About St. Anselm Abbey · Manchester, New Hampshire
Saint Anselm Abbey is a Benedictine monastery of about thirty monks living under the Rule of Saint Benedict in the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by monks sent from Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, the community runs Saint Anselm College as its primary apostolate and gathers publicly several times a day in the Abbey Church for the Liturgy of the Hours and the celebration of the Eucharist. The abbey's motto, 'Initium Sapientiae Timor Domini' ('The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom'), expresses the Benedictine commitment to prayer and study at the heart of its 130-plus-year witness on the Saint Anselm College campus.
- Established
- 1889
- Patron
- Saint Anselm of Canterbury
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
Why belong here
Saint Anselm Abbey offers a window onto fifteen centuries of Benedictine prayer lived in the heart of New England. Anyone is welcome to join the monks in the Abbey Church for the daily celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours — Vigils and Lauds at 6 a.m., Daytime Prayer at noon, Vespers in the early evening, and Compline at night — and on Sundays for the 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Masses. The annual Holy Week Triduum Retreat invites students and alumni to share the full monastic rhythm of prayer, meals in the refectory, work, and recreation, and the monks also welcome visitors and spiritual seekers year-round on their hilltop campus overlooking Manchester.
Mass times at St. Anselm Abbey
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Anselm Abbey
Saint Anselm Abbey is the Benedictine monastic community at the heart of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. About thirty monks live under the sixth-century Rule of Saint Benedict, gathering daily in the Abbey Church for the Liturgy of the Hours and the celebration of the Eucharist. The primary labor of the community is its work in the college — teaching, serving on the Board of Trustees, and supporting the day-to-day life of a Catholic liberal-arts institution devoted to academic excellence and Benedictine tradition.
- Order of Saint Benedict (O.S.B.), American-Cassinese Congregation
- Approximately 30 monks in solemn vows
- Primary apostolate: Saint Anselm College
- Motto: Initium Sapientiae Timor Domini ('The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom')
History of the Community
Monks from Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, came to Manchester in 1889 at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley to found a parish and a school for the immigrant workers of the Merrimack mills. From this beginning grew St. Raphael's Parish and Saint Anselm College. The priory was elevated to an independent abbey in 1927, and the present main abbey building (1955) and Abbey Church (1965) were designed by the Manchester firm Koehler & Isaak in the Colonial Revival style.
- 1889 — Benedictine foundation from Saint Mary's Abbey, Newark
- 1927 — elevated to an independent abbey by Pope Pius XI
- 1955 — main abbey building completed
- 1965 — Abbey Church completed
Benedictines in New Hampshire
The first Benedictine foundation in the United States was established in 1846 at Latrobe, Pennsylvania — Saint Vincent Archabbey, which became the first abbey of the American-Cassinese Congregation. From there a daughter house, Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, was founded in 1857. Thirty-one years later the Newark community sent monks to Manchester, beginning what would become Saint Anselm Abbey and its college.
- Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, Pa. — founded 1846
- Saint Mary's Abbey, Newark, N.J. — founded 1857
- Saint Anselm Abbey, Manchester/Goffstown — founded 1889
The Rule of Saint Benedict
The community follows the sixth-century Rule of Saint Benedict, whose motto — Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus, 'that in all things God may be glorified' — frames the monks' life of prayer and work. Through prayer and work, the sons of Saint Benedict have profoundly shaped the spiritual, educational, and cultural life of Western civilization for fifteen centuries.
- Saint Benedict of Nursia (480–547), founder of Western monasticism
- Holy Rule written at Monte Cassino
- Daily schedule built around the Opus Dei (Liturgy of the Hours) and the Opus Manuum (manual labor and study)
Special Liturgies & Holy Week
The abbey publishes a Holy Week schedule each spring with the full monastic celebrations. The Great Vigil of Easter is celebrated at 8:30 p.m. on Holy Saturday, and the community welcomes all members of the public to join them in the Abbey Church for these sacred liturgies.
- Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday
- Great Vigil of Easter — 8:30 p.m. on Holy Saturday
- Outdoor Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, weather permitting
Abbots of Saint Anselm Abbey
Since its elevation to an independent abbey in 1927, Saint Anselm has been led by six abbots. Each elected for life (or until retirement), they have shepherded the community through war, depression, the building of the college and the Abbey Church, and the historic 2024 election of a lay brother as abbot.
- Abbot Bertrand Dolan, O.S.B. — 1927–1968 (Abbas I)
- Abbot Gerald McCarthy, O.S.B. — 1968–1971 (Abbas II)
- Abbot Joseph John Gerry, O.S.B. — 1972–1986 (Abbas III)
- Abbot Matthew K. Leavy, O.S.B. — 1986–2012 (Abbas IV)
- Abbot Mark A. Cooper, O.S.B. — 2012–2024 (Abbas V)
- Abbot Isaac Shannon Murphy, O.S.B. — 2024–present (Abbas VI)
The Sixth Abbot: Brother Isaac Murphy, O.S.B.
On June 17, 2024 the monastic community elected Brother Isaac Shannon Murphy, a religious brother rather than a priest, as their sixth abbot — the first such election in the world, made possible by a 2022 decree of the Holy See. A native of Sherbrooke, Québec, and a graduate of Saint Francis Xavier University, he earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and served at the abbey as Prior (2005–2013) and as Executive Vice President of Saint Anselm College. His abbatial blessing was celebrated in the Abbey Church on September 27, 2024.
Annual Holy Week Retreat
Each year the abbey hosts its Triduum Retreat, welcoming Saint Anselm College students and alumni into the full rhythm of monastic life from Wednesday of Holy Week through Easter Sunday. Retreatants follow the daily schedule — the Liturgy of the Hours, the Eucharist, manual labor, and recreation with the monks — and assist as altar servers, singers, lectors, and ushers. Conferences given by monks on the history and liturgical meaning of Holy Week help guests enter more deeply into the Sacred Triduum and into Benedictine life at the abbey.
- Open to Saint Anselm College students and alumni
- Includes participation in the Sacred Triduum liturgies
- Conferences by monks on the meaning of Holy Week
Saint Anselm College — The Primary Apostolate
Saint Anselm College, the community's primary labor, is a Catholic liberal-arts college founded by the Benedictine monks in 1889. Empowered by the State of New Hampshire to grant degrees since 1895, the college has been led, staffed, and shaped by the monks for more than a century. Today, the approximately thirty monks of the abbey serve as administrators, faculty, staff, and members of the Board of Trustees, working in service to the Church through Catholic education.
- Founded by the monks of Saint Anselm Abbey in 1889
- Authorized to grant standard academic degrees by the New Hampshire General Court in 1895
- Strong Catholic and Benedictine liberal-arts tradition
Visit Us
The abbey sits on the campus of Saint Anselm College on the west side of Manchester, New Hampshire. Visitors are warmly welcomed to the Abbey Church for any of the public liturgies; Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours are open to all.
- 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, NH 03102
- Located on the Saint Anselm College campus
- Everyone is welcome at the public liturgies in the Abbey Church
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Abbot Bertrand Dolan, O.S.B.1927–1968
First abbot; led the abbey and college through the Depression and World War II; oversaw the army pre-flight cadet program on campus.
- Abbot Gerald McCarthy, O.S.B.1968–1971
Elected coadjutor in 1963; presided over the construction of the Abbey Church; retired due to ill health.
- Abbot Joseph John Gerry, O.S.B.1972–1986
Later named Auxiliary Bishop of Manchester and tenth Bishop of Portland, Maine; returned to the abbey in retirement where he died on July 2, 2023.
- Abbot Matthew K. Leavy, O.S.B.1986–2012
Elected at age 35, the youngest abbot in the world at the time; now serves at Woodside Priory School.
- Abbot Mark A. Cooper, O.S.B.2012–2024
Treasurer of the college for 33 years before his election; resigned April 2024.
- Abbot Isaac Shannon Murphy, O.S.B.2024–present
Sixth abbot; a religious brother rather than a priest — the first such election in the world, confirmed by the Holy See.