Over fifty people gathered at Cool Spring Natural Cemetery at Holy Cross Abbey in northeastern Clarke County, Virginia, on Sunday to witness two free spirits soar toward the heavens. But Sunday’s ceremony didn’t involve death, but rather new life, as the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center used the cemetery’s commemoration chapel as a release point for […]
WAMU’s Metro Connection to Feature Holy Cross Abbey
The Trappist monks of Holy Cross Abbey will be featured on WAMU 88.5’s award winning program “Metro Connection”. The program will air this Friday at 1:00pm (with a rebroadcast Saturday at 7:00 am) and focus on environmental and fiscal and sustainability efforts being implemented at the Abbey. “The story here has fascinated me and I […]
Video: New Wind Vane Tops Cemetery Chapel
As Cool Spring Natural Cemetery’s new chapel building nears completion, the structure’s designer and builder, Ron Heath of Winchester, Virginia, decided on Friday that the long-anticipated time for adding a wind vane to the chapel’s tower peak had finally arrived. While providing visitors with a valuable snippet of real-time weather information upon their arrival at […]
Holy Cross Abbey Receives Historic Preservation Award
The Clarke County Historic Preservation Commission recognized its 2012 historic preservation award winners on Thursday. The Barns of Rose Hill, along with its visionary, Diana Kincannon, both received awards. Holy Cross Abbey and Dorian Sono Luminus recording studios of Boyce were also recognized. The ceremony also included Virginia House of Delegates member Randall Minchew who […]
Raising the Roof at Cool Spring Natural Cemetery – Video
The Trappists of Holy Cross Abbey, with the help of master builder Ron Heath, have been raising the roof of late. But there is no need to worry, the monks – and their guests alike – still value the many sounds of silence that grace the monastery’s grounds just an hour west of Washington, DC. […]
Good Friday Welcomes New Orchard at Abbey – Video
Good Friday at Holy Cross Abbey is always a special day, but even more so when 2,000 apple tree seedlings find their way onto the monastery’s 110-acre produce farm. Farming partner Mark Zurschmeide and his team took advantage of the crystal-clear Friday morning to begin planting four-foot tall apple tree seedlings in neat rows that […]
Spring Beauty Abounds at Holy Cross Abbey
There’s an extraordinary story playing out at Holy Cross Abbey in Clarke County, Virginia at this very moment and it doesn’t include budgets, politics or taxes. Instead, the story is the remarkable miracle called Spring and it is happening in the fields, woodlands and skies above the Abbey. This is the perfect time to make […]
Eagles Eye Monastery’s Green Cemetery
Black and white are popular colors at Holy Cross Abbey located just a few miles east of Berryville, Virginia. Not only are black and white the traditional colors of the cowls and robes worn by the Abbey’s 14 Trappist monks, they are also the colors of choice for two American Bald Eagles who are permanent […]
Irish Cobblers Come to Holy Cross Abbey – Video
What do “Irish Cobblers”, “Canadian Goose” and “Yukon Gold” all have in common? These wonderfully descriptive names represent are just a few of the varieties of potatoes being planted in the fertile bottomland fields along the Shenandoah River at Holy Cross Abbey this spring. Abbey farming partner and Great Country Farms owner Mark Zurschmeide said […]
Video: Cloister Renovation Begins With Mansion Chimney Repair
Ask any owner of a historic structure how much maintenance is required to keep the building in good condition and in many cases the reply will begin with a knowing chuckle and a roll of the eyes followed by “You have no idea!” The stone manor house, the visually stunning focal point of Holy Cross […]