COMMUNITY NEWS
2022 will go down in the annals of the Monastic Community as perhaps the most significant year since we moved from Acton Burnell to Downside (or even since our expulsion from France in 1793). This was the year when we moved out of Downside Abbey to take up residence in a house in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey, Devon. The move was smooth but not easy. Each monk had to visit Buckfast in order to see the house again, to see his room, and then to think carefully about what he had at Downside and what he wanted or needed to bring with him. Inevitably this could not be achieved overnight, and many boxes were packed, many items given away or disposed of. The move was co-ordinated by Dom Anselm, and finally the day came when the boxes were packed, and the furniture removal firm came to collect everything. Inevitably, we had to bring not only our personal things, but we needed books to form a working library in our new home, vestments, and other items from the sacristy and some of the most significant relics. Our final Mass at Downside was on our patronal feast of St Gregory the Great, on 12th March 2022, at which we were joined by the School and a number of parishioners, oblates and friends of the Community, including Bishop Declan Lang and the Abbots of most of the monasteries of our Congregation present in England and the Abbess of Stanbrook. Whilst the Mass was inevitably a poignant occasion, it also had a sense of joy. This was not only the end of one era, but the beginning of a new one. Some of the Community stayed at Downside that night and woke (as was often the case) to find that there was neither hot water nor heating the following morning. We have been warmly welcomed by the Monks and staff at Buckfast Abbey, for whom nothing is too much trouble. Inevitably, a few repairs have been needed, and they have been dealt with quickly and kindly by the friendly staff. Our IT issues have finally been sorted and we can now be contacted easily by email. When we think about the year since the last Community News, this is inevitably a very prominent item, but other things have happened. Abbot Charles returned to the Monastery, having been Parish Priest of Bungay (East Anglia) for some 15 years. Dom James, Dom Boniface, and Dom Michael ceased to work in the School
40 The Raven 2022
