TRAPPISTS in the United States

One Order, Seventeen Monasteries of Monks and Nuns

We are the Cistercians of the Strict Observance, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, also known as "Trappists" or "Trappistines". For more than nine centuries we Cistercians have witnessed to the gospel of Jesus Christ by a cloistered, communal life wholly ordered to contemplation. Within the enclosure of the monastery, forgotten by the world, we joyfully embrace an ascetic discipline which fosters conversion of life to the pattern of Christ's life of prayer, sacrifice, and loving service to our neighbor. Since the arrival of the first Cistercians in North America in 1848, we have become seventeen monasteries in twelve states, living a distinctive life of hidden fruitfulness at the heart of the church. As with many other religious orders who have their origin in Medieval Christianity, our order is dedicated under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our website intends to answer the needs of men and women discerning a call from God to be a Trappist monk or nun. If what you see and read here awakens in you a desire to follow Christ in the silence and solitude of a Trappist monastery, know that this is God working in your heart in response to our prayers. Please contact us and be assured that we are ready to offer you our love and assistance in your discernment process.




Don't miss the new film:
"Of Gods and Men"


Winner of the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
The Story of our Trappist Brothers in Algeria