Our History

1960 

Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey of Trappist nuns in Wrentham, Massachusetts, has been experiencing an enormous influx of new members. Mother Angela Norton, the abbess, decides to send sisters to found a new monastery. 

1962 

New Melleray Abbey and Archbishop James Byrne of Dubuque invite Wrentham to make the foundation in Iowa. 

1964 

18 October: M. Angela brings the 13 founding sisters to Dubuque. Mother Columba Guare will be the superior of the new monastery. 

1965 

We begin making candy to support ourselves. Sr Rosemary goes to Wrentham to learn how to cook caramels, and we call our new industry Trappistine Creamy Caramels. 

1966 

Br Placid of New Melleray becomes our farm manager, a position he will hold for nearly 20 years. We start withdrawing the land from soil bank and planting Christmas trees, then row crops. Eventually we establish a rotation of soy, corn, oats and alfalfa. Our pasture lands are rented to neighbors for cattle grazing. 

1968 

We accept our first new candidate. 

1969 

1970 

22 August: Kathy Lyzotte, the first new member to persevere at Mississippi Abbey, enters as a postulant. 

1979 

Transfer of major offices in the monastery (prioress, cellarer) from founding sisters to new members. 

Major expansion of the candy building. 

1980 

10 April: Blessing of the new wing begun in 1977 (dormitory, refectory, scriptorium). 

1982 

Initiation of a Long Term Guest program for women desiring an experience of monastic life. 

1986 

Construction of an acre pond in our farm fields, to help with soil conservation, to encourage wildlife, and to beautify our land. 

1991 

Renovation of Abbey Church and installation of the organ. 

1995 

Mississippi and New Melleray begin a joint lay association, the Associates of the Iowa Cistercians. 

1996 

Creation of Mississippi Abbey’s first web site. 

1999 

We hire a professional forester to manage our woodlands. 

2000 

Oct 30, the first death in our community; Sr Augustine Funk, the oldest of our founders. She is buried on All Souls Day, Nov 2, inaugurating our cemetery. 

2002 

Construction of a new candy factory. In August we move in and cook our first batch. 

2003 

Conversion of the old candy house into St Benedict’s Welcome Center, housing our first giftshop and our first meeting room for visitors, as well as office space for sisters. 

2006 

Purchase of adjacent 80-acre farm, to shield us from encroaching housing development. 

25 March: Tautra Mariakloster, our foundation in Norway, becomes an autonomous priory. 

2009 

1 September: death of M. Columba Guare, our first abbess. 

2009-10 

Major renovation of our monastery, including a new senior wing, library and prayer room, adding ramps, converting old library into refectory. 

2012 

8 September: Blessing of our first statue of Our Lady of the Mississippi, placed in our front circle, in memory of M. Columba. The statue was designed and built for us by artist Philip Howie. 

2014

July 11, Feast of St Benedict, we open our Jubilee Year of foundation with a Mass and other celebrations. 

We publish a book, A Life of Hope, about our monastery

2015 

July 11, Archbishop Jackals presides at the Mass to close our jubilee year. Friends from near and far join us for several days of celebration. 

2019 

We purchase some adjacent property; it includes a house right by our entrance, a blessing, since we had to remove our previous Gate House due to termites. 

2020 

March

Our gift shop and guest houses, and guest access to our church, are closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We re-open our church to guests in June. 

2022 

Our candy business is now officially renamed “Monastery Candy”.