Mellifont Abbey and the Malachy Connection
This is a story of longevity - how time does not erode the durability of something noble and praiseworthy. What puts down good roots flowers in due season.
Saint Malachy
Saint Malachy was an energetic cleric who was born in Armagh in 1094. He trained under the monk, Imhar O’Hagan, who was later appointed as Abbot of Armagh in 1119. Perhaps, it was Imhar’s influence on Malachy that led him to promote monasticism. Certainly one of his reasons was the lax morals existing at that time.
Apparently, lay superiors were being appointed to many monasteries. This meant that they were not necessarily spiritual men. This must have troubled Malachy deeply since he was a pious leader and had only the spiritual wellbeing of his people in mind. He also had the reputation of working miracles as well as the gift of prophecy.
A New Form of Monasticism
It was Saint Malachy’s visit to the continent which brought a new form of monasticism to Ireland. He visited Saint Bernard at Clairvaux on his way to Rome. They became steadfast friends while Malachy greatly admired the Cistercian rule followed at Clairvaux.
He left behind five of his companions to enter the novitiate there. When he returned to Clairvaux from Rome about two years later, he took them and a few of the French monks back to Ireland. He intended to found a Cistercian monastery back home.
Saint Malachy founded Mellifont Abbey in County Louth, situated on the banks of the River Mattock. But it was the French monk, Father Robert, who designed the monastic buildings according to the plans of the Abbey of Clairvaux.
New Foundations
It was necessary to found another six monasteries since there were so many postulants. All of them were modeled after Mellifont and within the first ten years of Mellifont Abbey’s foundation. This made Malachy’s zeal for Christian renewal extremely successful:
Barbarous laws disappeared, Roman laws were introduced: everywhere ecclesiastical customs were received and the contrary rejected… In short all things were so changed that the word of the Lord may be applied to his people: Which before was not my people, now is my people.
This was in strict contrast to what Saint Bernard of Clairvaux said of Ireland before its establishment of Cistercianism:
never had he found men so shameful in their morals, so wild in their rites, so impious in their faith, so barbarous in their laws, so stubborn in discipline, so unclean in their life. They were Christians in name, in fact they were pagans.
Mellifont Flourishes
By 1170, Mellifont Abbey boasted a population of one hundred monks and three hundred lay brothers. In fact, Cistercian monasticism proved so popular that there were twenty-five Cistercian abbeys throughout Ireland by the time the English invaded.
Mellifont Abbey’s importance was obvious when it was asked to host an important synod in 1152. It was not only attended by bishops and kings, but also by John Paparo, the papal legate. The church was later consecrated in 1157 and asserted Church authority by banishing the king of Meath.
Mellifont’s Suppression
Mellifont Abbey enjoyed a fruitful existence up until it was suppressed by King Henry VIII in 1539. The monks were forced to leave with their Abbot, Richard Contour. King Henry robbed the abbey of its treasures which had been gifted by previous nobles and kings. Likewise, all the annals were destroyed or misplaced, and with them the names of many noteworthy people.
Some of the monks remained though and lived in the environs of the abbey. It continued to well into the seventeenth century. It was Balfour of Townley Hall in 1727, who allowed the abbey to fall into ruin, a state in which it remains to this day.
Little of the original abbey now remains, except for a thirteenth century lavabo (the monks would wash their hands here before eating). Also Romanesque arches can be seen, a fourteenth century chapter house and an impressive gateway.
There are enough small walls still in existence too which gives an idea of how the abbey must have looked. A visitor’s centre was recently built on the grounds of the abbey which contains some carvings. They were discovered during excavations of the area.
Mellifont Abbey Revived
But Mellifont’s ruination does not end there. The Cistercian Order was to return to Ireland in the nineteenth century as a result of persecution in France — yet another wave of revolution. Mellifont Abbey was re-established in 1938 at Collon, County Louth, at the invitation of Cardinal Mac Rory. It is still there to this day, and the monks happily carry on with their life of prayer and work.
The enduring spirit of the Cistercian Order has survived despite wars and persecutions. This reflects the perseverance of Saint Malachy himself in his episcopal endeavours. Indeed, his feast day is still celebrated on the third of November each year. Durable Mellifont, durable saint!