Within the Monegasque religious association named “Polish National Catholic Church in Monaco”, duly registered with the Ministry of State of the Principality of Monaco on 14 September 2018, the religious congregation named “Monastic Order of Seborga” (in short: O.M.Seb.) was created by a specific resolution of the Assembly of Members.
The Order, organised in a First Chapter with its seat at Seborga, is divided into three religious congregations:
- Order of the Minors of Saint Benedict
- Order of Mary Magdalene
- Order of the Oblates of Sabourg
The Order of the Minors of Saint Benedict is composed of monks, novices and clerics. The Order of Mary Magdalene is composed of nuns and novices. The Order of the Oblates of Sabourg is composed of lay people and of religious who have taken minor vows. The religious — clerics, monks, nuns, novices and tertiaries — intend to give themselves a particular rule, remembering that they must know and scrupulously observe the commandments given by God, so that, loving the Lord and the Holy Trinity with all their heart, all their mind, all their soul and all their strength, and loving their neighbour as themselves, they may attain the fruit of eternal life. Religious and lay people have therefore come together to observe the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and to live in God our Lord. Since they must always observe this Rule, they will never seek to evade it, for “no one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God”.
The Monastic Order of Seborga has its legal seat in the Principality of Monaco as a religious congregation of the Monegasque religious association named “Polish National Catholic Church in Monaco”, and its historical and liturgical abbatial seat in Italy, at Seborga, Via Maccario 1, in the heart of the former abbatial principality.
The reconstitution of this Order, by the will of the Commendatory Abbot, is today in communion with the Patriarchate of Italy — formerly the Orthodox Church in Italy — and with the Old Catholic Church of Bulgaria, duly recognised religious bodies. This historic initiative aims to restore the ancient Benedictine matrix Order established at Seborga by the early Benedictine Fathers of the island of Lérins, according to the rule instituted by Saint Benedict. The act of restoration seeks to underline the ecumenical values of the Holy Trinity, that is, the fruitful and spiritually constant dialogue between Catholic and Orthodox Christians for the unity of all Christians, as set out in the Gospel of Saint John: “Ut unum sint” (that they may be one).
For more information: → ordinemonastico.org
Why support the Monastic Order?
Supporting our Italo-Monegasque religious organisation helps to foster dialogue among all the Christians of the world, so that they may be united in Christ.
Gathered at Seborga, capital of the Principality of Sabourg, the first monastic state of humankind and a destination for many religious and for the Knights Templar and Hospitaller, inspired by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Saint John of Matha, we wish to rediscover the message of fraternal love taught by Christ Our Lord.
Join us and profess faith in Christ for the service and betterment of humankind and for the preservation of our dear planet.
Why become a monk or a tertiary?
To be a monk in today's world means sharing a unique experience of common life with other brothers, but it does not necessarily require living in chastity and in community.
Most of our monks are tertiaries, that is, religious who live with their families but share a common life with other brothers.
They devote the time available to them to volunteering with other brethren in the service of the Monastic Order and of its spiritual guide, the Prince-Abbot of Seborga, in order to build a place of common life that respects our planet and follows the principle of fraternal love handed down by Our Lord Yoshua the Christ.
If you would like more information, contact us and we will send you the registration form to become a Novice; and should you wish to continue on this path of true fraternal love, you may become a Monk and Brother of the Abbey of Seborga.
Why become a lay volunteer?
To be a lay volunteer of the Monastic Order of Seborga is to place oneself at the disposal of the monks and of the Prince-Abbot of Seborga, to support the work of ecumenical dialogue among all the Christians of the world and to help restore the former Abbatial State of Seborga.
You can put yourself at the service of the community and devote your free time to a specific task, according to your professional and cultural skills.
Spend your life in the service of your neighbour and you will rediscover the fraternal love you have always sought within yourself.
Join us and become a lay volunteer of the Monastic Order of Seborga.
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