The Monks

Abbot Patrick Barry

Abbot Patrick is a monk of Ampleforth Abbey, where he served as School Librarian for 12 years, Housemaster for 10 years, Headmaster for 15 years, and Abbot for 13 years. In 1997, he chose, at Abbot Thomas’s invitation, to take his post-abbacy sabbatical here and fell in love with the place. Saint Louis Abbey has been ideal for him, as it is similar to Ampleforth; but offers easier access to his work with the Manquehue Apostolic movement, a lay Benedictine movement in Chile. For medical reasons—and at the request of the entire Saint Louis community—the Abbots of Ampleforth and Saint Louis agreed that Father Patrick should remain here. During his time with us, he has helped train novices, finished his book about the Manquehue movement, A Cloister in The World, and published the American edition of his translation of the Rule of Saint Benedict. He has also helped foster ties between the Manquehue movement and Saint Louis Abbey.

In addition to his powerful witness as a contemplative, Abbot Patrick is also an exceptional storyteller. One often finds him in the calefactory, surrounded by junior monks who gather at tea-time in the hopes of hearing one of his celebrated stories. If you ever visit our community, be sure to ask Abbot Patrick about the priest who miraculously showed up on time to give last rites to a dying student at a sports match... or his secret knowledge about the ancient rumor of monks changing the gravesite of Saint Cuthbert during the reformation... or foibles during the BBC broadcasts of Midnight Christmas Mass from Ampleforth to the European continent during Hitler’s occupation...or the ghost that followed him home from Vespers at Stanbrook.