Asirvanam Benedictine Monastery belongs to the Benedictine Congregation of the Annunciation of the Order of Saint Benedict. Asirvanam, the very first monastery of the Benedictines in India, founded by St. Andrew’s Abbey, Belgium, was canonically established by the Holy See in 1952. The community today has a strength of 50 members with 35 priests and others being in various stages of formation.
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The monks are from different states of India and lead a life of unity in diversity, with English as community language. We also have daughter houses in the states of Karanataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha..
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The life in the monastery is described by St. Benedict as “the School of the Lord’s service.” Thus various activities of the community are organized so as to achieve this goal. Founded solidly on the motto of the Order, “ora et labora” that is, “Prayer and Work”, we have different activities like, the ministries of parish, retreat preaching, education, publication, counseling and guided retreat, Christian formation of the youth, farming and any and every activity that would help the people of God to achieve the dignity of the children of God..
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The community encourages each member to develop his natural creative talents and use them for the good of the community and the people around us.