Oblates | Downside Abbey

Oblates are men and women who, through association with a specific monastic community, place their lives at the service of God whilst remaining at home in the world, fulfilling their obligations to their families and in their working lives. At the same time, they have a particular vocation to be people where God is present in the world.

Each Benedictine community has a life of its own, devoted first and foremost to the praise of God. It is the function of the secular oblate to carry this message to the wider world outside the monastery. It is a real vocation, within a monastic family, giving witness to the merciful love of God in our day.

There has been an explosion in recent years of men and women seeking to become oblates of Benedictine monasteries throughout the world. Today, there are roughly double the number of Benedictine oblates in the world compared with the number of monks and nuns.