We have just finished our annual Regular Visit. Sr. Elizabeth Mary, who is our Prioress General, accompanied by Sr. Christine, stayed with us for nearly 10 days. At the end of the Visit, we had a little stroll down to the village church, Our Lady and the Angels. There we spent some time to pray and we sang a Song to Our Lady which you can listen from the play bar below.
We wish you a Happy Trinity Sunday and may the Lord continue to bless each one of you!
As we celebrate the Pentecost with the whole Church, marking the end of Easter season, we wish all of you a Happy Pentecost Sunday.
The Easter Candle is decorated with 7 red robin leaves as a symbol of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit
Little clusters of Mayflowers as the symbol of all peoples of the nation
Red maple leaves with its pointy leaves and spreads open like the palm of our hands symbolises our life with its challenges yet expands and brings life if we are ready to be open and receive God’s grace.
All ‘planted’ in the hidden water symbolising the gift of life from the Giver of Life.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth you Spirit o Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
Please remember also our community in Goma, RD Congo and all the population there as they try to tackle the Ebola outbreak.
Through the intercession of St. George, let us continue to pray together for peace in our world and for a deeper understanding and practices of true faith. God bless!
Easter Triduum
We are blessed with the company of around a dozen guests this Easter who took part in our Easter Triduum celebration. We thank them for their generosity and willingness to help and support us in many different ways which made all the celebration in the Liturgy and beyond rich and meaningful.
This years Lucenarium was done indoor as a storm was passing. Despite the quick change of plan, the Liturgy went beautifully. Here are some pictures of the mini fire we had and several others around the celebration.
New Look of the Entrance Area
We have also done some work at the entrance area and the stone corridor. we have replaced the old carpet with a new one. The area is now much brighter and lighter.
Fr. Gerry’s Ruby Jubilee
Not forgetting our Chaplain, Fr. Gerry. We rejoiced with him as at the beginning of March, Fr. Gerry celebrated his 40th Anniversary of Priesthood. Fr. Gerry was accompanied by several friends and us, community. Please continue to pray for him as he also keeps you in his prayers
We wish all of you a Happy and Blessed Easter.
May the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, through his resurrection bring us a new life and a new hope.
Alleluia!
From 18th -24th January 2026, together with the whole Church from different denominations, we prayed for Christian Unity. Marking this important week, on the 19th January we had the privilege of welcoming several of our brothers and sisters from Mucknell Abbey. They are an Anglican Benedictine community of monks and nuns based in Worcestershire. We had afternoon tea together where we exchanged news from both communities and then we celebrated Vespers.
Our reflection this year was provided by the Churches Together in England, focusing on peace and unity based on Ephesians 4: 1-13.
Update from the weekend. Do be extremely careful when walking to the monastery and leave your vehicles up by the allotments. There is still ice covering the lane.
We were delighted to share our Christmas with a dozen of guests, some of whom came to and stayed at our guest house for the first time. As our Lord Jesus Christ always brings his grace at Christmas, many of our guests were touched by the liturgy and hospitality which the sisters shown them and from our part, we were touched by well the guests supported each other, creating a very warm and joyful atmosphere in the house.
During this several week we were also treated with the amazing performance of the nature which surrounds us, for which we are always grateful to The Creator.
Unfortunately, as you have seen in our previous news, there was a broken underground pipe which causes a significant amount of water running down the road passing our monastery. The low temperature has made a carpet of black ice, making it very dangerous to walk on.
However, the community are enjoying our closed time with adapted timetable, giving chance for the sisters to have some rest and absorb more of the grace of this Christmastide. Yet, we will not forget to share that grace with all of you and we thank each one of you who have supported us during this busy days which comes in many forms, especially through prayers.
God bless!
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We wanted to warn our Sunday Mass congregation that a leaking pipe at the top of the hill, combined with the freezing temperatures, has turned the lane down to our car parks into a sheet of ice today, Saturday 3rd. If you would still like to come to Mass with us this Sunday, please leave cars at the top of the hill, walk through the top wooden gate, and down the grassy bank within our grounds. We will try to grit paths around the monastery but you will need to be extremely careful.
Advent has begun and it is time to wish each of you a very happy Christmas, as we reflect on the past year. We are grateful to God for the celebrations, visitors, guests and generous help he has sent us in 2025: in the garden, with maintenance, driving, cleaning and so much more. We think in particular of the priests who celebrated Mass for us when we were “between chaplains”.
Fr. Ted Wildsmith departed on Easter Wednesday to return to his community in London (Missionaries of Africa), having served us faithfully for three years to the utmost of his strength. He made many friends in the area and will be sorely missed. We wish him well in the next phase of his missionary work.
Fr. Cosmas Onukwugha, a Nigerian priest, who is chaplain to the community of the Marian Missionaries of the Poor at Nympsfield, on the other side of Stroud, celebrated Mass for us on most Sundays over the summer. We are grateful to the community, Fr. Cosmas, and to the members of our Sunday congregation, who drove him to and fro. Fr. Laurence Pelosi from Wales was the first in a series of priests, who came to stay and celebrate the sacraments for us. These included several good friends from our diocese of Clifton, and Fr. Bruce Barnes, who is back at Brownshill providing cover for ten days in December.
We appreciated the variety and generosity of these priests, but it was with great joy that we welcomed Fr. Gerry Magee on 1st September as our new chaplain. Fr. Gerry comes from Galloway Diocese, where he was parish priest in Kilwinning for 22 years. He is settling in well and enhancing our life spiritually and practically - sanding down and varnishing all our garden benches, for instance!
2025 began with Sr. Elizabeth Mary, our Prioress General, at Brownshill. She was on her way to Burkina Faso. Sr. Hilda had the privilege of accompanying her to meet our community and experience Bernardine life in the heat and dust of West Africa. The photographs tell of a beautiful place and a very warm welcome.
It was a troubling time for the community in Burkina Faso, because the M23 rebel group was advancing on the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where most of them come from. After intense fighting, the city was occupied, which made it impossible for our sisters in Goma to obtain visas. This meant that the extraordinary General Chapter our Order had planned for summer 2025 had to be cancelled. This General Chapter was to have been an opportunity to meet in-person after the last General Chapter of 2022 had to be conducted on-line. On a more positive note, Sr. Elizabeth Mary was able to visit our sisters in Goma in October, despite the occupation.
We have enjoyed the visits of several sisters from our community in Lancashire, the Monastery of Our Lady of Hyning, and from France. These included Congolese sisters from Hyning in January, Vietnamese sisters from Lille in August, and the French superior of our Vietnamese community (Sr. Christine) in June! Sr. Maria was pleased to make a spring-time retreat at Hyning and Sr. Mary Stella, of Hyning, made her retreat at Brownshill in the summer, while Sr. Mary Philippa joined the community in Lille for the solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, the Order’s patronal feast. The Order is very interconnected!
In January Sr. Mary Helen, prioress at Hyning, stayed at Brownshill for some days before she and Sr. Maria went to Roscrea in Ireland for a course on the spiritual accompaniment of those in initial formation. In May they spent a week in Northern Ireland for the regular meetings of Cistercian Superiors at Portglenone.
In April we had our Regular Visitation. Sr. Elizabeth Mary was accompanied by Sr. Pascha, a Japanese sister, who has been part of our Bernardine community in Lille for decades. Sr. Pascha is a skilled seamstress and she taught Sr. Reina more about how to make our monastic habits. It was not all work though, and to mark big birthdays (one 50 and one 80 in 2024 with Sr. Michelle Marie’s 80th to come in the summer), we had a community day out at Westonbirt National Arboretum. The guide encouraged us to touch things, and to take home as souvenirs anything lying on the ground. Spongy bark, plane trees with buttressed branches, rhododendrons and camelias in bloom were all enjoyed in-situ, while huge pine cones and strips of deep pink bark served as souvenirs. It was warm enough to have our picnics outside, but we were glad to get home for tea before a late Vespers.
Our community retreat was at Hyning this year, given by Abbot Robert Igo of Ampleforth Abbey, who gave very engaging and spiritually refreshing conferences. Sr. Reina stayed on for a week to conduct the regular PAT testing of electrical appliances, while Sr. Marie Cecile, a Congolese Sister, who was a member of the community at Hyning, came to Brownshill for three weeks.
The next significant event was Sr. Michelle Marie’s 80th birthday at the end of June. A friend from her school days, Barbara, was here on the actual birthday. Cousin Nicola and her family came for lunch and cake on the Saturday, and on Sunday nephew Terry, his sister Therèse with her husband Brian and their family all came to celebrate with Sr. Michelle Marie, a gathering of four generations. It was a lovely series of parties, much appreciated by Sr. Michelle Marie and everyone. We were particularly pleased to have Sr. Elizabeth Mary and Sr. Christine to celebrate with us.
Sr. Catherine celebrated her diamond jubilee of profession in September and October with family and friends. Fr. Garry Brassington, who knows the family well, celebrated the first jubilee Mass with the community and Sr. Catherine’s extended family. The cousins made the most of the weekend to catch up on family news.
Ten days later Fr. Kevin McGinnell celebrated another joyful jubilee Mass, and we were joined by faithful friends from Sr. Catherine’s time in Slough: former class-mates, colleagues and pupils. They too did not seem to want to go home at the end of the day!
Our oblates gathered for the third jubilee celebration in October, with Mass celebrated by our very own Fr. Gerry. On the same day Alvaro Giraldo-Gomez made his first promise as an oblate. He has been visiting for many years for “Ora et Labora”, and we were blessed to witness his joy at making this commitment. In January the Reverend Mike Print, an Anglican priest, made his first promise, accompanied by his wife and daughter. The oblate group is growing.
We are happy to maintain links with our former schools, notably as prayer partners for St. Bernard’s Preparatory School in Slough. On 10th February Sr. Maria and Sr. Catherine joined students and staff at St. Bernard’s Grammar School in Slough for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Chapel. Sr. Maria led the staff in prayer to begin the day, and Sr. Catherine met and spoke with current students before a Mass of thanksgiving, celebrated by Bishop David Oakley, Bishop of Northampton.
Back at the monastery, also in February, the main boiler that supplies heat and hot water to community areas, including the chapel, had to be replaced. We moved into the conference room for Mass and the Divine Office, as we had done in 2016 when the chapel was renovated. In October we moved to the conference room again for five days while the chapel was re-decorated. Nine years of soot had taken its toll on the walls and lower ceilings, but now it is bright and beautiful again.
The chapel, celebrations of Mass and the Divine Office, and our peaceful surroundings are appreciated by many people of all denominations and none. In addition to our regular Lent and Advent retreats, we offered a “Prayer Live-In”, and two “Seeking God” weekends led by the Sisters. There were themed retreats, thanks to Fr. Martin McLaughlin, who spoke about “The Beautiful Mother of God” in February; Sarah Lobo, who led a Laudato Si-inspired “Living Simply” weekend in Lent; and Amina Wright, whose pre-Advent “Prepare the Way of the Lord” retreat explored art works associated with the season. We ran two Family Days at the request of local Catholic parents, and gave input to various parish groups. We were happy to welcome those in formation for the permanent diaconate in our Diocese of Clifton and the new seminarians from St. Mary’s College, Oscott, as well as a large confirmation group, the Teams of Our Lady, and students from Prior Park School. It was also a joy to receive guests from the Anglican Diocese of Gloucester, including the curates for their annual Spirituality Day, readers for a day retreat, individual clergy for Quiet Days, and parish groups. We are always happy to welcome a group of Buddhists for their retreat in the summer and this year they returned in November for a long weekend.
Among our ecumenical activities was an invitation to speak at Evensong at Wadham College in Oxford, which Sr. Hilda did on the first Sunday of Lent. Wadham’s Chaplain, Reverend Jane Baun, has been making mini-retreats at Brownshill for several years now.
The annual Day for the Religious of Clifton Diocese on 14th October was led by Fr. Nick Crowe O.P., who arrived a day early and shared news and views with the community over supper. The assembled religious were delighted that Bishop Bosco joined us, and we made the most of the chance for discussion and fellowship. We offer our thanks to Fr. Nick, Fr. Thomas Kulandaisamy, Vicar for Religious, and Sr. Maria, who is his assistant. Already on 2nd February four of us had met with other religious and Bishop Bosco at the convent of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit in Bristol, to celebrate the Jubilee Year. In August Sr. Mary Philippa attended a stimulating Diocesan Day for the Jubilee Year at Downside College.
On the jubilee theme, Sr. Reina’s parents introduced us to Luce and his friends, the mascot of the Church’s Jubilee Year, when they sent us gifts all the way from Jakarta. Thank you very much! We are always pleased to have news of our families and friends, and to welcome those who are able to visit. Sadly, Sr. Michelle Marie’s cousin Rachael died at the beginning of February after a long illness. Her widower, Richard, came to visit Sr. Michelle Marie in April, which was a consolation to them both. Sr. Maria’s sister, Elizabeth and brother-in-law, Thomas, with two of their sons spent several happy days at Brownshill in May. Sr. Maria was able to go to visit her parents and we were blessed by visits from her father and brother. Sr. Hilda was able to visit her father, and he was at Brownshill at the time of the 80th birthday celebrations. Her brother and nieces made day visits to collect ‘Grandpa’ from Brownshill for a holiday with them.
Summer holidays are a distant memory in these dark, wintry days, but the Light is coming. Among our Advent retreatants were many new faces, and the combination of new and old is apt for this time of year, the utter newness of our God, born a baby in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. May the hopeful expectation of Advent lead us to welcome Christ at Christmas, singing with the angels “Gloria in Excelsis Deo”!
With our prayers and good wishes for you all!
Wednesday 24th December-Christmas Eve
10.30 p.m. Mass during the night (with the Proclamation of Christmas) followed by hot drink in guest entrance
CHRISTMAS DAY
9.50 a.m. Terce
10.00 a.m. Mass
BOXING DAY – Friday 26th-St Stephen
9.20 a.m. Terce
9.30 a.m. Mass
Sat 27th December – St John the Evangelist
9.20 a.m. Terce
9.30 a.m. MASS
Sunday 28th- Holy Family
9.20 a.m. Terce
9.30 a.m. MASS
Monday 29th- St Thomas Becket
8.50 a.m. Terce
9.00 a.m. MASS
Tuesday 30th/Wednesday 31st
8.50 a.m. Terce
9.00 a.m. MASS
New Years Eve-Wed 31st
2.00 – 3.00 p.m. Adoration
3.00 – 4.00 p.m. Holy Hour
Thursday 1st JANUARY – Mary Mother of God
9.50 a.m. Terce
10.00 a.m. Mass
We are in the third week of Advent already! Half way through to Christmas. We hope that you are all keeping well and that we are praying for those who are not very well at present. This Sunday morning, the Lord treated us with a magnificent pink sky, golden sunrise and wavy rainbow. Enjoy the picture below as we continue to pray for the coming of the Lord! Maranatha!
Here we are at the beginning of November. As we witness the beautiful colours of nature with its changes, we also give thanks to God for the wonders he worked for us.
On the 1st of October, we rejoiced with our community at Hyning, as Sr. Audrey renews her profession. S. Marie Madelaine at Goma became our newest solemnly professed sister on the 25th of October, and here on the 26th of October we had the joy of witnessing Alvaro who made his first commitment as an Oblate.
To help us pray better, we have also repainted our chapel that now it looks brighter.
May all the little and big changes in our lives continue to bring blessings to us and to many.
God bless you all.
We had the joy of hosting this year’s Diocesan Day for Religious and Consecrate Life. On Tuesday, 14th October 2025, we gathered and shared our reflection on “How do we best serve the Diocese as religious and consecrated people?”. Enriched with the input given by Fr. Nicholas Crowe, OP, we reflected on the theological reason why God created us, what he has done for humanity, how important it is to recognise one’s individual uniqueness as his creation and our uniqueness as a religious / consecrated group (i.e Order, Congregation, Society, etc) which we can offer to the Diocese and beyond.
We were encouraged also by the presence of Bishop Bosco who kindly made time to be among us.
The day was concluded with Mass. The day was appreciated by all especially for the well-organisation of Fr. Thomas Kulandaisamy MSFS and Sr. Maria Whisstock also for the hospitality of the Bernardine Sisters here at Brownshill.
Please continue to pray for us as we pray for you and together let us serve the Clifton Diocese in the spirit of synodality as pilgrims of hope.
September 12, 1965 Sr. Catherine made her profession as a Bernardine Cistercian and offered herself to the Lord.
Some of her family members and friends came to join us in the Thanksgiving Mass on Saturday, 13th September 2025 where Sr. Catherine renewed her Monastic Profession. Mass was celebrated by Fr. Gary Brassington, our former parish priest who knows Sr. Catherine and her family quite well, concelebrated by our Chaplin, Fr. Gerry Magee.
We thank God for the Lord’s faithful love to Sr. Catherine and for Sr. Catherine’s faithful love to God.
Please continue to pray for Sr. Catherine, her community, her family and friends.
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Photos: Maria Grazia
We are delighted to announce that Fr Gerry Magee will be our new chaplain from the beginning of September. He’s from the diocese of Galloway in Scotland.
We thank you for all your prayers and support especially the priests who have been celebrating Mass for us since our former chaplain, Fr Ted Wildsmith, retired after Easter.
Here is a little word from him:
“ I am Father Gerard Magee, a priest of The Diocese of Galloway, Scotland. I was for 14 years, a Benedictine Monk, professed at Ramsgate in Kent. I am grateful to God for my time as a monk. I had an invaluable formation which has benefited me throughout my life. In life, God leads us in many directions, and every journey we take is meant for us.
Now I begin a new journey here at Brownshill. I consider myself to be blessed in having time to pray, read and be silent in this very hallowed place.”
Fr. Gerard Magee
Please continue to pray for Fr Gerry and for the community.
Sr. Michelle Marie turned 80 today! We rejoice with her as we celebrate the 80th year of God’s gift of life to her and the 80th year of her life-sharing with others.
She enjoyed her day, surrounded by lots of love and prayers and she thanked each one of you who have sent her prayers, kind thoughts, best wishes in every kind and form.
May the Lord, Source of Goodness, bless you and return all your kindness.
Though we’ve been having hot weather, it doesn’t stop our garden to present its marvels! Here are some pictures which you can enjoy.
God bless.
Alleluia!
Wishing all of you a happy and blessed Easter 2025. May The Risen Christ bless us and guide us as we continue our journey with the whole Church as pilgrims of hope and may The Light of Christ shining within us bring hope, peace, love, joy and integrity to our world.
We were delighted to share our Easter celebration this year with our guests. They joined us in our Masses and Triduum offices. We are grateful for their prayerful and joyful presence as they happily render their services whenever we needed an extra hand.
As you may already know, this beginning of Eastertide is also marked by Pope Francis’ death. May he rest in peace and rise in God’s glory.
We also had a farewell coffee morning with Fr. Ted after Easter Tuesday Mass as he completed his service as our chaplain. We thank you for all that he has done for us.
If you follow our Lauds recordings you may hear the birds happily chirping on the background.
Our guests house is now closed as the community will go into our annual retreat. Please pray for us as we continue to pray for you.
God bless.
photos courtesy of R. Maddocks and S. Gardner
8.00 Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
9.30 Holy Hour with watching until midnight
11.00 Stations of the Cross
3.00 Solemn Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion
8.00 p.m. Easter Vigil
(Please do not park around the back of the monastery – Easter fire!)
9.50 Terce
10.00 Mass
8.50 Terce
9.00 Mass (followed by coffee and cake on Tuesday-farewell to Fr. Ted)
There will be no weekday Masses until further notice
9.20 Terce
9.30 Mass
Please pray especially for our community in Goma. May peace find a home once again in the area.
“The radical gift of oneself to God, loved and served for Himself alone, listening to His Word, and a humble attentiveness to His presence in all human beings and in events, are the characteristics of this life; its sole aim is the search for God, lived out in Community.”
