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Crucifix patterned on Shroud of Turin
St. Leo Abbey is a Catholic Benedictine monastery founded in 1889 located 45 minutes north of Tampa, Florida, USA, off of I-75 at Exit 285. Map and GPS Coordinates.
The abbey is part of the American-Cassinese Congregation and is one of 1,200 monasteries from all the different Catholic Benedictine congregations in the world. The 24 monks at St. Leo Abbey are part of 8,000 Catholic Benedictine monks in the world.
In 1881 Edmund Dunne received the site on which the St. Leo monastery was built as part of a much larger tract of land Dunne acquired as payment for his legal services that helped the state of Florida through a financial crisis when the state almost went bankrupt.
Dunne established a Catholic colony on the land, founded several saint-named towns, San Antonio, St. Joseph, St. Leo, and invited the German-speaking Benedictine monks to provide the priests for the German-speaking, Catholic settlers. Dunne wanted the monks to build their abbey on the same land where Dunne had built his house, on top of a hill.
The Catholic-only part of this early Florida master-planned community lasted only a few years, but some of the small towns still exist as does the beautiful St. Leo Abbey.
Like many other Benedictine houses, St. Leo Abbey began with an accompanying school for boys and an adjacent, but separate Benedictine Sisters Of Florida, Holy Name Monastery. Both still exist today, although the boys school grew and is now the separately operated St. Leo University with about 1,200 on-campus students and another 13,000 students in seven other states and online.
In 1939 and lasting for about 25 years, Carmelite nuns lived at St. Leo Abbey. The monks built the Queen of Carmel Convent located immediately adjacent to the Abbey and the former convent now occupies a central location on the abbey property.
The Carmelites came to St. Leo in two groups. First was a group of Carmelite nuns from New York and later was a group of Carmelite nuns from Mexico. Today the former convent is called Carmel Hall and houses many of the teen and other retreat programs run by St. Leo Abbey.
The spirit of those dear Carmelites has become a permanent part of St. Leo Abbey(1).
St. Leo Abbey has a retreat-center for any kind of group retreat and a small guest house for private retreats by individuals. Cost for an overnight stay includes meals with the monks.
Warm Benedictine hospitality is based in the famous Rule of St. Benedict. The Benedictines welcome guests as Christ. With that joy, St. Leo Abbey invites guests and day visitors who want to restore the balance of ora et labora to their lives. Ora et labora is the Benedictine motto “prayer and work.” It is often the ancient Benedictine spirituality of balancing prayer and work that draws Christians to explore the Benedictines and non-Catholics may and do become Benedictine oblates.
The Benedictine's 1,500-year-old traditions of praying the divine office several times a day (seven prayer sessions a day is an early Christian tradition) and ordering the day to lift hearts to God helped build western civilization and works just as well for individual lives today.
Many towns throughout Europe built up around Benedictine monasteries and the monasteries served pilgrims along the pilgrim roads that united all of Europe in the Middle Ages. Today modern spiritual pilgrims who want their lives to be a “journey to dwell with God” find St. Leo Abbey’s guestmaster ready to welcome them in the same ancient tradition.
St. Leo Abbey celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2009. The interior of the abbey's Lombard Romanesque church of the Holy Cross was renovated and looks wonderful. The church is known for its 11-ton crucifix based on the image on the Shroud of Turin. It's one of the largest carvings based on the Shroud in the world.
People of any faith or only the faith that there must be something deeper in life are welcome to pray with the monks or attend Mass in the early morning.
St. Leo Abbey is Florida’s best-kept spiritual secret.
Footnotes:
(1) One of these Carmelites was Sister Mary Andrew Marasovich Order of Carmel (1914-1997)
For more St. Leo and Benedictine information:
Early history of the Benedictines in Florida has an account of the little known episode involving the Germans invading Florida and moving the Vatican to St. Leo - at least that's how the story was sold during the World War I era in Florida.
Religion 101: What is St. Leo Abbey in Pasco County, Florida? gives tips on your first visit to St. Leo.
Religion 101: How many Benedictines are there in the world? gives the number of Benedictine monks, nuns, sisters, Benedictine monasteries/convents, and the number of lay Benedictine oblates in the world. There are about 10,000 Benedictine oblates in the USA.
Religion 101: Overview of Benedictine spirituality gives a summary of why Benedictine spirituality continues to exist even though its origins are from the ancient desert fathers.
Religion 101: Example of a Benedictine divine office gives an example of the divine office (liturgy of the hours) prayed by monks -- the general form. The sessions last between 15 and 35 minutes.
Religion 101: Seven steps to becoming a Benedictine oblate gives a typical process for men or women (often married) to become Benedictine oblates -- who can come from any Christian faith. No, they do not wear funny clothes. The fastest growing part of the Benedictines are its lay oblates around the world, but it is not for everyone. There are many charisms (distinctive spirituality gifts) in the Church.
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