Genesee
Location
Official Name O L of the Genesee Abbey
N° 64
Country USA
City Piffard, N.Y.
Address 3258 River Rd
Postcode 14533
Contact Information
Telephone [1] (585) 243-0660
Guesthouse Email [email protected]
Website www.geneseeabbey.org
Business Website www.monksbread.com
Superior Dom Gerard D'Souza, Abbot 2012-2030
Other Information
Juridical Status Abbey
Diocese Dioecesis Roffensis (Rochester)
OCSO Region USA
Founded/Restored 1951
Origins
Founded by Gethsemani. Raised to status of abbey in October 1953.
History
1951: a small group of monks arrives in March. On 26 May 21 founders take possession of the property.
1953: Blessing of the first abbot on 9 November.
1955: Dom Gerard McGinley, first abbot, arrived at the General Chapter and fell ill on the first day. He died in Dijon on 21 September 1955.
Foundations
Novo Mundo (1977); Adoption of Awhum (1978)
Father Immediate
Gethsemani
Daughter Houses
Awhum (delegated to Novo Mundo from 2018 to 2020); Novo Mundo ; Illah ; Spencer (since 2020).
Lay Associates
Genesee Lay Contemplatives
Past Superiors
Gerard McGINLEY — Superior — ?/05/1951 – 13/10/1953
Gerard McGINLEY — Abbot — 13/10/1953 – 18/09/1955
Walter HELMSTETTER — Abbot — 08/10/1955 – ?/08/1963
Jerome BURKE — Abbot — 25/04/1964 – 19/10/1971
John Eudes BAMBERGER — Abbot — 12/11/1971 – 14/09/2001
John DENBURGER — Abbot — 2001 – 2012
Work and Sources of Income
1) Bakery – “Monks Bread”, fruitcake and chocolates;
2) Farm: corn, soybeans, sunflower seeds, peas and wheat;
3) Bookshop.
Guest Facilities
Main guesthouse with 16 rooms; two houses for groups and family visits as well as for individual retreats (32 rooms).
Transportation
Station : Rochester, New York.
