Cistercian Monastery

Origins and Founding

Our Lady of Dallas was founded by Cistercian monks of the Abbey of Zirc in western Hungary, whose motherhouse had flourished for centuries before being suppressed by the Communist government after World War II. Of 215 displaced monks, more than thirty escaped abroad; those who remained in Hungary endured harassment, imprisonment, and torture. After years of dispersion across Western Europe, several monks were invited in 1954 by Bishop Thomas K. Gorman of the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth to come to Texas to help found a new Catholic university. Cistercian life in Texas officially began on February 19, 1955, in a rented house on Swiss Avenue in Dallas, and the community moved into the present monastery on the University of Dallas campus at the end of 1957.

Abbots of Our Lady of Dallas

Three Cistercian monks have led Our Lady of Dallas as abbot since its elevation to abbey status in 1964. Each abbot is elected by the community and blessed and installed by the Cistercian Abbot General in the presence of the local ordinary.

• Fr. Anselm Nagy, O.Cist. — first prior (1961) and first abbot (installed January 4, 1964, by Abbot General Sighard Kleiner)
• Fr. Denis Farkasfalvy, O.Cist. — second abbot (installed April 14, 1988, by Abbot General Polycarp Zakar)
• Fr. Peter Verhalen, O.Cist. — third and current abbot (elected February 15, 2012; installed April 12, 2012, by Abbot General Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori, with Bishop Kevin Farrell presiding)

Our Lady of Dallas Today

Today the monks of Our Lady of Dallas continue the Cistercian vocation of prayer and work, serving the Church in Texas through teaching, pastoral ministry, and the daily celebration of the sacred liturgy. The monks work at both their own secondary school and at the University of Dallas, and provide pastoral assistance at various parishes in the Dallas and Fort Worth dioceses. During the school year Mass is celebrated several times daily for the various classes of Cistercian Preparatory School, and on Sundays a congregation of about three hundred gathers for the abbey's conventual Mass accompanied by Gregorian chant.

• The monks assemble in the sanctuary five times a day for the Divine Office and conventual Mass.
• Sunday Mass is sung in Gregorian chant.
• The abbey is especially popular for its Easter and Christmas liturgies and for its morning weekday Mass.
• Vocational growth: more than ten young monks have made solemn profession since 2008, including several Cistercian Prep and University of Dallas alumni.

Daily Horarium (Ora et Labora)

The monks live by the classic Benedictine-Cistercian rhythm of prayer and work. After rising in silence for personal meditation, they gather throughout the day to chant the Divine Office and celebrate Mass, and devote the working hours to teaching, study, and the manual labor of community life. The evening closes with night prayer and a period of community recreation before silence.

• 5:40 – 6:00 AM: Personal Meditation (Lectio Divina)
• 6:00 – 6:30 AM: Office of Readings and Morning Prayer (Lauds)
• 6:30 AM: Conventual Mass
• 7:15 – 8:00 AM: Breakfast (in silence)
• 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Work (teaching, study, household chores)
• 12:20 – 12:30 PM: Midday Prayer (Sexta)
• 12:30 – 1:00 PM: Lunch
• 1:00 – 5:30 PM: Work
• 5:30 – 6:00 PM: Adoration and Personal Meditation
• 6:00 – 6:25 PM: Evening Prayer (Vespers)
• 6:30 – 7:00 PM: Dinner
• 7:00 – 7:15 PM: Night Prayer (Compline)
• 7:15 – 8:00 PM: Community Recreation

Sacraments

Because the Abbey is not a parish, the monks' ordinary sacramental ministry is the daily conventual Mass, the Divine Office, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Wednesday afternoons. Under certain circumstances they may preside at the marriages of Cistercian Prep alumni in the abbey church and baptize their children, but they may not as a rule administer other sacraments such as First Holy Communion.

• Sacrament of Reconciliation: Wednesday 4:00–5:00 PM
• Conventual Mass daily and on Sundays
• Baptism (for children of Cistercian Prep alumni, under certain circumstances)
• Matrimony (for alumni, under certain circumstances)

Cistercian Preparatory School

In September 1962 the abbey community founded Cistercian Preparatory School, modeled after the Cistercian schools of Hungary. It opened with 50 students in rented facilities on Walnut Hill Lane in Dallas under Fr. Damian Szödényi as first headmaster; the first building of the school was dedicated on April 5, 1964. The school is built on the abbey grounds and has been staffed continuously by the monks as teachers, chaplains, and form masters.

• Founded 1962 by the monks of Our Lady of Dallas
• Modeled after the Cistercian schools of Hungary
• First headmaster: Fr. Damian Szödényi
• First building dedicated April 5, 1964
• Built on the monastery grounds, with monks teaching religion, English, Latin, and serving as form masters and headmasters

The University of Dallas

The Cistercians were invited to Texas in 1954 to help found a new Catholic university. The University of Dallas opened its doors on September 27, 1957, with nine Cistercians on its faculty. The abbey and the university remain closely linked, with monks continuing to teach and serve in administrative roles.

• Founded in cooperation with Bishop Thomas K. Gorman and the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth
• Opened September 27, 1957
• Nine Cistercians on the original faculty
• Located adjacent to the abbey grounds

Vocations

The abbey's vocations work is led by Fr. John Bayer as Vocations Director. The community received its first American-born vocations in the 1970s, and more than ten young monks have made solemn profession since 2008, including several alumni of Cistercian Preparatory School and the University of Dallas.

• Vocations Director: Fr. John Bayer, O.Cist.
• First American-born vocations joined in the 1970s
• Between 1970 and 1992, six Americans joined and persevered
• Over ten young monks have made solemn profession since 2008
• Several alumni of Cistercian Prep and the University of Dallas are among the professed community

Abbey Directory

The current leadership of the abbey is listed in its public directory.

• Fr. Peter Verhalen, O.Cist. — Abbot (extension 5)
• Fr. John Bayer, O.Cist. — Vocations Director, Webmaster
• Fr. Paul McCormick, O.Cist. — Prior
• Fr. Thomas Esposito, O.Cist. — Sub-prior
• Office of Readings and Lauds: 6:00 AM; Midday Prayer 12:20 PM; Vespers 6:00 PM; Compline 6:50 PM
• Address: 3550 Cistercian Road, Irving, Texas 75039
• Phone: (972) 438-2044
• Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Visiting and Contact

The Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Dallas is located on Cistercian Road in Irving, Texas, on the campus of the University of Dallas near Highway 114, Las Colinas, and the old Texas Stadium site. The abbey church and the daily liturgy are open to the lay faithful, and Confessions are heard on Wednesday afternoons.

• Address: 3550 Cistercian Road, Irving, Texas 75039
• Phone: (972) 438-2044
• Website: https://abbey.cistercian.org/
• Off Highway 114, adjacent to the University of Dallas
• Open to the public for daily Mass and the Divine Office