Mgr Oliveri at Villatalla on the Feast of St. Benedict

On July 11 of this year, our bishop, Most Rev. Mario Oliveri, provided us with the grace and pleasure of his company in order to celebrate Pontifical Mass for the solemnity of St. Benedict. He came with a good number of priest friends and acquaintances of our house, including Canon Guitard of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign High Priest.In his homily, Bishop Oliveri first of all emphasized the holiness and spiritual influence of our founder: “On this holy day which finds us gathered in this parish church of Villatalla, our attention is drawn in particular to the holy soul of St. Benedict, father of a multitude of consecrated souls, father of monasticism in the West, a father who built a new mansion in the great house which the Church is; St. Benedict who is a teacher of the spiritual life, a divinely enlightened teacher of the monastic life. Let us pay special attention as well to all his sons, to all those who wish to live according to his teaching. We need to pay special attention to them so as to understand how to live well our Christian lives; we should take them as examples; they are among us, here as elsewhere in the Church, as examples who live the fullness of the demand which the Gospel [we have just heard] speaks about: ‘Whoever leaves houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother or children or fields for the sake of my name will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life’.”

And then, with the faith and authority of a true pastor, Bishop Oliveri spoke a few words about the silence of the Canon of the Mass which made a strong impression on the souls of the hearers: “Oh, my dear brethren, how beautiful it would be to be recollected during this holy celebration, in these moments of total or almost total silence! Especially during the Eucharistic Prayer, when this unique [single] Sacrifice arrives, sacramentally present, on our altar... Our attitude is not so much to say many things, or to understand each word spoken, but to keep what is happening vividly present to the soul, and to place ourselves in full and complete adoration,l in the state of contemplation and assent.
“Let nothing --says the Rule of St. Benedict-- be preferred to Christ” and then “let nothing be preferred to His Work.” But what is the Work of Christ? It is the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son, the mystery of the Son who is made flesh, who died on the Cross to rise on the third day. It is the mystery of the Cross, the mystery of Christ, the mystery of his Sacrifice. The Work of God is the whole divine liturgy.
Dear Brethren, believe this, accept this, live this. There is nothing more important in your life than participation, your participation, in the celebration of the divine mysteries, the divine liturgy.
Now, you understand why holy monks, particularly Benedictine monks, must live singing all day long the praises of the Lord, praying continually, celebrating the divine liturgy of the Sacrifice of Christ and the Hours, the holy Hours, the Hours of the prayer of the whole Church.
As for us, we promise to these dear monks who are established here in this presbytery of the parish church, who offer the sacraments and pray in this parish church, we promise them to be always near them and we assure them of our ardent prayer that they be saints and good models. And that is why we ask of them just that: be you the example that we must follow. Show us in all things the way of salvation, the way that leads to Jesus Christ, the way that leads to eternal life. Praised be Jesus Christ.”

Brother Ansgar, Père Jehan and don Giancarlo, parish priest of Villatalla, in the stalls from the seminary of Albenga 
offered by Mgr Oliveri.

Mgr Oliveri at the faldstool: he is removing the pontifical vestments which he had put on to celebrate Holy Mass.

After Mass, Mgr Oliveri blessed our new chapter room-library. He was delighted at the fine work done in the old cellar, thanks to our benefactors, and spoke to the monks with brief and fatherly words of encouragement.

Afterwards some families of Villatalla offered a sumptuous meal to His Excellency and a score of priests and friends of the Benedictines of the Immaculate. More than once afterwards we were told privately that that day had been one of light and grace for many.

Feast of Corpus Christi

The whole village joined together after Mass on this Sunday for the traditional procession in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. The streets dusted with scattered flower petals resounded with hymns expressing the faith and devotion of the people.


Our religious life thus goes on peacefully in this remote little village, as we await the day when we will be able to find an even more monastic setting.

More photos ->

Work in the Garden

Around the village, there are a number of terraces, silent witnesses to long ages of labor and still used as vegetable gardens. One of them was cultivated by the parish priest when the town had one in residence, sixty years ago.

Still partially maintained by a valiant villager who is 94 years old, it deserved to be cleared and allowed once again to produce the fruit it is capable of.

After clearing and plowing this past winter, we now have the joy of harvesting the fruit of our efforts: lettuce, radishes, peas. . . Before long, Swiss chard, tomatoes and potatoes. And a little later: eggplant, white onions, squash and carrots. Deo gratias! !

But the work is not done, for as everyone knows, weeds are always with us. . .

More photos ->

Remodelling the Cellar for a Library

BEFORE

Under the rectory we had a storage cellar. In order to free up a room in the house, we have transformed it so that it now serves as the library. Thus we have a fourth cell in the house, so that we can lodge Brother Ansgar who is returning to be with us for the summer.

AFTER

As for the cellar, it underwent an astonishing transformation in the space of a few months. After the addition of a wall in the middle, the right side now serves as both library and chapter room. The left half includes a laundry room and a work area for household tinkering or repairs.

Before taking a more detailed look at all this, here are three photographs from the beginning of the labor, which had to be a bit furious and relentless. The ground was too high: the hardest and longest part of the work was removing 60 cm of earth and rock. .

A big power drill, and a lot of energy, got the job done, little by little.

In order to break up chunks of rock without dynamite, one must first find their weak points. A well-placed tool then allows one to blow up the big rocks which had appeared invincible..

And as the days pass, a pile of smaller stones accumulates, slowly but surely.

Unfortunately we didn't take any more photos than what you see here of the work while in progress. But you can see the final result:

The left side and the wall separating the two new rooms.

And the right side turned into a library and chapter room.

So we now have buildings for the common life (church, chapter room, refectory, library) which will be sufficient to welcome a few vocations which are currently foreseen.

On the other hand, we will soon need more than four cells. Several parts of houses adjacent to the rectory should be available for us to buy, and which we would then turn into new cells. Thank you for your generosity in helping us to acquire them.

First feast of St. Benedict at Villatalla

A dozen priests and seminarians joined the monks for the solemnity and to show their friendship and encouragement.
Among them: Canon Don Ivo Raimondo, provost of the parish and cathedral chapter of Imperia, as well as vicar forane for the territory that includes Villatalla. Honour to those to whom it is due: it was for him to pronounce the first panegyric of St. Benedict, during which he naturally evoked the radiant figure of the saint whom Paul VI named patron of Europe.
Also present were Canon Don Giancarlo Cuneo, pastor of Dolcedo and Villatalla; his twin brother, Canon Don Marco, who is a pastor in Imperia and our most faithful friend and advocate from the beginning here; Don Sandro Marsano, the previous pastor of Dolcedo who welcomed us last year to Villatalla; Don Maurizio Morella, a canon of the cathedral of Albenga; Don Francesco Ramella, newly ordained priest who celebrated his first Mass in the traditional rite in Dolcedo; our neighbour, Father Giorgio Maria Michero, Premonstratensian hermit of the community of Sant’Antimo founded by Father Andre Forest; a Polish deacon, Don Tommaso, recently incardinated in the diocese; a Franciscan of the Immaculate, Brother Egidio, who has come for a long stay among us. Not to mention so many friends and neighbours who made a point of coming and completing our joy.
A Solemn Mass (with deacon and subdeacon) was celebrated under the watchful eye of Don Marco, very familiar with solemn and pontifical liturgies in the Roman basilicas and other cathedrals in Italy.

A good number of residents of the town joined us in prayer, and after the ceremony they provided the aperitif and refreshments in the piazza of the church. A neighbour then let us use her house for an excellent meal provided and served by several families of the area. The celebration ended with solemn Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.