Our Abbey

here is a history of communal residence on our land.  Archaeologists tell us that remains of a long abandoned Pueblo suggest decedents of neighboring Indian People inhabited our land when St. Norbert was preaching in 1121. When the Spanish Explorer Juan de Oñate came to the area in 1598, the indigenous community that made their home in this sacred place was one of approximately seventy small pueblos in the middle Rio Grande Valley . The descendants live in nearby Pueblos such as Isleta, Santa Ana , Santo Doming, and San Felipe.

For the next 300 years, sheep grazed on the land under the flags of three different countries. The Spanish claimed the territory, and in 1743 turned over a large parcel known as the Pajarito Land Grant for private agricultural use.  When Spain withdrew in 1821, Mexico took control of the land for the next twenty-seven years. After the Mexican-American War in 1848, the United States took possession of the land.

In the late 1940’s, Bernard may, a former World War II pilot, purchased seventy acres forming the boundaries of the current property. He built a family home, airstrip, and small airplane hanger on his land.

May sold the land to the Community of Dominican Sisters from Philadelphia in the 1950’s. They built a dormitory for short-stay retreats in 1960. In the mid-1980’s, the sisters built a small convent, four hermitages, and the Chapel of the Baptist. In the meantime, the Dominican Sisters sold the Retreat House to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe but continued to run it.

Our community purchased the retreat center from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in 1995. In 1998 we began Phase I of the long-range development plan which included building Santa Maria de la Vid Church, renovating the May home to serve as our communal dining facility, converting the former airplane hanger into a temporary library, renovating the former retreat center dormitory into a private residence center for our men and renovation our Bethany Guest House (the former convent) and the Hermitages to make them more suitable for retreat guests.

As we celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Norbertine Order in 2021, we are planning for the needs of the people we serve. We are receiving more requests than ever for the use of our retreat facilities. In order to accommodate these requests, we will require additional conference and retreat space, and more overnight accommodations. Our plan for growth includes adding ten bedrooms (including two handicapped accessible), an open-air patio/gathering space, and a small-group meeting room. Significantly enlarge the size of Our Lady of Guadalupe commons, making it possible for both larger and multiple groups to meet. Construct an addition to the Norbertine’s community room so that guests and friends of the Community can be accommodated. Build four new self-contained hermitages as spaces of solitude and privacy for individual retreatants and other guests..

As Norbertine brothers we will have an everlasting presence on this land.  Already several of our brothers have their earthly resting places here in our communal cemetery. We have dedicated our lives to our ministry in New Mexico and made this place our permanent home now and for many generations to come.

A permanent outlook is reflected in how we approach the land and the structures that we establish. Implicit in each move that we make is our sacred obligation to brothers that we have yet to meet, brothers not yet born.  We are living ancestors of Norbertine priests, brothers, and laity yet to come into their roles in service to future generations.  We are deeply dedicated to that responsibility. Our planning reflects a commitment to centuries of sustainability.