About New Melleray Abbey · Peosta, Iowa
New Melleray Abbey is a community of Roman Catholic Cistercian monks of the Strict Observance (commonly known as Trappists) located in Peosta, Iowa, about twelve miles southwest of Dubuque. Founded in 1849 by monks from Mount Melleray Abbey in County Waterford, Ireland, the monastery follows the Rule of Saint Benedict in the Cistercian tradition, making it one of the oldest Trappist houses in the United States. Today the monks sustain themselves largely through Trappist Caskets, a workshop producing handcrafted wooden caskets and urns from the abbey's woodlands, and they welcome the public to join them for daily Mass, the full Liturgy of the Hours, retreats, and visits to their guest house and gift shop.
- Established
- 1849
- Rector
- Dom Jerome Machar (Monastic Commissary, 2025)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Dubuque
Why belong here
New Melleray offers a uniquely Trappist rhythm of life centered on the full Liturgy of the Hours celebrated in common every day, the daily conventual Mass, and the silence and solitude of a working Benedictine monastery set on 1,100 acres of Iowa woodlands. Visitors and retreatants are welcomed into that prayer — joining the community at Vigils at 4:30 a.m. or at Vespers and Benediction on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., making a quiet personal retreat in the twenty-room guest house, or simply stopping in to pray before the Blessed Sacrament or browse the gift shop. Coming to New Melleray is an invitation to step out of the noise of the world and, as the monks put it, to 'receive all as Christ and prefer Christ above all.'
Mass times at New Melleray Abbey
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 2:00 PM (in the Guest House lobby)
Adoration times
- Sunday 5:00 PM Eucharistic Adoration, followed by Vespers and Benediction at 5:30 PM
- For the monks, Eucharistic Adoration is always available in any of the three chapels
A Cistercian Abbey in the Iowa Countryside
New Melleray Abbey is a community of Roman Catholic monks of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO), commonly known as Trappists. Disciples of Jesus Christ, the monks follow the Rule of Saint Benedict in the Cistercian tradition, joining fifteen hundred years of men and women who have found in that Rule a challenging and effective way of living the Gospel. Set in the fertile farmlands and rugged woodlands of eastern Iowa, twelve miles southwest of Dubuque, the monastery is what the Cistercians call a 'school of charity' — a place where the brothers learn to love God, to love themselves, and to love one another. The community describes its vocation with the phrase 'receiving all as Christ and preferring Christ above all.' Through their guest house and other forms of monastic hospitality, the monks are happy to offer their brothers and sisters who follow other paths a place of acceptance, peace, and prayer.
- Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists)
- Rule of Saint Benedict, in the Cistercian tradition
- Located in Peosta, Iowa, in the Archdiocese of Dubuque
- Mother house: Mount Melleray Abbey, County Waterford, Ireland
History
The abbey's foundation is a story of famine-era Ireland, a generous American bishop, and a harrowing Atlantic crossing. In October 1848, the Rt. Rev. Mathias Loras, first Bishop of Dubuque, visited Mount Melleray Abbey in Ireland and offered the Abbot land in his diocese if monks would come. Dom Bruno Fitzpatrick accepted, and on July 16, 1849 — the feast of Saint Stephen, third Abbot of the Cistercian Order — he laid the foundation of New Melleray with a small band of brothers on land offered by Bishop Loras. A second detachment of sixteen monks sailed later that year, but a cholera epidemic on the Mississippi river steamer killed six of them, who were buried along the riverbank. The community grew steadily, sent a colony to Wexford, Iowa in 1857, and was raised to the rank of abbey on May 10, 1863 with Ephrem McDonnell as its first abbot. The Civil War-era sale of cattle funded the building of the present Gothic limestone monastery between 1868 and 1875.
- 1849 — Foundation by Dom Bruno Fitzpatrick on July 16
- 1849 — Six monks die of cholera on the Mississippi; buried along the riverbank
- May 1857 — Colony sent to Wexford, Iowa (returned summer 1858)
- May 10, 1863 — Raised to the rank of abbey; Ephrem McDonnell first abbot
- 1868–1875 — Construction of Gothic limestone monastery
- 1928 (Oct. 28) — Blessing of new guesthouse and chapel
- 1946 (Mar. 25) — Blessing of ground for south wing
- 1961 — Community peaks at 160 monks
- July 16, 1976 — Renovated church dedicated (national architectural prize, 1977)
Daily Liturgical Life
The monks' day is shaped by the seven hours of the Liturgy of the Hours and the conventual Mass. As Saint Benedict puts it, the monks 'put nothing whatever before the Work of God.' At New Melleray, the schedule (the horarium) is described as a 'discipline of clarification' — through the Divine Office, private prayer, lectio divina, and simple ascetical practices, a monk clarifies his sense of who he is, his place in the community, and his membership in the Church. The community follows a two-week Psalm schema in the Divine Office, meaning all 150 Psalms are sung or recited over a two-week period; on major celebrations, Psalms thematically related to the feast are chosen. On the first Monday of each month the community keeps a retreat day, with the Liturgy of the Hours offered privately (Mass remains in Church at 8:00 AM).
- Vigils — 4:30 AM
- Lauds — 7:30 AM
- Conventual Mass — 8:00 AM (Monday–Saturday); 9:00 AM Sunday
- Terce — in private
- Sext — 11:45 AM
- None — 1:45 PM
- Vespers — 5:30 PM
- Compline — 7:30 PM
Visit and Hospitality
Hospitality is at the heart of the Benedictine-Cistercian tradition. Guests are welcomed to share in the daily liturgy from Vigils at 4:30 AM all the way through Compline at 7:30 PM, to stop by the gift shop, or to make a personal retreat in the Guest House. Following Saint Benedict's instruction to 'welcome all guests as you would Christ,' the abbey operates a twenty-room Guest House, four rooms of which have two single beds and the remainder one single bed. Each guest receives a private room (towels and linens provided), home-cooked meals, and access to a library of spiritual reading. Reservations are made by emailing [email protected] or calling 563-588-2319 extension 100. Because of the contemplative setting, guests are asked not to bring radios or audio devices and to honor the monastic silence.
- 20 guest rooms (4 with two single beds, 16 with one single bed)
- Towels and linens provided; home-cooked meals
- Library with books on contemplation and monastic spirituality
- Cafeteria, Guest Chapel, conference and meeting rooms, coffee room, Gift Shop
- Prayerful walks around the abbey grounds, farm, and woodlands
- Reservations: [email protected] or 563-588-2319 ext. 100
Personal Retreats
The Guest House is always open to individuals and groups interested in making a personal retreat. Retreats must be scheduled with the Guest Master well in advance. As the abbey notes, because of the nature of the retreat setting, guests are encouraged to follow the monastic practice of silence and separation from the outside world.
Trappist Caskets
Trappist Caskets is the abbey's primary source of income and its principal form of manual labor. Each casket is handcrafted in the rural quiet of the monastery, by hands accustomed to prayer, from premium woods harvested on the abbey's own sustainable woodlands. Every casket is individually blessed by one of the New Melleray monks, and a small removable Keepsake Cross — which may be engraved with the deceased's name and dates — is fitted inside the lid. Trappist Caskets also makes finely crafted wooden urns in native walnut and cherry, simple and premium models, child caskets, guest register books, and plaques. Caskets may be ordered for immediate delivery or pre-arranged, and the company ships to funeral homes and private residences nationwide.
- Premium Rectangular Casket — $3,800–$4,900
- Premium Shaped Casket — $3,600–$4,500
- Simple Shaped Casket — $2,000–$3,200
- Simple Rectangular Casket — $1,700–$2,700
- Clergy Casket
- Child Casket
- Premium Urn — $700; Simple Urn — $375; Rustic Urn — $550; Standard Urn — $450
- Keepsake Crosses — $15–$30; Plaques — $125; Guest Register Book — $160
- Custom engraving and a Personalization Package available
- Order line: 888-433-6934 (24/7); website: trappistcaskets.com
Lay Associates and the Conversi
In addition to the monastic community itself, New Melleray maintains two lay-associate programs for those who wish to share in the Cistercian way of life from outside the cloister.
- Associates of the Iowa Cistercians
- Conversi: an online community
Architecture and Grounds
The monastery, built in Gothic style of native Iowa limestone between 1868 and 1875, was designed around a rectangular court one hundred feet wide and two hundred feet long. Each wing is approximately thirty feet wide and thirty feet high, with gable roofs of red and gray slate, cupolas, ornamental buttresses, vaulted ceilings, and pointed-arch windows and doors. The north wing contains the dormitory, sacristy, and three small chapels above, with guest rooms, tailor shop, library, wardrobe, and storeroom below. The east wing houses the church above and the Sacred Heart / Blessed Virgin chapel and chapter room on the first floor. The refectory, scullery, and kitchen are in the basement, and cloisters extend around the inside wall of the two wings. In the 1970s the wing housing the church was completely renovated under designer Frank Kacmarcik — the division between stories was eliminated and plaster was stripped from the walls to reveal the Iowa limestone. The renovated church was dedicated on July 16, 1976 and won a national prize for architecture in 1977.
- Gothic limestone monastery, built 1868–1875
- Two of the original four planned wings completed
- Renovated abbey church dedicated July 16, 1976
- National architecture prize, 1977
- Three chapels, including Sacred Heart and Blessed Virgin
Frequently Asked Questions
A selection of questions answered on the abbey's FAQ page.
- Q: Are visitors welcome? A: Everyone is welcome; church and gift shop open 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM daily; daily Mass at 8:00 AM, Sunday Mass at 9:00 AM.
- Q: When do you hear confessions? A: Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM in the Guest House lobby.
- Q: When is Eucharistic Adoration offered? A: Every Sunday at 5:00 PM, followed by Vespers and Benediction at 5:30 PM; for the monks, Adoration is always available in any of the three chapels.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Clement Smyth1849
Titular Prior at founding
- James O'Gorman1849–1850
First Superior ad nutum; served a second term 1857–1859
- Francis Walsh1850–1852
Titular Prior
- Clement Smyth (2nd time)1852–1857
Prior
- Bernard McCaffery1859–1862
Superior ad nutum; served twice
- Ignatius Foley1860–1861
Prior
- Ephrem McDonnell1862/1863–1883
Prior then first Abbot when house raised to abbey in 1863
- Alberic Dunlea1883–1889, 1897–1917
Superior ad nutum then Abbot
- Louis Carew1889–1897
Superior ad nutum
- Bruno Ryan1917–1944
Abbot
- Albert Beston1944–1946
Abbot
- Eugene Martin1946–1952
Abbot
- Vincent Daly1952–1954
Abbot
- Philippe O'Connor1954–1964
Abbot
- Matthias (James) Kerndt1964–1966
Abbot
- Gérard Kennedy1966–1967
Apostolic Administrator
- David (Berchmans) Wechter1967–1976
Abbot
- David Bock1976/1978–1984
Superior ad nutum then Abbot
- Brendan Freeman1984–2013, 2021–2024
Abbot then Superior ad nutum
- Mark Scott2013/2014–2020
Superior ad nutum then Abbot
- Joseph Wittstock2024–2025
Monastic Commissary
- Dom Jerome Machar2025–
Monastic Commissary