The Monastery of Christ in the Desert
Our Benedictine monastic communityΒ near Abiquiu, New Mexico, warmly welcomes you to our Abbey on the banks of the Chama River.
The Monastery Church and Art Gallery,Β will be open to daytime visitors, each Monday through Saturday, from 09:00 am to 5:30pm. The Giftshop will be open to daytime visitors from 09:00 am to 12:30 pm and 2:00pm to 3:30pm.Β
On Sundays, the Conventual Mass is at 9:15 am and the Giftshop will be open from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm.Β
Be our Guest
We welcome both day visitors and overnight guests for self-directed retreats. We celebrate mass daily, and invite you to pray with us.
Support Us
This monastic community is possible only by the generous support of friends like you. While the Monastery is an officially recognized Roman Catholic organization, it does not receive any direct financial support from the Church.
Explore the Monastery
We warmly invite you to explore a photo gallery that shows where we live and how we go about our monastic life.
Monastery News & Homilies
We invite you to subscribe to our newsletters to receive these directly via email.
April 22nd: Some Updates
Our Guesthouse is currently closed for necessary maintenance and upgrades. In addition, our monastery kitchen is going through a major upgrade, after 30 years of continuous use! Dat visitors are welcome, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Sunday through Saturday. Sunday Mass is at...
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 8:5-8, 14-17; First Letter of Peter 3:15-18; Gospel According to Saint John 14:15-21 The readings for this Sunday are taken from the final days of Jesus' earthly sojourn as well as the first steps of the infant Church after the...
Daily Martyrology for May 5, 2026
In 449, at Arles, St. Hilary. When his relative St. Honoratus (January 16) was called from Lérins to be bishop of Arles, he took Hilary with him. At the age of 29, Hilary was chosen to succeed Honoratus. As bishop he continued to live as a monk.In 1038, at Hildesheim, St. Gothard, bishop. He was educated by the canons of Niederaltaich and joined them. When the monastery became Benedictine, Gothard became a monk and then abbot. He championed the renewal of monastic life... read more
Prayer and Chant
Learn more about the Monastic Day or review our Daily Prayer Schedule.
Prayer Requests and Mass Intentions
We are glad to include your requests for prayer in our daily chanting of the psalms. Mass intentions (including the delivery of a Mass card) may be requested for small stipend.
Our Chanting
We have recordings of our chants available on CD and MP3.
Ave Maria
Daily Prayer and Mass Schedule
All are welcome to join us at daily worship. Click here for our daily prayer schedule which begins at 4:00am and ends at 7:30pm.
Current Road Conditions
Tuesday, May 5th, 8:00 am
Our Guesthouse is currently closed for necessary maintenance and upgrades. Our monastery kitchen is also going through a major upgrade after 30 years of continuous use.
Sometime this Summer we will reopen the Guesthouse for private retreats. We're not yet sure of the completion date of the projects being undertaken now.
Day visitors are welcome from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Forest Service Road 151 leading to the Monastery is dry and in good condition.
Please watch for open-range cattle standing on the road especially the many new-born calves who tend to run in front of vehicles.
Always drive carefully on the road, as there is traffic in both directions. Also, there are sometimes hikers and bikers on the road.
Be courteous by letting faster vehicles pass. Simply pull to the side and allow them to go ahead.
Pray for peace.
