Benedictine Volunteer Corps
The Benedictine Volunteer Corps at Belmont Abbey is a six – eight month program that seeks to assist monastic communities throughout the world and provide Belmont Abbey graduates opportunities to experience monastic life and ministry in a variety of cultural contexts. The volunteer must be a recent graduate of Belmont Abbey College, no older than 26 years of age, and a Roman Catholic.
The host monastery will provide an on-site contact person/director, meaningful work, and food and lodging for the volunteer. The host monastery will also provide access to transportation for the volunteer as needed (could be public transportation).The volunteer will spend at least one week in a monastic experience program at Belmont Abbey. During this time the volunteer will follow the monastic horarium, study The Rule of St. Benedict and other appropriate monastic texts, and will become acquainted with the culture of their host community. During the time of service the volunteer is expected to participate in the daily liturgy of the hours of the host monastery, eat in the monastic refectory of the host monastery at least once a day, and volunteer in the ministry of the monastery between 30-40 hours a week. Belmont Abbey will provide the volunteer with an appropriate monthly stipend, one round trip ticket, and money towards health coverage for the time of service.
Contact: Fr. Christopher Kirchgessner christopherosb@bac.edu.
Fr. Chris, in addition to his responsibilities as Prior of the Belmont Abbey Monastery, is also directing the Benedictine Volunteers Corps (BVC), sponsored by the monastery. This program has sent recent alumni of the college to serve with Benedictine communities in Kenya for the past two years.
Follow the work and adventures of the Benedictine Volunteer Corps on Facebook.
Read more about the Benedictine Volunteer Corps in The Crusader student Newspaper