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Holy Cross Abbey

901 Cool Spring Lane Berryville, Virginia 22611

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Welcome to Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey

The monastery is a school of the Lord's service where Christ is formed in the hearts of the brothers and where in solitude and silence they aspire to that interior quiet in which wisdom is born. By generous hospitality they share with their fellow pilgrims the peace and hope which Christ has freely given.
(Constitutions of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance 3:2-3)

Read more about our life

Greetings from Holy Cross Abbey

August 24, 2026

Our Monastery Chapel is open to the public for Daily Holy Mass and all the Divine Offices from 3.30 a.m., until 7.45 p.m.

The Gift Shop is open on the following days and times: Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, from 2.15 until 4.15. On Saturdays the Gift Shop is also open from 10.00 – 12.00 Noon, and again from 2.15 until 4.15.

Please be aware that our fruitcakes are SOLD OUT and we will let you know when they are again available. Unfortunately, our single much-loved Chocolate-covered Fruitcake Slices are also all sold out. We naturally hope to replenish our inventory, though that may only be later this year.

Our Retreat House is open but until further notice, access to the confessor/counselor will be very limited and not always guaranteed. For more information on safety measures being implemented in our Retreat House and for making a reservation, please email Carol Hensley at information@hcava.org Also, we will continue to livestream daily mass and the main offices of the day: Lauds and Mass at 7.00 a.m. (Sunday Mass at 10.00 a.m.); Vespers at 5.30 p.m. and Compline at 7.30 p.m. (Please be aware that the quality of both image and sound is far less than ideal because of technical limitations)

  • Anyone wishing participate virtually in our liturgies need simply Click Here to be redirected to our livestreaming page.

ONLINE SALES OF SOME OF OUR PRODUCTS

Fruit Cakes, (through our friends at DeFluri’s) Creamed Honeys, and Monastery Truffles can still be purchased online at: www.monasteryfruitcake.org

News

A Word from Our Cistercian Fathers

October 6, 2026

"Take from me, O Lord, my heart of stone.  Take away my hardened heart.  Take away my uncircumcised heart.  Give me a new heart, a heart of flesh, a pure heart!  You who purify the heart, you who love the pure heart, possess my heart and dwell within it, enclosing it and filling it, higher than what in me is highest, more inward than my most inward part. O form of beauty and seal of sanctity, seal … Continue Reading

  • A Word from Our Cistercian Fathers
  • A Word from Our Cistercian Fathers

Liturgy

Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the 26th Sunday

September 27, 2026

Some approaches to virtue and virtuous living give the impression that virtuous actions can be stored away like deposits in a bank account or investments in a portfolio. After amassing a substantial balance, one might imagine being able to relax a little—taking a break from living virtuously—because previous good deeds can be “withdrawn” to cancel out subsequent sin. It is precisely this attitude … Continue Reading

  • Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the 17th Sunday
  • Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the 15th Sunday

...more liturgy posts

From the Abbot’s Lectio Notebook

October 6, 2026

Among the various sources of anxiety, is either the fear of a loss of control over one’s life, or the actual experience of that loss of control. Aversive feelings of anxiety are typically accompanied by anxious thinking that conjures up a host of possible bad and negative scenarios for one’s future. Inner peace remains forever elusive and thus the possibility of resting quietly in God is simply … Continue Reading

Retreat House

Staying a few days at the Abbey's Retreat House is the primary way guests can get a taste of our monastic life, by entering into silence and solitude, the natural beauty of the setting, and the monastic liturgy throughout the day. Retreat House guests commit to maintaining the silence and contemplative environment of the place.

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Gift Shop

The first building many of our guests visit when they come to the monastery is the Gift Shop/Porter’s Cottage located at the end of the entrance road to the monastery.

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Bakery Products

If you’re local or able to make a trip to visit us, we would appreciate a visit the monastery in person and you can get your fruitcake at the best price directly from the Gift Shop.

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Donation

We must be intentional in making sure the ongoing financial support needed to keep the Abbey running is acquired. You can make a one time gift or, better yet, you can become a Sustainer.

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Cool Spring Natural Cemetery

Cool Spring Natural Cemetery is maintained and managed by the Cistercian Monks of Holy Cross Abbey where, for over sixty years, monks have lived on land made sacred by their lives of worship, prayer, and hospitality offered to all who visit. The cemetery thus constitutes a tangible extension of the monks’ life of worship, prayer, and their long tradition of hospitality.

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Holy Cross Abbey

901 Cool Spring Lane
Berryville, Virginia 22611-2700
Phone: (540) 955-4383

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