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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

Upcoming Chant Retreat in the New Year

May 6, 2025

A Special “Chant Retreat” is planned for the second week of August 2025

(More information can be found by clicking on the Retreat House Tab above)

Our Monastery Chapel is, once again, open to the public for Daily Holy Mass and all the Divine Offices.

The Gift Shop is also open again and the hours are Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 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 NOTE: Our Fruitcakes are again available in the Gift Shop—both the large round cakes and the smaller loaf cakes. Barring unforeseen circumstances, these fruitcakes will be available in the Gift Shop from now until just before Christmas, when they are usually sold out.

Also, our Chocolate-covered fruitcake slices are once again available in the Gift Shop—both individual slices and boxed

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 Gertrude the Great

July 1, 2025

O God, love, you alone are my wall and rampart.  Those who bear distress in this world, behold, they know what kind of shelter there is for them in your peace as a defense against heat and a canopy against rain.  Ah!  Look upon and see my battle; you yourself teach my hands to fight.  If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart will not fear if you yourself, O my faithful bulwark … Continue Reading

  • A Word from Our Cistercian Fathers
  • GIFT SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT

Liturgy

Fr. James’ Homily for the 14th Sunday

July 6, 2025

6 July, 2025, 14th Sunday, Year C: Isaiah 66:10-14c; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20Isn’t what Jesus proposes in today’s Gospel contrary to our culture, even subversive?Isn’t it significant that no one is sent out alone? A partner can challenge my strategy, just as I may help keep him or her on the mark. Wouldn’t bouncing things off a collaborator sharpen our understanding of our common … Continue Reading

  • Fr. James’ Homily for the Sacred Heart
  • Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the Ascension

...more liturgy posts

From the Abbot’s Lectio Notebook

July 5, 2025

Enemies, and those we really don’t like, occur on a common spectrum—from the one who seeks to violently take my life, to the one whose entire being irritates and tries my patience and charity to the extreme. And whereas the former is, fortunately, rarely encountered, the latter is virtually inescapable at some juncture in our lives. Matthew the Tax Collector falls somewhere between these two poles … 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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