I've offered some other comments of my own experiences this Spring on the VdlP on "Via de la Plata and Camino Frances – same but different?" (10th August 2009). But, since I walked very deliberately for 'spiritual' reasons, here are a few more. (First, I should say that I'm an English Anglican vicar. I'm not a Roman Catholic, or a Spaniard, or a monk. Maybe there are others better qualified to comment than I: please let's hear from you.)
What is going on inside Oseira Abbey these days? Is it really worth a detour? I'd like to offer my own experiences there.
The guidebooks told me that I would need to be prepared to stay at Oseira for three days and that I would need to book (by telephone) in advance. I did. I called from Zamora Cathedral: a kindly cleaner helped me out, got me the number and let me use a 'phone.
On arrival, I found the refugio to be a dark, damp and nearly subterranean barn of a place, accessed from the outside of the Abbey. This is where most pilgrims stay overnight. It's very medieval. But I persevered with the Abbey gatehouse and on a second attempt, managed to get an answer, and get inside!
Oseira is a vast complex occupied by just a handful of mostly elderly monks. They are Cistercians of the Strict Observance (sometimes commonly called Trappist monks) and they follow a particularly strict rule of life and observe a great deal of silence. Cistercians (Brits may know) are renowned for their beautiful buildings: Fountains, Rievaulx, Furness, to name just three. Oseira started off at much the same time as these, but most of the buildings, the church apart, were lost in a fire and rebuilt in mostly Renaissance and Baroque styles. The Abbey is definitely worth a detour simply for its architectural beauty. But there is more!
As the guidebooks point out, the monks have long offered traditional hospitality to pilgrims en route to Santiago. They still wish to do so and they also wish to advertise to the world the value of what they do: following the contemplative life.
But they are in a bit of a bind! As the VdlP has become busier, they feel they can no longer accommodate pilgrims inside the Abbey as they easily and readily once did. They can't cope with the numbers. And the attendant noise is a problem! I felt a real tension, chatting to the hospitallero about this: how to be welcoming and quiet at the same time. (Brother Luis, as the hospitallero, is allowed to talk and has good English: he had a conversion experience in Soho in the 1970's!)
But, they still wish to encourage pilgrims (and others) able to stay at the Abbey (for at least three days) and who wish to use their stay for spiritual purposes. If this is your 'bag', I would recommend you try it out. Aside from a very comfortable en suite bedroom and full board, you are supplied with a chair and desk (plus Bible - in Spanish), freedom to wander at will around the cloisters and the chance to participate in the full daily monastic Office of services - starting at 5.30am (if so desired!). That's no less than six services in the Choir of the Abbey Church. And, for the rest of the time, golden silence.
Yes, as some have commented, this is Spanish Roman Catholic monasticism and a fairly 'extreme' end of the spectrum at that. It is not everyone's cup of tea, granted. For most people, it is way off their normal comfort zone and raises lots of questions about the value of the contemplative life (simplistically: Do these guys actually DO anything?!) That's no bad thing to ponder, probably, in our very noisy hectic world.
For me, in the course of a long solitary walk up from Seville, the three days at Oseira were a real oasis, a pause. If you're used to silence and retreats, you'll know what I mean. If you're not, it might be worth trying it out. I prayed on my own and with the monks in saying their Office, I read and wrote up my journal. I rested. It got me ready to get on the road again.
What is going on inside Oseira Abbey these days? Is it really worth a detour? I'd like to offer my own experiences there.
The guidebooks told me that I would need to be prepared to stay at Oseira for three days and that I would need to book (by telephone) in advance. I did. I called from Zamora Cathedral: a kindly cleaner helped me out, got me the number and let me use a 'phone.
On arrival, I found the refugio to be a dark, damp and nearly subterranean barn of a place, accessed from the outside of the Abbey. This is where most pilgrims stay overnight. It's very medieval. But I persevered with the Abbey gatehouse and on a second attempt, managed to get an answer, and get inside!
Oseira is a vast complex occupied by just a handful of mostly elderly monks. They are Cistercians of the Strict Observance (sometimes commonly called Trappist monks) and they follow a particularly strict rule of life and observe a great deal of silence. Cistercians (Brits may know) are renowned for their beautiful buildings: Fountains, Rievaulx, Furness, to name just three. Oseira started off at much the same time as these, but most of the buildings, the church apart, were lost in a fire and rebuilt in mostly Renaissance and Baroque styles. The Abbey is definitely worth a detour simply for its architectural beauty. But there is more!
As the guidebooks point out, the monks have long offered traditional hospitality to pilgrims en route to Santiago. They still wish to do so and they also wish to advertise to the world the value of what they do: following the contemplative life.
But they are in a bit of a bind! As the VdlP has become busier, they feel they can no longer accommodate pilgrims inside the Abbey as they easily and readily once did. They can't cope with the numbers. And the attendant noise is a problem! I felt a real tension, chatting to the hospitallero about this: how to be welcoming and quiet at the same time. (Brother Luis, as the hospitallero, is allowed to talk and has good English: he had a conversion experience in Soho in the 1970's!)
But, they still wish to encourage pilgrims (and others) able to stay at the Abbey (for at least three days) and who wish to use their stay for spiritual purposes. If this is your 'bag', I would recommend you try it out. Aside from a very comfortable en suite bedroom and full board, you are supplied with a chair and desk (plus Bible - in Spanish), freedom to wander at will around the cloisters and the chance to participate in the full daily monastic Office of services - starting at 5.30am (if so desired!). That's no less than six services in the Choir of the Abbey Church. And, for the rest of the time, golden silence.
Yes, as some have commented, this is Spanish Roman Catholic monasticism and a fairly 'extreme' end of the spectrum at that. It is not everyone's cup of tea, granted. For most people, it is way off their normal comfort zone and raises lots of questions about the value of the contemplative life (simplistically: Do these guys actually DO anything?!) That's no bad thing to ponder, probably, in our very noisy hectic world.
For me, in the course of a long solitary walk up from Seville, the three days at Oseira were a real oasis, a pause. If you're used to silence and retreats, you'll know what I mean. If you're not, it might be worth trying it out. I prayed on my own and with the monks in saying their Office, I read and wrote up my journal. I rested. It got me ready to get on the road again.
.I enjoyed my down time especially when the pilgrims that did make it there left. The lady at the bar escudo was like a mother to me and every afternoon I was assured of a nice meal. I regretfully left there it was a pleasure to meet so many wonderful people. Bro. Luis asked me to to return and maybe some day I will. A wonderful place to stay and rest for a few days.Also they look forward to pilgrims there place is plentiful and if need be they will receive in the monastery.
