Daylesford Abbey

St. Norbert of Xanten founded the Norbertines [1] Christmas Day, 1121 in Prémontré, France.[2] The son of a wealthy landholder, Norbert was given to life as a Canon (a minor cleric, as Norbert wasn't yet a priest) of the Collegiate Church in Xanten, Germany, where he is said to have been unfocused and driven by things other than religious life.

Canons of the church were required to spend time in choir each day, singing several hours according to the various liturgies prescribed by the Catholic Church. Rather than spending his hours in Church, Norbert would go on adventures and hunts, until his conversion experience in 1112, when he become totally committed to the Christian Faith.

The conversion of Norbert, bronze, St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin

Norbert became a priest in 1115 and devoted his life to the reform of the clergy under a rule of life established by St. Augustine of Hippo (who is counted alongside Norbert as a Father of the Premonstratensian Order) which Norbert founded to support his ideal for reform of the Church. In Norbert's lifetime, his order spread from Ireland to the Holy Land.

In 1125, Norbert went to Antwerp, preaching in opposition to Tanchelm, whose teachings the Catholic Church opposed. The success of Norbert's mission in Antwerp and across the Low Countries, led to the foundation of Norbertine Abbeys in the Netherlands and Belgium. Among these religious communities was Berne Abbey, located in North Brabant, the Netherlands. Berne was established in 1134, the same year as Norbert's death.

Dutch-born Bernard Pennings, founder of the Premonstratensians in the United States

Centuries later, Norbertine Priests led by Bernard Pennings, came from Berne and established an Abbey in Wisconsin. Pennings established a network of Norbertine schools and Parishes, establishing St. Norbert College as a seminary, then a college of business. In 1898, St. Joseph Parish, in West De Pere, Wisconsin became affiliated with the Norbetines and served as the Abbey Church for decades.[3]

In the 1950s, a growing American Norbetine community, having outgrown both the Abbey in De Pere and the various priories it had, sought to create new a new Foundation (which would become Daylesford Abbey) and to expand the Norbertine Presence from Wisconsin to the East Coast of the United States, in Delaware and Philadelphia.

The Norbertine Order is known for the solemnity of its liturgies, reflecting Norbert's devotion to the Eucharist. Members of the community wear the Order's traditional white habit in Church. The Community chants the daily office from its own liturgical books in English each day, with Marian hymns chanted in Latin.

The Veneration of the Cross at the Easter Vigil

The Abbey's Design

Abbey church

The Abbey Church was completed in the years during Second Vatican Council. It reflects the Liturgical Movement and the reforms of the council, as interpreted with the norms of Catholic tradition in mind. The Abbey Church is built in the basilica style, with a well appointed nave and a wide choir.

The design is based on the footprint of centuries-old European Norbertine and Cistercian monasteries, the materials utilized in constructing it were selected for their permanence.

The design reflects the Cistercian ideals of Norbert of Xanten's friend, St. Bernard of Clairvaux. In the lifetime of Bernard and Norbert, the Cistercians represented a similar movement for ecclesiastical reform as Norbert's Premonstratensians.

Rose Window

Main Church Organ

The abby's major Church organ was built by the Tellers Organ Company, a manufacturer of pipe organs in from 1906 to 1973. The organ was one of Teller's final projects, of the 1970s. The instrument is of fine quality, but was never completed and the builder's design scheme was not realized.

Chapel Organ

The second organ is in side Chapel, where the Norbertines often say Mass. It was constructed by Patrick J. Murphy & Associates, an organ builder located in Stowe, Pennsylvania.

Side chapel organ case

Daylesford Abbey is currently headed by Abbot Domenic Rossi, O.Praem . Abbot Domenic is Daylesford's 5th Abbot.

Abbot Rossi

Like many members of the community, Abbot Domenic hails from South Philadelphia. He was educated by the Norbertines at Bishop Neumann High School (now Saints John Neumann and Maria Goretti High School .) Abbot Domenic joined the community in 1966 and was ordained in 1974. He was elected to the position of Abbot in January 2018.

The Norbertines at Daylesford Abbey are active in many ministries throughout the Philadelphia region and the Delaware Valley. Norbertines serve at St. Norbert Parish , in Paoli, PA, and formerly at St. Gabriel Parish in the Grays Ferry section of South Philadelphia.

Abbot Domenic Rossi, O. Praem., founded Bethesda Project , a ministry to the homeless of Philadelphia. The Norbertine community at Daylesford Abbey continues to be actively engaged in this ministry today. Norbertines from Daylesford Abbey work in education as well, serving at Archmere Academy.

The Spirituality Center at Daylesford Abbey offers programs such as private and group retreats, and seminars.

• Daylesford Abbey.[1]
• Paoli.[2]
• Roman Catholic.[3]
• Canons Regular of Premontre.[4]
• Divine Office.[5]
• Rule of St. Augustine.[6]
• The Norbertines.[7]
• Saint Norbert.[8]
• Abbey of Berne.[9]
• Norbertine Abbey.[10]
• Archmere Academy.[11]
• Saint John Neumann High SChool.[12]
• Abbot Domenic Rossi, O.Praem[13]
• Ss. John Neumann and Maria Goretti High School.[14]
• St. Norbert Paraish.[15]
• St. Gabriel Parish.[16]
• Bethesda Project.[17]
• Spirituality Center.[18]

• "Norbertine Fathers Buy Farm Near Philadelphia". New York Times. 22 July 1962. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
• Beagle, J. Robert (1989). A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses. Morehouse. p. 107. ISBN 978-0819214454.

• Official website