CISTERCIANS
788
CISTERCIANS
vaux, in Big Tracadie, Nova Scotia. Father Vincent
de Paul lived twenty-eight years longer, spreading the
blessings of the Gospel in that country. He died 1
January, 1853, in the odour of sanctity, and there is
a question of introducing his cause at Rome.
For many years this foundation struggled for exist- ence. Two fires in succession destroyed all. Dis- couraged thereby, the little community, in 1900, left that country and settled near Lonsdale, Rhode Island, where it founded the monastery of Our Lady of the Valley. Since 11103 the Nova Scotian solitude of Petit Clairvaux has been repeopled. Thirty religious from t lie Abbey of Thymadeuc (France) , under the direction of Dom Eugene Villeneuve, continued the interrupted work, clearing 1000 acres of land, two-thirds of which are foreet-lands, two-thirds of the remainder either pasture or meadow-lands; only about 15 acres are capable of being worked. The monastery is situated one mile from the Intercolonial Railway. Although the Cistercian Rule was in vigour there it was only incor- porated in the Order of Reformed Cistercians in i869.
Gethsemane and New Melleray. — The year 1848 saw the erection of two other monasteries in the New World, one in Nelson County in the Diocese of Louis- ville, Kentucky, not far from the scene of the labours and hardships of Fathers Urbain and Mary Joseph and their companions, the other in the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa, twelve miles west of the Mississippi River. The monasteries are the present Abbeys of Our Lady of Gethsemane and Our Lady of New Mel- leray.
The Abbey of Gethsemane, in the Diocese of Louis- ville, was founded by the Abbey of Melleray in France. In 1848 Dom Maxime, abbot of that mon- astery, sent two of his religious to the United States to find a suitable location for a foundation. Bishop Flaget of Louisville — the saint of Kentucky, as he was called — indicated to them an establishment called Gethsemane, belonging to the Sisters of Loretto who were directing an orphanage. The property, con- sisting of about 1400 acres of good land, was pur- chased, and on the 20th of December, 1848, forty religious from Melleray took possession of it. On the 21st of July, 1850, Pius IX erected Gethsemane into an abbey. Dom Eutropius was chosen abbot in March, 1851, and on the 26th of the following October he received the abbatial blessing from the hands of Mgr. Spalding, successor of Mgr. Flaget in the Diocese of Louisville. The ten or twelve log houses which had served as dwellings for the Sisters of Loretto and their orphans had become entirely inadequate for the needs of the fathers, and Dom Eutropius decided to build a monastery. After eleven years of hard and incessant labour, which had considerably impaired his health, the zealous superior resigned his charge and returned to Melleray. From this place of retire- ment he was called to become the first superior of Tre Fontane near Rome.
His successor at Gethsemane was Dom Benedict Berger, under whose rule the beautiful abbatial church of Gethsemane was solemnly consecrated by Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, assisted by the Bishop? of Louisville and Buffalo, 15 November, 1866. Mgr. Spalding, who had become Archbishop of Baltimore, was present on the occasion, and preached the sermon, a masterpiece of sacred elo- quence. Dom Benedict died 13 August, 1890, and was sin ided by Dom Edward Bourban, who trans- formed into a college the little school which the Sis- ters of Loretto had left in charge of the new commu- nity. This college is situated about a quarter of a mile from the abbey in a picturesque location, and has since been incorporated by the legislature of Kentucky, In 1895 Dom Edward, while on a visit to France, resigned his charge on account of the poor state of his health, and was appointed chaplain of the Trappistinea of Our Lady of Les Gardes, in the Dio-
cese of Angers, France. On the 11th of October,
1898, Dom Edmond Obrecht, cellarer of the Abbey of
Tre Fontane near Rome, was elected Abbot of Geth-
semane, and was blessed by Bishop McCloskey of
Louisville on the 2Sth of the same month. This
community numbers 75 members.
The Abbey of New Melleray, in the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa, about twelve miles west of the Mis- sissippi, is so called because its mother-house is the Abbey of Mount Melleray in Ireland, which was founded by the Melleray Abbey of France. In 1848 Dom Bruno Fitzpatrick, Abbot of Mount Melleray, sent some of his religious to the State of Iowa. Mgr. Lorans, Bishop of Dubuque, offered them 80 acres of land in the vicinity of his episcopal city. The corner- stone of the monastery was laid 16 July, 1S49. Raised to the dignity of an abbey in 1862, it had for first abbot, Dom Ephrem McDonald. After twenty years he resigned and returned to Mount Melleray. The Rev. Alberic Dunlea, who arrived in September, 18S5, with an important colony from Mount Melleray, succeeded him as superior. He relieved the financial condition of the abbey, and ended the difficulties which had nearly ruined it under the preceding ad- ministration. In 1889 a new superior was elected in
Gethsemane A
, Kentcc
the person of Father Louis Carew. Later he became
definitor of the order for the English-speaking coun-
tries, and was succeeded by Father Alberic who
became titular prior. In 1897 the monastery was
restored to its dignity of abbey, and Dom Alberic
Dunlea was elected abbot. The property comprises
some 3000 acres of land, with an abundance of excel-
lent water. The abbey has been rebuilt, but in 1908
it was not yet completed.
Abbey of La Trappe, Canada. — The Abbey of Our Lady of the Lake of Two Mountains (better known by the name of La Trappe, the official name given to the post-office established there) is situated in the territory of Oka, in the Diocese of Montreal, about thirty miles from that city and upon the shores of the Lake of the Two Mountains, whence it derives its name. The first thought of founding this monastery was due to the venerable M. Rousselot, priest of St. Sulpice, and pastor of Notre-Dame of Montreal. Born at Cholet (Maine et Loire, France), a few leagues distant from the Abbey of Bellefontaine. M. Rousselot had often, in his youth, visited this monastery. Several times during his visits to France he had com- municated his projects to the Abbot of Bellefontaine, Dom Jean-Marie Chouteau. The expulsion of the religious decreed by the French Government, and put into execution at Bellefontaine. 6 November. 1880, decided the Rev. Father Jean-Marie to accept the proposition of M. Rousselot. On the 8th of April, 1881, the Rev. Father Abbot, accompanied by one of his religious, arrived in Montreal, where he was most kindly received by Bishop Fabre. After some weeks of negotiation, the Seminary of Si. Sulpice ceded to the Trappists 1000 acres of 'land in the seign-
