Benedictine spirituality is more readily experienced than defined. These weekends in the monastery guesthouse (beginning with Vespers at 6.30 p.m. on Friday, concluding after lunch on Sunday) provide the opportunity to enter fully into the monastic rhythm and balance of prayer, work, lectio divina, hospitality, and community life.

Find out more
Jun 21 2019
to
Jun 23 2019

Retreat

Christian Meditation

Led by Kathryn Houston (National Director, School of Meditation, World Community for Christian Meditation) Meditation is a spiritual practice of central importance, not only in Christianity but in the other great religious traditions of the world

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Jul 12 2019
to
Jul 14 2019

Study Weekend

The Desert Fathers - The Earliest Christian Monks

Led by various monks from New Norcia. The term ‘Desert Fathers’ refers to Christians who, from the late 2nd Century, adopted eremitic and/or coenobitic modes of life in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East.

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