Conyers
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New Cistercian Monk Professes Solemn Vows In Conyers
By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
Published January 17, 2013A nearly 20-year journey of vocational discernment has ended for Brother Peter Damian Spera, who professed solemn vows on Jan. 1 and became a fully professed member of the Cistercian community at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. Brother Peter Damian kneels before Abbot Francis Michael Stiteler, OCSO, during the Jan. 1 solemn […] Full Story
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Boy Choir Concert, ‘Play Of Herod’ At Monastery In December
Published November 8, 2012
Two of Atlanta’s Christmas traditions will be presented again at the Abbey Church of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in December. The Play of Herod, presented by the Atlanta Camerata Theatre, is a 12th century music drama about the birth of the Messiah, bringing light into a dark world. Directed by Kelly Morris with […] Full Story
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New Franciscan Fraternity Established In Archdiocese
By GRETCHEN KEISER, Staff Writer
Published October 11, 2012A new Franciscan fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order has been established in the archdiocese, meeting at St. Pius X Church. The Spirit of Francis and Clare Fraternity was formally established at Sunday Mass at the parish Sept. 9, celebrated by Father John Koziol, Conventual Franciscan. He presided at the canonical establishment, assisted by Father […] Full Story
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Conyers Festival To Feature Ecological Lecture Series
Published September 13, 2012
The Monastery of the Holy Spirit will hold its fall festival on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the monastery grounds. All are invited to the festivities, which will have activities for all ages, including hayrides, a petting zoo and pony rides, a marketplace, organic farm produce, and tours of the […] Full Story
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How ‘The Catholics Next Door’ Found NFP
By SUZANE HAUGH, Special To The Bulletin
Published July 19, 2012It’s inevitable that once you crack the door open looking for God, he can’t help but enter in. Such was the case for Greg and Jennifer Willits, parishioners at St. Pius X Church in Conyers and co-hosts of SiriusXM’s radio program, “The Catholics Next Door.” Well into their marriage and en route to a deeper […] Full Story
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Conyers Priest Leads Personal Pilgrimage To Ireland
By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
Published July 19, 2012Father John Kieran, native of Ireland and pastor of St. Pius X Church in Conyers, recently led a group of local Catholics to the Emerald Isle for the 50th annual International Eucharistic Congress, adding his personal touch to the trip with family visits and tours of popular religious sites. Pilgrims from St. Pius X, as […] Full Story
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Monastery To Host Healing Retreat For Veterans
Published July 5, 2012
A “Spiritual Healing Retreat for Veterans” will be held at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit from July 16-19. This ecumenical healing retreat is open to all veterans suffering from the trauma of war and post-traumatic stress disorder. The objective of the retreat is to help veterans heal through releasing long-suppressed anger, grieving for lost […] Full Story
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Conyers Monastery To Hold Third Annual 5K
Published May 24, 2012
The annual Monastery 5K returns to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit on Saturday, June 16. Runners and walkers will have a unique opportunity to trek through rarely visited areas on the Monastery grounds. The 5K will be a timed event using chip technology in the bib tag. New this year is the Family Fun […] Full Story
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Trappist Father Malachy Corley Dies At Age 99
Published May 10, 2012
Trappist Father Malachy Corley, priest and monk of the Cistercian Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, died in the monastery infirmary on Friday, May 4. He was 99. Born on July 10, 1912, as James Henry Lamar Corley, Father Corley grew up in a small town named Indian Creek, located in northeast Missouri. His […] Full Story
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Radio Hosts Lead Panel On Religious Freedom
By ERIKA ANDERSON, Special To The Bulletin
Published March 29, 2012As radio hosts, Greg and Jennifer Willits are no strangers to hearing a wide array of listeners’ opinions. But when it comes to the federal health plan mandating free contraceptive coverage by most religious employers, the couple has been surprised by both the support and the dissent the topic has generated. The Willitses, hosts of […] Full Story
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Archdiocese Celebrates World Day For Consecrated Life
Published February 16, 2012
Men and women religious and others who live the consecrated life gathered at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit for the annual observance of the consecrated life in the Atlanta Archdiocese on Feb. 7. The World Day for Consecrated Life, established by Pope John Paul II in 1997, is observed in the U.S. on Feb. […] Full Story
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Family Promise Begins In Rockdale, Newton Counties
By GRETCHEN KEISER, Staff Writer
Published January 19, 2012St. Pius X Church has allied with a dozen other congregations in Rockdale and Newton counties to start a small transitional housing program for homeless families living in the community. Elaine Brown, whose family is one of the first to enter Family Promise of NewRock, said, “God put us in the right place. We ended […] Full Story
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Monastery Doors ‘Opened’ For Readers, Pilgrims
By DANA GREENE, Special To The Bulletin
Published November 10, 2011Open to the Spirit: Tradition and Continuity at Holy Spirit Monastery; by Dewey Weiss Kramer; (third edition, 2011); 102 pp.; paperback; $29.95. Available from the Abbey Store, Monastery of the Holy Spirit, 2625 Highway 212, SW, Conyers, GA 30094 (www.holyspiritmonasterygifts.com). If you have barreled along Interstate 20 East, you may have been unaware that a […] Full Story
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Monastery Open House To Feature New Museum, Concert
Published September 15, 2011
The Monastery of the Holy Spirit will host an open house on Saturday, Oct. 1, to celebrate the new Monastic Heritage Center, a museum showcasing the history of the monastery and the Cistercian Order. All are welcome to attend. The 17,000-square-foot museum incorporates both new and renovated monastery structures and features videos, interactive displays, and […] Full Story
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Monastery Open House To Feature New Museum, Concert
Published September 15, 2011
The Monastery of the Holy Spirit will host an open house on Saturday, Oct. 1, to celebrate the new Monastic Heritage Center, a museum showcasing the history of the monastery and the Cistercian Order. All are welcome to attend. The 17,000-square-foot museum incorporates both new and renovated monastery structures and features videos, interactive displays, and […] Full Story
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100-Year-Old Monk Sees History Preserved
By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer
Published August 4, 2011Father Luke Kot sits in the midst of the barn-turned-museum at Holy Spirit Monastery and reminisces. Stairs in the corner once led to the second-floor “cells,” as bedrooms for monks are called. Here was the abbot’s office. And over against that wall he had a close encounter with a chicken. “She sat close by me. […] Full Story
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Pilot For Catholic Sitcom Filmed In Conyers
By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
Published August 4, 2011The kitchen table where the Willits family usually eats is covered this morning with cables, batteries, audio and recording paraphernalia—equipment to start filming a possible Catholic sitcom. A crew of six and Father Robert Reed, president of CatholicTV, have flown in from Boston, turning the Willits’ home into a set for the pilot of the […] Full Story
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Monastery Celebrates New Heritage Center
By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
Published May 12, 2011When a small group of Trappist monks first settled in Georgia in 1944, they spent several months living in a barn while they worked tirelessly to construct more permanent living and worship spaces that would eventually become the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. That barn has now become a focal point of the new Monastic […] Full Story
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God’s Call Led To Monastery, Then Priesthood
By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer
Published May 12, 2011Light streaming from the stained glass windows in the Gothic abbey church of Holy Spirit Monastery made stone in the stark church glow blue. Friends, colleagues and family filled the wooden stalls used by the Trappist monks during their early morning prayers, as the community of close to 40 monks in black and white habits […] Full Story
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Monastery To Host Healing Retreat For Veterans
By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
Published April 28, 2011The Monastery of the Holy Spirit will host a special healing retreat for war veterans from Monday to Thursday, June 6-9, on the monastery grounds in Conyers. Led by monks, counselors, chaplains and Andy Farris, a Vietnam veteran, retreat organizers hope to help veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. Farris is the founder of HealingVeterans.com, […] Full Story