St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough

Saint Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough, is a contemplative monastery of monks of the Benedictine Order about thirty miles from London, England. The monks live the Benedictine life in its classic or ‘continental’ form. At the heart of our life is the solemn celebration of the liturgy, sung in Latin to Gregorian Chant.

Saint Benedict tells us that we are truly monks when we live by the work of our hands. The Farnborough monks operate a busy farm and apiary, a bookbindery, a printing and publishing house, as well as the traditional monastic work of hospitality. We are a small and vibrant community.

The Abbey hosts many visitors throughout the year ranging from day visits from the general public or local schools, to personal and organised retreats over a longer period of time.
Because of the enclosed nature of the Benedictine Community life at Farnborough, the majority of the monks are usually not permitted to converse with guests and visitors. Instead, a solemnly professed monk is assigned to be responsible for assisting guests and visitors and generally to comply with the Holy Rule in assuring that 'all guests that come be received like Christ' (RB Ch 53). This duty includes not only looking after visitors at the time of their presence with us, but also in arranging and organising accommodation and facilities if required.

The Guest Master at our Abbey is Dom Thomas Harper OSB. He can be reached by email at guestmaster@farnboroughabbey.org and will be happy to give you any assistance as required.

All services are open to the general public with the monastery gates opening automatically before each service. A list of the times of the Opus Dei ('Work of God') can be seen on clicking the Horarium link. There is also a guided tour of the church and crypt every Saturday and Bank Holiday at 3:00 pm. In addition we also host numerous Organ Concerts throughout the summer at which the public are obviously welcome. Please click on the Organ Concert link for more information.

The website is a door into our cloister - www.farnboroughabbey.org
We hope that by sharing our life and work through this medium, you will learn something of the joy and peace that attracted each of us to this family, and come to appreciate the strength and vigour of the Lord’s call in our age.