Our second day in the Charleston area
found us touring Mepkin Abbey.
Mepkin Abbey, located on the banks of
the Cooper River north of Charleston, South Carolina is, today, a
community of Roman Catholic Trappist Monks established in 1949.
The property was at one time, Mepkin
Plantation, owned by Henry Laurens (1723-1792), a merchant, slave
trader and rice planter on the property. Laurens was a delegate to
the Second Continental Congress and succeeded John Hancock to be the
second President of the Congress. During the Revolutionary War,
Laurens was sent to the Netherlands as a diplomat but was captured at
sea by the British, convicted of high treason, and spent 15 months in
the Tower of London (not a nice place). Eventually he was swapped
for Lord Cornwallis. When Henry Laurens died, his was the first
cremation to take place in South Carolina and his ashes are interred
on the Abbey grounds.
After Laurens' death the property
passed through many hands until in 1911 it was purchased by the
Rutgers family of New Jersey and then in 1936 it was sold to Henry
and Clare Boothe Luce. Henry was the founder and publisher of Time,
Life and Fortune Magazines. Clare Boothe was an author,
Congresswoman from Connecticut, and Ambassador to Italy.
The property had fallen in to decay and
the Luce's revitalized the plantation through architectural and
botanic improvements. By the time they gave the land to the Roman
Catholic Church for a monastic foundation in 1949, the Luce's had
established a legacy for the monks to build on.
While at Mepkin, we strolled through
some wonderful gardens, all installed by Clare Boothe Luce.
Unfortunately, we missed the spring bloom season and all the color of
the azaleas and were too early for the summer bloomers. However, the
gardens were still lovely and peaceful.
We took a tour led by Al, a volunteer
docent who was very knowledgeable about the property. As part of the
tour we attended the monk's midday prayer. No pictures allowed.
Taken from Mepkin Abbey Garden Guide
Book:
“The founding monks of Mepkin Abbey
came from the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. They belong to the
order of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance which traces it
roots back to the motherhouse of Citeaux in Burgundy, France. The
Trappist-Cistercian way of life is defined by a strict asceticism, a
joyful spirituality embracing the deepest roots of the human person
where thoughts and motives of the heart have their source, and
through communal daily schedule which pursues continual prayer and
mindfulness of God. At Mepkin, the brethren are engaged in mushroom
cultivation, garden tending, nursery propagation, and timber
farming.”
If you are ever in the Charleston area,
it is well worth going out of your way to visit this quite, peaceful,
thoughful place. Be sure that you are there by 11:30 for the tour.
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