Willoughby: St. Benedict’s Monastery’s sixty-eight years

The Aspen Times recently reported that the St. Benedict’s Monastery property on Capitol Creek is for sale. The popular bookstore/gift shop and retreat facilities have already closed, and the dwindling number of brothers could depart, ending decades of the Trappist neighbors.

The land was donated to the Trappists by the Pabst and LaMoy families. The order began construction in 1956; at that time, it was called Our Lady of Colorado Abbey. There were ten other Trappist monasteries in America in nine other states. It may not seem so obvious today with the Snowmass and Capital Creek valleys filling with residences, but at that time, it was the perfect location for a quiet and peaceful site far from the routine of towns and cities — although there were monasteries in major cities like New York and Rome.

Like in the photo, Aspenites visited during the construction. The monks did almost all the work, brick by brick. The main facility used Roman bricks that they stained green — wider than the more common ones you see in Aspen buildings — to make thick walls. Arched windows stood out, too. I remember visiting with my parents, and while I did not know much about construction, I recognized that there wasn’t anything like it in Aspen. Mona Frost’s sixth grade class made a field trip there in 1958.

The first monks who came were from Spencer, Massachusetts, the main one for the order in America. It wanted to establish a monastery in the Rocky Mountains. It was completed in 1958 and then closed to the public.  

The monks supported themselves selling Items they made there. Some were sold in town; favorites, at least to me, were their fresh-baked cookies and hard candy. They also sold eggs until 1985. For years, they took them to the Wingo Junction to put them on the train to be sold in Aspen.

In later years, they operated the bookstore and gift shop that, at different times, sold cards, creches, cheese preserves, perfume, art works, and flutes. The most popular items were metal sculptures made by Brother Benedict.

The monastery opened up its chapel for services (still continuing today) with sixty to seventy worshipers. There, you could hear them chanting and singing to themselves.

The Trappist tradition, centuries old, known as the Rule Of Saint Benedict, is defined by silence, austerity, prayer, poverty, simplicity, and obedience.

In the 1960s, the hippie decade, many were attracted to the idea of life in a monastery and showed up begging to be a monk.   It is not an easy life. Operating a ranch requires long days of physical labor. They eat in silence and listen to spiritual readings, and they are silent between vespers in the evening until Mass the next morning.

They were carefully screened and then admitted on a trial basis to confirm their commitment. There are only a few monks left, older ones have had old-age health difficulties, like the challenges of living at Aspen’s high altitude, needing to move to a lower elevation. 

Imagine those older monks leaving the monastery, and imagine what it would be like if they passed through Aspen, especially if they stopped to eat. How would they process decades of progress? And would they consider it progress? It might generate a few extra hours of prayer.

Tim Willoughby’s family story parallels Aspen’s. He began sharing folklore while teaching at Aspen Country Day School and Colorado Mountain College. Now a tourist in his native town, he views it with historical perspective. Reach him at redmtn2@comcast.net.