Our response to COVID-19

If you are planning to come to Mount Angel in the near future, please check this page for updates to our regular schedule.
If you have reservations for the Saint Benedict Guesthouse and Retreat Center, please email or call 503.845.3025 for updates, questions or concerns.
For general questions not answered on the website, please email or call 503.845.3030.
Please see the list at bottom of this page for current hours of operation or closures for the Abbey facilities. 

(Updated April 28, 2021)

Dear friends,

It isn’t easy to look back and realize that more than 12 months have passed since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state of Oregon. Those cases were followed by the restrictions and closures of facilities to which we have all become familiar.

I won’t say that we’ve become “used to” living with this pandemic as that implies some normalcy to the situation, and I am reluctant to acknowledge that. Even as we mourn the immense loss of life, livelihood, and so much else that has resulted from it, we see hope on the horizon. We are encouraged to see progress in the availability of vaccines, a slowing of the spread of the disease, and a modest lifting of some restrictions in our part of Oregon.

We are happy to say that the Abbey bookstore is open again now, as our museum. Both have limited days and hours, and occupancy limits (noted below). The Abbey church remains open from 9 am (10 on Sundays) until about 8 pm for people to visit for private prayer or join us monks for noon prayer and vespers. The Saint Benedict Guesthouse and Retreat Center has remained open for small groups and individual retreats. In all our public indoor spaces, face coverings and social distancing are still required by Marion County and the Oregon Health Authority.

Mount Angel Seminary is open, and our students have been nothing less than heroic in their generous adherence to the restrictions placed on them as a result of the pandemic. Access to the Abbey’s library is open only to the monks and students to provide a safe place for them to spread out and study.

Please know we monks continue to pray for the sick, the dying, healthcare workers, and all who have been negatively affected by this pandemic. We invite you to join us online for our live-streamed liturgies.

I also continue to produce the short weekly videos I began a year ago, also in Lent, that began as a way to keep in touch and share messages of hope and inspiration. You can find them online and sign up if you wish to receive them each week by email.

Please join us in seeking out the blessings hidden within this genuinely challenging time. It is a global crisis, but one in which we may yet find new depths in our faith and trust in the love of Christ.

Peace to you,
Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B.

Please note: Because keeping our monks, staff and guests safe is our highest priority and essential to our remaining open to all who come, we are following the designated risk level guidelines from the State for Marion County for reopening. Face masks or face coverings must be worn in all our Hilltop facilities. It’s not required to wear a face covering while outdoors, but must be worn if maintaining a safe distance is not possible.

Adjusted hours as of March 2, 2021

• The Bookstore & Coffeehouse is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 am to 3 pm. (Please note: On Saturday, the bookstore is closed from 11:50 am to 1:15 pm.) No beverages or food items are available at this time. Face coverings are required and occupancy is limited.
• The Abbey library is closed to the public.
• The Abbey church is not open for Mass, but the doors are usually open Monday through Saturday from about 9 am until 8 pm for individual prayer and to join the monks for Divine Office. The church is open on Sundays from about 10 am until 8 pm for private prayer. Face coverings are required. Mass and the Divine Office is frequently live-streamed, you can check the schedule here.
• The Guesthouse is open only to registered guests.
• The Abbey museum is open for self-guided tours only, Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 am to 4 pm.

Please check back often for updates or additional changes to our normal hours of operation.