Today Fr James visited New Clairvaux Abbey in Vina, about 125 miles north of Sacramento, California. This community of Trappist monks (Cistercians of Strict Observance) was established in the mid-1950s on land that at the end of the 19th century was part of Leland Stanfords Vina Ranch, a 4000-acre vineyard with the worlds largest winery at the time. (Leland Stanford, one of the Big Four who built the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads, also served as Governor of California and US Senator from California. He and his wife established Stanford University in memory of their son who died at the age of 15.) Twelve years ago, the monks replanted vineyards and hired a winemaker and began making wine (which is very tasty, well-balanced, and reasonably priced). They also are rebuilding on their property the chapter house of an 800-year-old Spanish monastery. The chapter house was purchased in 1931 by William Randolph Hearst, who intended to incorporate it into one of his estates in Northern California. He had it dismantled in Spain, all the stones coded so that they could be reassembled, and shipped to San Francisco. When the Depression curtailed his building plans, he gave the stones from the monastery chapter house to the City of San Francisco. They were stored in Golden Gate Park, but over the years fires damaged the stones and destroyed the plans that showed how the stones should be reassembled. Fr James remembers seeing the stones in the woods behind the DeYoung Museum in the park on school trips in the 1960s. The Abbey of New Clairvaux acquired the stones in the 1990s and has begun reconstructing the chapter house, using old stones when possible and also having new stones cut. The rebuilt chapter house will serve as the new church for the Abbey when it is completed. The photos show some of the original winery buildings, the chapter house, and the monks current church. In addition to grapes, the monks grow walnuts and prunes on their beautiful, quiet, rural property.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 05:04:50 +0000