Manquehue Community

A group of members of the Manquehue Apostolic Movement (Manquehue community) have been resident at Downside since January 2015.

Manquehue Community at Downside School

The mission of this lay Benedictine group is to form a community close to the Monastery and School, initially for a period of two years. Known as the St Scholastica community, they offer chaplaincy support by leading Lectio Divina groups and assisting the pastoral work of the School. 

What is truly special about the contribution of the Manquehue team is the way in which they communicate Gospel values to young people with a sense of energy, friendliness and joy. We are proud that over a third of pupils regularly take part in voluntary Lectio Divina groups, not all of the pupils are Catholic and they’re from a range of backgrounds and countries.

Many Downside pupils elect to take a Gap year in Chile once they have completed their studies at Downside, where they learn more about the Manquehue Apostolic Movement.

“Having the Manquehue community close to our monastery gives us a wonderful opportunity to learn from each other and to discover fresh ways of communicating the Benedictine life and tradition to young people in today’s world.”

Dom Leo Maidlow Davis

“The Chileans’ make prayer fun by including games”

Downside Junior pupil

“They play the guitar and relax, they even take selfies!”

Downside pupil