St. Bernard Abbey is a vibrant monastic community of Catholic men who follow the 1500-year Benedictine tradition of worship and work through daily prayer and various labors.

The monks were sent to Alabama in the 1870's to serve the needs of German-Catholic settlers in the state. The Abbey in Cullman was founded on September 29, 1891; it is the home of the monks where they live out the monastic life of leaving everything and following Christ.

The motto of Benedictine monks is ORA ET LABORA (Pray and Work). The monks of Saint Bernard Abbey live this life by celebrating the Mass and Divine Office throughout the day in the Abbey Church, as well as private prayer (lectio divina). They live out the mandate of "work" by a number of labors, including a coeducational college preparatory school, operating a Retreat and Conference Center, welcoming visitors to the Ave Maria Grotto, Monastery Candle Shop, parish ministry, and offering hospitality to monastery guests for a time of prayer and quiet.

Father Thomas Schnur passed away Sunday April 5 2009

Father Thomas Schnurr, remembers what St. Bernard's Abbey was like when he arrived as an 11-year-old boy in 1918.

He remembers Brother Joseph Zoettl, the monk who created the amazing miniature buildings in the grotto that made the monastery world famous. He remembers the horse-drawn wagons in Cullman, how the fire chief's equipment consisted of only a hat.

Monastery Candle Shop

Candles made by the
Monks of St. Bernard Abbey