Mepkin Abbey: Moncks Corner, South Carolina
Mepkin Abbey is a community of Roman Catholic monks established in 1949 on the site of the historic Mepkin Plantation located north of Charleston, South Carolina. Founded by monks from Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky, Mepkin Abbey belongs to the worldwide Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, or Trappists. The property was given to Gethsemani by the publisher Henry R. Luce and his wife, Clare Boothe Luce, who had commissioned and built an extensive landscape garden known as the Mepkin Garden.
Today the monks share their contemplative spiritual journey and communal life with all seekers through the hospitality of retreat programs, spiritual direction, lectures, conferences, cultural programs and guided tours that explain the monastic life. The garden, now known as the Mepkin Abbey Botanical Garden, continues to be developed and maintained for the public. The monks have recently begun cultivating oyster mushrooms, which, along with books, religious art, monastic products and handcrafted items, are offered in their Abbey store.
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