The holy abbots Robert of Molesme, Alberic and Stephen Harding gave the Benedictine tradition a particular form when in 1098 they built the New Monastery of Citeaux and founded the Cistercian Order.

On July 16, 1849, shortly after the acquisition of 1,000 acres of rolling prairie and woodland southwest of Dubuque, and one cow and calf from one Cornelius Duggan for $14.00, the venerable Dom Bruno Fitzpatrick, Lord Abbot of Mount Melleray, Ireland, pointed with his cane where the location was to be, and three brawny Irish brothers (Ambrose, Joseph and Timothy) slapped down a big chunk of oak. Thus the building project that was to become New Melleray got underway.

Father Kenneth Tietjen has written biographies of a number of the monks from New Melleray.

These pages are taken from Brother Kieran's hand-written manuscript of the history of New Melleray from 1849 to 1887. It is reproduced here exactly—complete with spelling and Brother Kieran's unusual punctuation.

As our church stands, it seems a vivid and continuing symbol of those early monks who came from Ireland to found New Melleray, their ability to adapt and renew their monastic traditions here in the New World, and to respond with faith to the challenges of the future.

Like most families, we have scrapbooks and photo albums that help us record and remember our history. Because we have been in this one place for over 150 years, we have many albums, and we would like to share some of those pictures with you.