Georgia Bulletin

Conyers

• 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

• 100-Year-Old Monk Sees History Preserved

  

  By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer
  Published August 4, 2011

  Father 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. […]

• Pilot For Catholic Sitcom Filmed In Conyers

  

  By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
  Published August 4, 2011

  The 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 […]

• Monastery Celebrates New Heritage Center

  

  By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
  Published May 12, 2011

  When 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

• God’s Call Led To Monastery, Then Priesthood

  

  By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer
  Published May 12, 2011

  Light 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

• Monastery To Host Healing Retreat For Veterans

  By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
  Published April 28, 2011

  The 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

• A Gift Of Song

  By LISA HETZEL, Special To The Bulletin
  Published April 14, 2011

  A hush fell upon the packed sanctuary April 8 as the angelic silhouette silently walked toward the stage. Tenderly, she began to sing, “I Heard the Voice of Jesus.” Tajči, pronounced (TY-chee), led the audience into a passionate Lenten experience as she performed, “I Thirst – The Crucifixion Story.” That night, at St. Pius X […]

• Monastery Gifts Available At Parishes

  

  Published November 25, 2010

    Gifts from the Trappist Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, including the monks’ homemade chocolate fudge, Southern fruitcake and coffee from their Venezuelan foundation, will be sold in a number of parishes on weekends between now and Christmas. According to the monastery, the schedule includes: On Nov. 27, St. Brigid Church, Johns Creek, […] Full Story

• Father Fernandez, Missionary, Conyers Resident, Dies

  Published October 14, 2010

  Father Angel Rosendo Fernandez Bravo, a missionary priest who had retired to Conyers some 12 years ago, died after a long illness on Oct. 1, the day of his birth. He was 82. Born in the Canary Islands, Spain, in 1928, Father Angel was ordained a priest at the Seminary of La Laguna in Tenerife. […] Full Story

• Brother Victor Besche, Airman Turned Monk, Dies

  Published July 22, 2010

  Brother Victor Charles Besche, 91, monk of the Cistercian (Trappist) Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, died in the monastery infirmary on Wednesday, July 7. His vocation to monastic life came after Brother Victor served with distinction in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Brother Victor was born May 22, 1919, in Baltimore, […] Full Story

• Monastery Hosts First 5K Run

  Published May 27, 2010

  A unique view of rarely visited areas of the monastery grounds will open up for runners and walkers on Saturday morning, June 12, in the first 5K run/walk ever held at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Proceeds will benefit the monastery’s food bank outreach. View the beautiful landscape from a new perspective. The event […] Full Story

• Trappists Break Ground For Monastic Heritage Center

  

  By GRETCHEN KEISER, Staff Writer
  Published May 27, 2010

  As a bishop of Savannah did over 65 years ago, Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah prayed this spring for God’s blessing on the new work beginning at the Trappist Monastery of the Holy Spirit, where ground was broken May 11 for the Monastic Heritage Center that will welcome visitors and sustain the community of […]

• Brother Thomas Nabity, Trappist Monk, Dies

  Published May 13, 2010

  Brother Thomas Nabity, 79, monk of the Cistercian (Trappist) Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, died in the monastery infirmary on Monday, May 10, after a short illness. The burial service will take place at the celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, May 14, at 7 a.m. in the Abbey Church. Brother […]

• Monastery To Break Ground For New Public Space

  Published April 29, 2010

  The Monastery of the Holy Spirit will hold the groundbreaking ceremony for the new public gathering space and visitor center on Tuesday, May 11, at 10 a.m. All are invited to attend. When completed, this new public space will provide a renewed destination point and modern learning environment for the 70,000-plus visitors who come to […]

• Monastery Hosts Sacred Music Concert On Palm Sunday

  Published March 18, 2010

  The Monastery of the Holy Spirit will present the University of Georgia Collegium Musicum and Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Mitos Andaya, in “A Lenten Meditation for Passion Sunday,” a choral concert of sacred classical music in the Abbey Church, on Sunday, March 28, at 4 p.m. The public is invited. The groups will perform […]

• Trappist Monks Invite Public To Help Renewal Campaign

  By GRETCHEN KEISER, Staff Writer
  Published January 21, 2010

  For over 65 years the Monastery of the Holy Spirit has contributed in a unique way to the tapestry of Catholicism in North Georgia. It has been a center of ecumenism, a place of refuge and solace for hundreds of thousands of people from all backgrounds and all walks of life, and a Catholic retreat […] Full Story

• Poetry Recital Will Honor Priests, Priest-Poets

  Published January 21, 2010

    In honor of the Year for Priests, St. Pius X Church will be having a Poetry Recital with selections written by priest poets or about the priesthood. The recital with wine and cheese refreshments will be held on Saturday, Feb. 6. The public is invited. Poems will be recited by members of the parish […] Full Story

• Catholics Around Archdiocese Honor Marian Feast Day

  

  By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
  Published December 24, 2009

  With coats on and hoods up, a dozen or so people stood in the chilly air outside the St. Pius X Church social hall, praying the rosary in Spanish before a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was one of several shrines on the church’s grounds that day. Meanwhile, others inside the social hall […]

• Advent Renewal Set At St. Pius X Church

  Published November 26, 2009

  “Preparing Hearts for Christmas” is the theme for a five-evening parish renewal beginning on Sunday, Dec. 13, at St. Pius X Church. Services in English and Spanish will begin at 7 p.m. each evening through Thursday, Dec.17, at the parish church, 2621 Ga. Highway 20. A morning service will be at 8:30 a.m. Refreshments and […] Full Story

• Monastery To Host Traditional Christmas Drama

  Published November 26, 2009

  The Camerata Theatre will present an Atlanta Christmas tradition, “The Play of Herod,” a 12th-century music drama at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit on Sunday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. The evening performance will take place in the Abbey Church. The audience is invited to join the cast after the show in the reception […] Full Story