Over 2,000 people travelled from all over Ireland and the US last weekend to join Ave Maria University and the Cistercian Order, as they celebrated a new beginning for Mount Melleray Abbey in west Waterford.
Tom Monaghan, founder of Ave Maria University (AMU), and Mark Middledorf, AMU president, were joined by AMU board members and faculty leads, Bishop Alponsus Cullinan, several of the leading Cistercians in Ireland, local Irish dignitaries and the public, to celebrate this great milestone.
100 Ave Maria students from all over the US and Canada were central to the celebrations, and their superb manner and maturity were hugely impressive throughout the weekend.
The celebrations began on Saturday, 19th September with a 12km hike organised by St Declan’s Way and Knockmealdown Active, around the woodland trails of Mount Melleray with 300 walkers involved, including 50 Ave Maria students. The event raised funds for the South Eastern Mountain Rescue (SEMRA) and the Newcastle First Responders, and proved to be hugely popular.
That evening, both Irish and American dignitaries met to celebrate the achievements of those involved in adapting Mount Melleray Abbey for the students, between April and September this year. This was followed by a ceremonial reopening of the Abbey and an evening of traditional Irish music and craic.
SUNDAY MASS
The following morning, Sunday, 20th September, over 2,000 people attended Mass at the Abbey, travelling from all over Ireland for the event. With a 70-strong choir drawn from west Waterford, it truly was a momentous occasion. Clerics, politicians and the public came from all over the country to attend the Mass celebrated by Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, who was assisted by several AMU altar servers.
In Bishop Cullinan’s homily, he said: “Ave Maria Mount Melleray is not a monument to human will, it is a place where staff and student submit to God’s wisdom and explore the depths of the beauty of His truth, inspired by the Cistercian tradition. What we are beginning here is a school of Christian living, at the centre of which is a relationship with a Person, Jesus.”
A NEW CHAPTER
Mount Melleray is now Ave Maria University’s second campus, where students from the US and Canada will spend the semester combining academic study with prayer and spiritual formation.
AMU’s chief strategy and mission advancement officer, Daniel Schrek, outlined the thinking behind the move to rural west Waterford.
“We are called to form the intellect and direct the will, but only in broadening the imagination of our students can they truly discover God’s abundant calling,” he said. “This is why we venture to Ireland.”
The arrival continues an educational and religious tradition established when the Cistercian monks first came to Mount Melleray back in 1832. The order remained at the Abbey for almost 200 years, dedicating itself to prayer, work and service to the close-by communities.
During his homily, Bishop Cullinane recalled words spoken at the last Mass celebrated at the monastery back in January of last year: “We do not know what the future brings, but God does.”
“Those words have come true,” he continued. “God has done something wonderful here, and how fortunate we are to witness it. This beloved place is open again, and a new chapter begins for Mount Melleray.”
The opening Mass concluded with Bishop Cullinan offering his blessing for students and staff of the university, the Cistercian community, the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore and the people of west Waterford.
