Male Monasteries

[Luigi]

Here's a [b]very[/b] brief mention of the Cistercians (Common Observance) and Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists), along with a couple of websites for further exploration.

"Many folks may already know that there are actually two orders that are known as Cistercians: the Order of Citeaux (Common Observance) and the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance a.k.a. Trappists. If we took two monks from the two Orders, most will probably not be able to tell the difference just by looking at them. Perhaps it can be described as looking at identical twins - you cannot tell them apart but the twins know exactly who they are.
Recently, the monks of New Clairvaux [Trappists in Vina, CA] were graced by the visit of Dom Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori, the Abbot General of the Order of Citeaux. He was actually making his rounds of visits which included the Cistercian monasteries of Chau Son in Sacramento and St. Joseph monastery in Lucerne Valley south of Barstow. Since New Clairvaux's fraternal ties to the monks of Chau Son Sacramento go way back, it seemed fitting to have their Abbot General come on the 3-hour drive up to Vina, to address the monastic community, break bread and preside over the Eucharistic liturgy, and join us for our noon meal. Dom Mauro-Giuseppe is originally a monk of Hauterive Abbey in Switzerland but was elected last year to serve the office of Abbot General.
The monks of New Clairvaux wish to thank Dom Mauro and our brothers of the Order of Citeaux for the mutual support and friendship. Please, visit our brothers of the Order of Citeaux online at the following:
Chau Son Sacramento, U.S.A. - [url="http://chausonus.com/public/midle.php?GADesign=process&id=107"]http://chausonus.com/public/midle.php?GADesign=process&id=107[/url]
Abbey of Hauterive, Switzerland - [url="http://www.abbaye-hauterive.ch/en/abbey.html"]http://www.abbaye-hauterive.ch/en/abbey.html[/url]"

The website for the New Clairvaux Trappists is: [url="http://www.newclairvaux.org/index.html"]http://www.newclairvaux.org/index.html[/url]. It has a good deal of information, including a blog.