Monks welcome Archbishop of Canterbury

09 Nov 2016

The monks of Downside Abbey were delighted to welcome the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, to their Somerset monastery earlier today. 

Dom Leo Maidlow Davis welcomed the Archbishop before inviting him to join the Monastic Community in prayer, in the Abbey Church. The Archbishop enjoyed exploring a series of treasures on display from Downside Abbey Library and relics from the Church before taking time to pray at the shrine of St Oliver Plunkett.  He spoke to the monks about the continuing relevance of monastic communities, as well as the importance of making space and time for prayer.