Livermore abbey: retreat, ranch, place of learning

By Linda Bell
Correspondent

Expansive hay fields emerald green after a first cutting, cows with calves, llamas, tractors and barbwire are as much a part of Virginia Dale's Abbey of St. Walburga as a copper clad dome, nuns in graceful habits, and a new bell tower that rings Angelus three times a day. Wherever they may be on the expansive lands, the sisters can hear this summons to prayer.

The Benedictine community of contemplative Roman Catholic nuns moved to Virginia Dale from Boulder in 1997. Since then, they have become an integral part of the community, easily recognized by their flowing robes, while running a successful ranch operation, a very popular Retreat House and educational outreach programs.

On Aug. 6, the abbey hosted more than 40 people who came to sing Gregorian chants with Father Columba Kelly of Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, a renowned composer and teacher of chant. Singers came from Wyoming, Colorado Springs and numerous other points. "We had no idea that would be so popular," said Sister Hildegard, Retreat House director.

In late August, she added, the abbey sponsored a weekend art retreat led by Colorado oil pastel artist Suzanne Frazier. Other summer programs featured workshops in hand knitting, natural history of the abbey grounds and sacred studies.

The Abbey Retreat House hosts individuals and groups from all over, she said, including many visitors from other countries.

On June 11, friends of the abbey joined the nuns to bless the new bell tower that houses a bell donated to the community in the early '90s. Sister Hildegard said the 600-pound bell was cast in St. Louis in 1902 and coincidently bears the name St. Benedict.

"We harbored this bell in our community for more than a decade knowing a suitable tower would be built for it someday," she said.

The Abbey of St. Walburga traces its origins to British missionaries, including St. Walburga, who brought Benedictinism to German Bavaria as early as 1035. In 1935, 900 years later, three sisters were moved from Eichstaat, Germany, to a then-remote farm near Boulder. They were sent to establish a foothold in America in the face of rising political unrest not favorable to monasteries in Nazi Germany.

Over the years, the Boulder abbey, farm and retreat center became surrounded by busy highways and subdivisions. In 1992, the community started looking for a new home. After a few initial years in temporary quarters on the Virginia Dale land, the sisters moved into the new abbey building in 1999.

The abbey's walls are constructed of Rastra, Sister Hildegard explained, which are prefabricated blocks made of concrete and chips of recycled polystyrene foam. They have excellent insulating properties, and when two blocks are placed together, cylindrical hollows serve as ready-made forms into which additional concrete is poured, reinforced with rebar. The walls are then finished with stucco.

The 23 nuns now living at the Abbey are from every region of the United States, as well as the nations of Germany, Korea, Canada and the Philippine Islands. They range in age from 23 to 90. "We support our community by hosting conferences, retreats, distributing altar breads, farming, writing and selling religious items through our gift shop," Sister Hildegard said.

The nuns gather in their church seven times a day to pray in Gregorian chant. Services are open to the public.

More information about the abbey's programs is available by calling 472-0612 or e-mailing abbey@walburga.org. The abbey's web site is www.walburga.org.

Here are some upcoming events.

• Sept. 15: Nature, Spirit and Architecture with David Barrett, AIA. The architect of the abbey explains how it was designed and constructed.
• Sept. 22: Lectio Divina with the Abbey nuns. Visitors can experience an introduction to the ancient practice of prayer through "sacred reading."
• Oct. 28 through 30: Weekend retreat on "Meeting the Lord of History: Finding the Patterns in our Lives" led by Sister Hildegard Dubnick.
• Dec. 10: Advent Day with Sister Scholastica England, OSB. This is an opportunity to take a break from the "Christmas rush" and spend a day in prayer and reflection on the liturgy of the Advent Season.