St. Benedict did not specify how monks should earn their living: he stipulated only that work be done in the spirit of corporate prayer and Christ-like love. With that guidance, it is fitting for the Portsmouth Abbey monks to maintain a school.
The Abbey School has been operated continuously since it was founded in 1926. Its mission statement is based on reverence for God and the human person, respect for learning and order; and responsibility for the shared experience of community life.
The community and liturgical life of the monastery overflows into the school as a valuable contribution to society. For the monks themselves, the school provides work in a task that is fully human and that is not escapist from social obligations or fostering “a fugitive and cloistered virtue.”
From teaching and being responsible for the young, the monk can learn a unique form of selflessness which can be realized in the exercise of spiritual fatherhood.
For more information please visit www.portsmouthabbey.org.
