Bethlehem
Location
Official Name O.L. of Bethlehem Abbey
N° 61
Country Ireland
City Ballymena, Co. Antrim
Address 11 Ballymena Road, Portglenone
Postcode BT44 8BL
Contact Information
Telephone [44] (28) 2582 1211
Community Email [email protected]
Website www.bethlehemabbey.com
Superior Dom Aelred Magee, Superior ad nutum 2024
Other Information
Juridical Status Abbey
Diocese Dioecesis Dunensis et Connorensis (Down and Connor)
OCSO Region ISLES
Founded/Restored 1948
Origins
Founded by Mount Melleray in 1948; Abbey in July 1951.
History
A Georgian mansion (c. 1800) with an estate of about 150 mostly fertile arable hectares situated in Northern Ireland was purchased in 1948. Other buildings were added on prior to the construction of an entirely new monastery in the 1960s, which was necessitated by the increasing numbers joining the community. The numbers peaked around 1970.
1967: opening and blessing of the new church.
The monastery is situated in the Northern part of Ireland where the centuries-old political conflict between the English and Irish (later to have a religious Catholic/Protestant dimension) still simmers and flares up from time to time.
Father Immediate
Mount Melleray (until 2022); Father Immediate : Rep. delegated to M. Brigitte Pinot of Tautra
Lay Associates
Cistercian Lay Associates of Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey
Past Superiors
Oliver FARRELL, Superior — 01/09/1948 – 08/07-1951, Abbot 08/07/1951-17/09/1958
Aengus DUNPHY, Abbot — 22/10/1958 – 26/09/1977
Celsus KELLY, Abbot — 27/09/1977 – 08/11/2019
Celsus KELLY, Superior ad nutum — 09/11/ 2019 – 17/01/2024
Work and Sources of Income
A changing economic climate has meant that the farm no longer provides the community with a viable source of income. This comes mainly from a religious shop, a craftshop and a printery; with something as well from the donations left by the steady stream of visitors.
Guest Facilities
10 rooms, all of which can be shared if necessary.
Transportation
10 rooms, all of which can be shared if necessary.
