Bela Vista
Location
Official Name Mosteiro Cisterciense
N° 77
Country Angola
City Benguela
Contact Information
Superior Dom José Antonio Gimeno Capin, Superior ad nutum de San Isidro, responsable de la comunidad dispersa
Other Information
Juridical Status Simple Priory
Diocese Archidioecesis Huambensis (Huambo)
OCSO Region RAFMA
Founded/Restored 1958
Origins
Founded by San Isidro in 1958; semi-autonomous priory in 1971
History
1958: 2 religious arrive in July.
1959: another group arrives in January.
1971: the monastery is raised to the status of semi-autonomous house. The monastery is located 5 km. from Bela Vista, a large Catholic mission in the diocese of Nova Lisboa, 15 km. from the railway linking the former Belgian Congo to the sea by way of Angola. The soil is fertile and allows for the cultivation of many different crops. The climate is temperate because of the elevation.
Father Immediate
San Isidro
Past Superiors
Roberto FERNANDEZ MANZANAL — Superior — ?/ ?/1958 – ?/12/1965
Gerardo LOPEZ RODRIGUEZ — Superior — 02/12/1965 – 14/02/1971
Alberto GOMAS de las BARCENAS — Titular Prior — 14/02/1971 – 05/12/1982
Alberto GOMAS de las BARCENAS — Provisional Superior — 05/12/1982 – 10/09/1983
Ignacio ARNÁIZ — Sup. ad nutum — 10/09/1983 – ?/ ?/1986
Luis TARRACO PLANAS — Sup. ad nutum — ?/ ?/1987 – 20/04/1989
Roberto (Benjamín) FERNANDEZ — Titular Prior — 20/04/1989 – 18/04/1995
Francisco KAYENGENGA — Titular Prior — 18/04/1995 -18/04/2001
Barnabé Sawongo – Titular Prior — 01/06/2001-05/08/2007
Barnabé Sawongo — Sup. ad nutum 05/08/2007 – 02/2010
Bernardo Bonowitz , Abbot of Novo Mundo, Apostolic Administrator 2010 – 2016
