In 1981, Belmont Abbey (UK), of the English Benedictine Congregation, established a small monastic community in Piura, Peru, at the request of Monsignor Fernando Vargas. Just five years later, in 1986, Encarnación Monastery opened its doors as a dependent priory of Belmont Abbey in the area of San Lorenzo (Tambogrande-Piura), under the direction of Dom Paul Stonham OSB, the community’s first prior.
Searching for better property for both its agriculture and training centers, the community of Encarnación Monastery accepted the invitation, in 2003, of the then-Bishop of Lurín, Monsignor José Ramón Gurruchaga — a decision later to be confirmed in 2006 by his successor Monsignor Carlos García — to establish an oasis of peace in the beautiful valley of Pachacámac, on the slopes of Tomina Hill. For reference, there are two small monasteries of Benedictine monks in Peru, one in Chuchito-Puno, with a small house in Naña-Lima, and the other in Pachacámac-Lima. Benedictine sisters also are present in Piura, specifically in Sechura and Morropón.
The most recent development involves the Pachacámac monastic community’s recent move to the property of the Monastery of Santa María de la Santísima Trinidad in Lurín (in the surrounding area of Lima), Peru. The Cistercian community that was previously at this property had been established on the site in 1992, as a foundation of the Abbey of Las Huelgas, Spain, of the Cistercian Congregation of San Bernardo. When these Cistercians were called back to Spain, they invited the Benedictine monks of Pachacámac to settle on the property, so as to strengthen their monastic presence even further within the Diocese of Lurín.
