Events 2002

      On Sunday 23rd January 2005, the large meeting room at St.Mary’s Newport was crowded for a most interesting talk by Mrs. Margaret Kelly on “The Cwm” (on the site of which she now lives) and the Catholic history of the surrounding area in penal times. Of it a Catholic historian wrote,

“ Just across the River Monnow on the border of Monmouthshire there was a college of Jesuits at a place known as ‘The Cwm’. The Bishop of Hereford made a search of this area and reported thast he found two houses which appear to have been well furnished with secret passages. In addition, in a secret hiding place was found “a store of divinity books…several horse loads” some of which are still preserved in Hereford Cathedral library. There were also discovered bottles of oil, a box of Mass wafers, a little Sanctus bell. This college was dedicated to St. Francis Xavier and was founded in the reign of Charles l."

And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; ....
Wordsworth

   Elevated thoughts must surely have been to the fore on Wednesday 22 September when the English Catholic History Association and Wales and the Marches Catholic History Society met at Tintern Abbey.

The group, numbering approximately 150, met for refreshments in the village hall in Tintern before embarking on a day walking in the footsteps of the Cistercians. Dan Chidgey, erstwhile chairman, WAMCHS, addressed the assembled members by describing the response as "an enormous success in terms of demand." He then called on Bishop Mullins to introduce our first speaker. Dr. David Williams, a leading authority on the Cistercians.

Before handing over the 'baton' to Dr. Williams, Bishop Mullins welcomed the group, first in Welsh and then in English. He reminded those present of the vital role played in that part of the country, after 1740, in the revival of the catholic faith in Glamorgan and West Wales.

Dr. Williams in a clear voice spoke eloquently on the Cistercians at Tintern and also their expansion throughout Europe and Ireland - amply illustrated with detailed slides. He described the Cistercians as "men who went into difficult places even risking martyrdom". His regard and enthusiasm for the Order was evident, he had spoken to us on the subject, at our annual History Day in June and yet, there was no repetition of his earlier talk - his material on the subject seems to be limitless.

The spread of the Cistercian abbeys in Wales - Tintern being the first in 1131 - was quite extensive. New abbeys were founded once the monks numbered about 50 in a monastery, until eventually there were 14 abbeys in Wales during the middle ages - Tintern was reckoned to be the richest abbey at that time. Several Cistercian houses were opened in Ireland and in the year 1200 land was bequeathed by William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, for the founding of an abbey in Co. Wexford: This was to fulfil a promise he made if he survived the threat of shipwreck on his way to Ireland: That abbey too was called Tintern.

The slides shown by Dr. Williams were clear and instructive and ably supported his comprehensive talk. Concelebrated Holy Mass by Archbishop Peter Smith and several members of the clergy, from both sides of Offa's Dyke, was said in the majestic ruins of the Abbey; the second time only that a public mass had been celebrated there since the dissolution, by Henry VIII, in 1536. It was a moving occasion, and the congregation were in fine voice for the singing: To tourists outside the abbey it must have sounded ethereal.

We were pleased to see Dr. Fred Cowley present - he gave us the first talk on the Order at Margam Abbey in April and set the scene for what has been a series of interesting and illuminating insights into the Cistercians and their abbeys. Our thanks to the clergy, our speakers, our guides and all those whose hard work and dedication contributed to such an excellent visit to Tintern, the last in our series on the Cistercians - our subject for 2004. Also our thanks and compliments to CADW for permission to use the abbey and the excellent state of maintenance for which the organisation is responsible.

Rita Griffin, Sept. 2004

On Friday, 17th September we held our second Annual Dinner at St Peter’s Hall, Cardiff, our principal guest The Most Revd. Peter Smith, gave a very interesting and entertaining after dinner speech and this was replied to, in an equally entertaining and light hearted manner, by Mr Don Touhig, MP, KSS Under Secretary of State at the Welsh Office, who was a accompained by his wife Jennifer.

A contrast indeed, physically we were cloistered within the portals of a 21st century college,but mentally within the hallowed austerity of numerous Cistercian abbeys and convents.

Our chairman, Bill Morris called on Fr. leuan Wyn Jones to begin the day with a prayer. Fr. leuan, humourously informed us that he converted to Catholicism out of curiosity. Ever a fount of knowledge, he reminded us that it was the feast day of St. Boniface, a monk from Exeter, born about 673, given the name Boniface by Pope Gregory II. We were well on our way to a day of immense interest and information

Mr. Mark Leighfield, Principal of St. David's College welcomed us and mentioned that '"we were looking at the past of which we are rightly proud." He was delighted to make the college facilities available to the Society and was "willing to do anything to help us during the day."

Our erstwhile chairman, Dan Chidgey, continued the preambles by introducing our two speakers. Dr. David Williams and Dr. Madeleine Gray - two speakers of great renown with a high regard for the Cistercians. Both speakers accompanied their discourses with slides relating to the various Cistercian foundations throughout Europe and as far to the east as Antioch. In the monastery at the Lebanon there was a hidden chamber so monks could hide from the Muslims: not every location was hospitable.

Dr. Williams concentrated on the monks whilst Dr. Gray dealt with the nuns.

The founding of the Cistercian order at Citeaux in France about 1098 came about because of the disenchantment of some Benedictine monks who felt a more austere and less wordly lifestyle was necessary. The foundation was located close to a well and hence the latin name cistertium, meaning well, and so we have the name Cistercian. It was felt that the monks at Cluny in France had become very prosperous and the founders of the Cistercians sought a simpler lifestyle, dedicating themselves to Christ This dedication was reflected in the minimum number of 13 monks required to start a monastery, representing Christ and the 12 apostles. They chose a white habit with a black scapular - an eye for practicality. Their adherents were quite numerous at the beginning, due to the influence of St. Bernard and because other monasteries joined the Cistercians, some coming from different traditions which somewhat weakened the Order. But numbers declined after St Bernard's death.

Monks were the founding fathers of the Cistercians, but as Dr. Madeleine Gray informed us "women could not be kept out of the Order". Like the monks they aspired to a simple, austere life, toiling in the fields, working with their hands and building convents or nunneries. But within a century of their founding there was opposition to the building of any more Cistercian nunneries

Early 12th century foundations were mixed houses and the nuns looked to the monks for spiritual guidance, but a little unease crept in about the situation some time later.

The Cistercian nuns led a very intense spiritual life "based on the sufferings of Christ". Their Order in Wales was small but dedicated to the highest standards. We heard about the strictures imposed by the monasteries when the nuns were eventually recognised and accepted by the abbots.

Cistercian styles of architecture were simple, unadorned and surrounded by stone walls, not just to keep the monks in, but to keep unwanted members of the public at bay. There was always an ample gateway entry enabling food to be dispensed to the poor. Maundy Thursday was a day especially renowned for charity to the needy - poor people depended on the religious orders for food and by all accounts their needs were fulfilled.

Whitland Abbey, founded in 1140 by monks from Clairvaux, was the most important of the abbeys in Wales. There were about 13 Cistercian Abbeys in Wales and now there is one only at Caldey Island. Uniformity was maintained between the abbeys by the annual visitations of abbots who took it in turns to visit a different abbey each year. Distances presented no deterrent - a journey of 8 weeks duration from Whitland to Burgundy was all in the course and call of duty for an abbot. Little wonder some abbots died on the way.

The Cisterians led a life of transcendent values, eschewing the temptations and attractions of this life. They were self-sufficient for all their needs and shared unstintingly with the mendicants who depended on such charity. They were ably
assisted in their work by lay brothers and sometimes women at harvest time.

All too numerous to mention here are the many aspects of monastic life relayed to us by Dr. Williams and Dr. Gray. Theirs was an exposé profound in its scholarship, delivered in a simple manner and overlaid with a great, regard and respect for the Cistercian Order that has been in existence for more than nine centuries.

The comments of many members present ranged from "absolutely fascinating", "so captivating", "such learning", to "I could listen all day": fitting tributes to our two very fine speakers.

We were not just mentally sated, the refreshments were of the usual "bon viveur" standard for which our grateful thanks to the catering staff at the college.

Our last topic of the day was the Annual General Meeting ably conducted by our chairman. Bill Morris. Bill expressed his gratitude to the members of the committee who gave so unstintingly of their time and talents in the interests of the Society. Mention was made of the events of the past year, in particular the copying of the Rosminian papers now in the Society's archives. Reminders were given of forthcoming events, all of which have been notified to the members.

A truly successful day, the result of much forward planning and attention to detail by those involved in its organisation

In time honoured monastic tradition about 40 weary travellers were revived and refreshed in the Abbot's Kitchen at Margam, on Saturday 17th April 2004 - a fitting start to what later proved to be a day packed with interest and scholarly exposition

Dr. Fred Cowley welcomed our group to the church of St. Mary the Virgin, also known as Margam Abbey and in his talk on the Abbey and its origins made reference to the fact that a church existed on the site for about 1200 years. The founding of the abbey by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, (illegitimate son of Henry I) in 1147 was probably in expiation for the burning of churches by his mercenaries: Robert-was, under threat of excommunication by the Cistercian Pope, Eugenius III - a placatory gesture on Robert's part in founding a Cistercian Abbey. Twelve monks came from Clairvaux to Margam where they were welcomed by their patron, the Earl of Gloucester

In the 12th century the Cistercians were a most prestigous order - reckoned to be "the surest road to heaven." The Bible was their main focus of study. Dr. Cowley, in a clear, lucid manner explained the work ethic of the Cistercians as not "learning for the sake of learning." However, the fact that some aspirants were being attracted to
other Orders with a more intellectual ethos resulted in the Cistercians ultimately setting up a house of learning in Oxford. Their spiritual dedication, adherence tostrict rules, simple lifestyle and astute husbandry of the none too fertile lands in Margam and the acquiring of better lands in the Vale of Glamorgan ensured increasing prosperity from the time of the founding of the Abbey to the middle of the 13th century. In fact, in the 1300's Margam Abbey was the richest Abbey in Wales. Much of the wealth came from the wool produced from a flock of over 5,000 sheep which was sold to merchants from England, Flanders and Italy. The monks worked the lands close to the Abbey and the lay brothers, who out-numbered the monks by 2 to 3, worked on the more remote properties situated around the Abbey's granges and large barns

But calamities, both natural and man-made reversed the Abbey's fortunes so that early in the 15th century it was destroyed and the monks wandered the countryside like vagabonds: the later dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the 16th century was another misfortune visited upon Margam Abbey.

Dr. Cowley charted us through the post-Reformation period, the subsequent conversion of the Abbey to a parish church under the new ownership of the Mansel family and the various restorations of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Emerging from the Abbey into bright sunshine we then visited the Stones Museum, a former school house, where we saw a collection of sculptured and inscribed stones dating from the 6th century through to the very impressive cartwheel crosses of the late 10th and llth centuries. Some of the earlier examples had been inscribed on what had been used as Roman milestones. Mentally and visually regaled it was time to return to the hospitality of the Abbot's Kitchen for a very appetising buffet lunch with a wide choice of savouries and desserts.

John Adams, Field Study Officer at Margam Abbey, was our guide and speaker for
the afternoon. He dealt in detail with the fabric of the church, the beautiful stained
glass windows behind the high altar, the glorious Mansel tombs, the ancillary buildings of the ruined monastery and, of course, the magnificent Orangery, built in
the late 18th century.