Portsmouth Abbey

Portsmouth Abbey Welcome to Portsmouth Abbey (the monastery) on Facebook. When you step foot on the property the beauty, serenity, and simplicity are extremely evident.

Portsmouth Abbey is a community of Benedictine monks located on 500 acres of land on the shores of Narragansett Bay, just 7 miles north of Newport, Rhode Island. Portsmouth Abbey is a great place for someone who is ready to change his life and searching for balance. It is a life of work, community, reading and prayer. The Church is in great need of men dedicated to the service of God and neighbor.

The discernment of a vocation to monastic life is not an easy project. It requires prayer, spiritual direction and quiet listening to the stirrings of the Spirit. We extend an invitation to all who are considering a vocation to the religious life and/or priesthood to visit us, share in our choral monastic liturgy, celebrate the Eucharist, and experience our fraternal life. For more information please contact us. Our community belongs to the English Benedictine Congregation (the oldest of the 21 Benedictine Congregations) and, in keeping with the mission spirit of the congregation's early history, we run a college preparatory boarding school for boys and girls, Portsmouth Abbey School. The decline of Christian culture in the West underscores the importance of an education guided by the standards of the Gospel and the fostering of academic quality.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Mary. There is no historical evidence that Mary was born on this particu...
09/08/2026

Today we celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Mary. There is no historical evidence that Mary was born on this particular day. There is a lovely medieval legend explaining the date: The feast was set for September 8 because, in the fifth century, a pious farmer in Angers, France, had a vision one night of angels singing in Heaven. When he inquired for the reason, he was told that they were rejoicing because the Blessed Virgin was born that night. It happened to be September 8. So, the good farmer went to the Bishop, Saint Maurilius (430 AD), who, after convincing himself of the farmer's sincerity, established a feast in honor of the birth of Mary to be celebrated annually on that day. (Weiser, Francis X. S.J., The Holyday Book, Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc., New York 1956).

St. Gregory the Great (540 - 604 AD) became one of the patron saints of Portsmouth Abbey as a reflection of its founding...
09/03/2026

St. Gregory the Great (540 - 604 AD) became one of the patron saints of Portsmouth Abbey as a reflection of its founding monastery Downside Abbey in England.

St. Gregory's contributions to the Church have had a significant impact on its character, many of which can still be felt in the present. To the administration of the Church, both in its spiritual and temporal affairs, he brought a degree of order and efficiency which was to serve as a model for the medieval church. For Portsmouth and the Benedictine Order, Gregory's significance derives especially from his monastic interests, both prior to his pontificate and during his reign as pope. In addition to donating his family home for use as a monastery, he established six monastic houses in Sicily. On his return from Constantinople he wished to resume his monastic life but yielded to the pressure which made him an advisor to the pope, paving the way for his succession to the Roman See.

Almighty and everlasting God, who gave to your apostle Bartholomew,grace truly to believe and to preach your Word: Grant...
08/24/2026

Almighty and everlasting God, who gave to your apostle Bartholomew,
grace truly to believe and to preach your Word: Grant that your Church
may love what he believed and preach what he taught.
Bestow upon us, Lord, the grace of the honest and open heart which
you gave to Bartholomew, so that we may rightly discern the truth and
willingly believe in Your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

Dearest Mother, assumed into Heaven, you are the Immaculate Conception, the Ever-Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. As we h...
08/15/2026

Dearest Mother, assumed into Heaven, you are the Immaculate Conception, the Ever-Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. As we honor your glorious Assumption into Heaven, please pray for us and for all your children. In Heaven, you are honored by your Son and your prayers are most effective. We believe this with all our hearts and entrust ourselves, our families, our Church, and the entire world to your motherly care and intercession. Mary, assumed into Heaven, pray for us.

O Generous patron of the Church’s poor, St. Lawrence, pray to the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit that all the poor...
08/10/2026

O Generous patron of the Church’s poor, St. Lawrence, pray to the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit that all the poor of the Church in need in every corner of the world may feel the effect of the love of their brothers and sisters who seek to help them.

Deliver the Church from the greed and envy of the powerful and protect her rights and property so that she may serve the needy in freedom, giving them good things for soul and body.

May we come some day with all those whom we helped on earth to the bright mansions of heaven where we will enjoy the riches of God’s house and the company of the Savior who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen

At the Transfiguration, Father, You showedJesus in glory, a glimpse of what His discipleswould see in His risen life.Ble...
08/06/2026

At the Transfiguration, Father, You showed
Jesus in glory, a glimpse of what His disciples
would see in His risen life.

Bless us in our humanity,
with an awareness of Your presence,
leading us to share in Your divine life
even in our daily struggle.

Help us to deepen
our knowledge of the Law and Prophets,
channels of Your grace throughout history,
and signposts for our journey.

Amen.

O glorious Apostle, Saint James,who by reason of thy fervent and generous heartwas chosen by Jesus to be witness of His ...
07/25/2026

O glorious Apostle, Saint James,
who by reason of thy fervent and generous heart
was chosen by Jesus to be witness of His glory on Mount Tabor,
and of His agony in Gethsemane;
thou, whose very name is a symbol of warfare and victory;
obtain for us strength and consolation
in the unending warfare of this life,
that, having constantly and generously followed Jesus,
we may be victors in the strife and deserve to receive
the victor’s crown in heaven.
Amen.

St Mary Magdalene, you came with springing tears to the spring of mercy, Christ; from him your burning thirst was abunda...
07/22/2026

St Mary Magdalene, you came with springing tears to the spring of mercy, Christ; from him your burning thirst was abundantly refreshed through him your sins were forgiven; by him your bitter sorrow was consoled.

My dearest lady, well you know by your own life how a sinful soul can be reconciled with its creator, what counsel a soul in misery needs, what medicine will restore the sick to health.

It is enough for us to understand, dear friend of God, to whom were many sins forgiven, because she loved much.

Most blessed lady, I who am the most evil and sinful of men do not recall your sins as a reproach, but call upon the boundless mercy by which they were blotted out.

This is my reassurance, so that I do not despair; this is my longing, so that I shall not perish.

-excerpt from a prayer to St. Mary Magdalene from St. Anselm of Canterbury

O Holy Benedict, Confessor of the Lord, Father and Guide of Monks; intercede for us and for the salvation of all.
07/11/2026

O Holy Benedict, Confessor of the Lord, Father and Guide of Monks; intercede for us and for the salvation of all.

Sovereign Lord, as we celebrate this Fourth of July, we come before You with grateful hearts. We thank You for the bless...
07/04/2026

Sovereign Lord, as we celebrate this Fourth of July, we come before You with grateful hearts. We thank You for the blessings of liberty and for those who have sacrificed to build and protect our country. In times of division, grant us the courage and compassion to respect our neighbors. Guide our leaders, heal our fractures, and help us pursue a land of peace, equity, and justice for all. May we never take our freedoms for granted. Amen.

Address

285 Corys Lane
Portsmouth, RI
02871

Telephone

+14016832000

Website

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