Welcome to St. Anselm's Abbey

Near the north-east boundary of the District of Columbia, twelve minutes by Metro from Union Station and twenty minutes from the Capitol, is a thriving Benedictine monastery. Here, we monks live the life of prayer established by our sixth- century founder St. Benedict and where we continue that life and the aspirations of our founder for the glory of God and the sanctification of our nation and world.

Within an urban oasis of 40 acres of secluded woodland surrounding the monastery, the usual sounds of a busy city are subdued. Here, too, stands our highly regarded middle school and high school, where the values of our patrons, St. Benedict and St. Anselm, are proclaimed among our youth as we prepare them for lives of service to God and their fellow human beings.

Some have referred to the abbey as “Washington’s best kept secret”; perhaps this is because monks are not naturally given to the more ostentatious ways of projecting themselves upon the surrounding world. Monasteries are primarily places of prayer and virtuous activity, and our evangelization is precisely through prayer, spiritual direction, and education. We cordially invite you to share our “secret.” We invite you to “come and see.”