Among the more unconventional monasteries of our Order is Weston Priory in the state of Vermont, located in the part of the USA known as New England. It was founded in 1952 as a dependent house of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem. The visionary founder Abbot Leo von Rudloff OSB, originally a monk of Gerleve (Beuron Congregation), divided his time between the Holy Land and Vermont and eventually settled in America.

Weston Priory developed highly distinctive monastic forms, both in its liturgy, which was strongly influenced by North American folk music, and in its fraternal life, which emphasised daily spiritual exchange and the search for consensus within the community. The community has remained faithful to these traditions to this day, even though the convent has since become older and smaller. The monastery has a very rural character and has no external apostolates. Its lifestyle is predominantly contemplative. Crafts such as pottery and weaving play a major role, alongside gardening, agriculture and the welcoming of guests.

Since its foundation Weston shared the legal status of its motherhouse in the Middle East, which was directly subject to the respective Abbot Primate. When the Dormition Abbey finally entered the Congregation of the Annunciation in 2012, Weston remained under the Abbot Primate. This is actually an anomaly. Benedictine canon law stipulates that all monasteries must belong to a congregation. Within congregations there are efficient mechanisms for supervision and accompaniment. Close contact with other communities strengthens the monasteries and in times of crisis communities within a congregation can support one another.

For all these reasons the Weston community finally requested a trial incorporation into the Swiss-American Congregation. The latter did not take the decision lightly, but after a prolonged period of getting to know each other, the General Chapter of the Swiss-American Congregation finally voted overwhelmingly in favour of this step in June 2026. As a result there are now only five monasteries directly subject to the Abbot Primate.

And what will become of Weston's unique characteristics? The Swiss-American Congregation lives out the reconciled diversity of our communities in a relaxed manner. Contacts so far have alleviated the monks' anxieties about having to abandon their own traditions. Entering the congregation is an act of freedom.