Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek, Benedictine monastery in Hulbert, United States.
The Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek is a Benedictine abbey near Hulbert, Oklahoma, in the Ozark Mountains. Its church is being built in phases: the west façade, nave and transept stand at half their planned height under a roof that lets the structure serve as a church, while Masses are said in the crypt until the church is finished. The tan brick walls shown have tall arched windows with dark frames, brick pilasters with pale stone caps, and a green metal canopy.
In the 1970s students of the University of Kansas, taught by professor John Senior, converted to Catholicism and entered Fontgombault Abbey in France, hoping to found a monastery in the United States. In 1998 Abbot Antoine Forgeot accepted Bishop Edward Slattery's invitation, and thirteen founding monks settled near Hulbert in 1999. The priory became an independent abbey on 11 February 2010 under Abbot Philip Anderson.
The monks chant the Divine Office in Latin using the 1962 Roman Missal, and the choir is known for its Gregorian chant. The abbey's name comes from Clear Creek, the stream near which the founders settled by Hulbert. Lay families have in recent years gathered around the monastery, forming a small community beside it.
The abbey stands near Hulbert in Cherokee County, within the Diocese of Tulsa. Until the church is finished, Masses are said in the crypt, and the monks use the 1962 Roman Missal. The site is built in phases, so parts of the complex remain under construction; visitors should arrange any stay with the monastery administration beforehand.
The founding monks came from Fontgombault Abbey in France, and the community grew from 13 founders to 22 monks in 2003, 33 in 2010 and about 50 in 2016. The monks raise sheep, grow fruit and vegetables, make cheese, sew clothing and build furniture.
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