1843 Magazine- New Camaldoli Hermitage
Located in the Santa Lucia Mountains of Big Sur, The New Camaldoli Hermitage was founded in 1958 by two monks sent by the superior of the Camaldolese mother-house in Italy, a Roman Catholic order of the Benedictine tradition created by St. Romuald in late 10th century.
The two monks arrived to California looking for a location that could suit the three elements of the Camaldolese charism, solitude for personal prayer and meditation, communal prayer and contemplative outreach, and they found it in the natural beauty and geographical location of the Big Sur coast, today there are around 20 monks at the Hermitage, each of them living in a small cottage or cell, and practicing the monastic life which is by definition an exercise in isolation and spiritual development, with special dedication to contemplation and prayer.
The Hermitage welcome visitors from all over the world annually, offering retreat accommodations as well as individual preached retreats on specific subjects, the guests are encouraged to take meals in one’s room and keep an atmosphere of gentle but profound silence in the Hermitage grounds.
Photographed for 1843 Magazine in Big Sur, CA
