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 the monastery each year.

Among those scheduled to speak at the ceremony are Abbot Francis Michael, OCSO, and Richard A. Oden, chairman and chief executive officer of the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners.

During its 66-year history, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit has become an important destination point for pilgrims and travelers, bringing more and more visitors to the monastery each year. People of all faiths, grieving and celebrating, searching and questioning, or simply looking for a place of retreat and rest, have found peace at the monastery.

The number of visitors is projected to grow considerably, as the new visitors center will be the terminus for the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area trail. The increase of visitors to the monastery will have a significant economic impact connected to tourism in Conyers and Rockdale County.

The design of the new public space and visitor center will consist of an open courtyard and four buildings, featuring historical elements of monasticism, along with the new Abbey gift store, bonsai greenhouse, and a café. The completed project will allow for better accommodations of visitors, offering a better place of retreat, hospitality, peace, and rest.

This venture, the result of a 4-year-long planning process, will also help secure the monastic space of silence and solitude as well as pave the way for long-term sustainability for the Cistercian monks who call the monastery home.

Those who would like to attend the groundbreaking ceremony are asked to RSVP by contacting Brother Callistus at (678) 964-2237 or (770) 483-8705, ext.353, or by e-mail at cal@trappist.net.