St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough

St. Michael's Abbey

St. Michael's Abbey Church
Location within Hampshire
Monastery information
Other names	Farnborough Abbey
Order	Benedictine
Established	1881
Dedicated to	St. Michael
Diocese	Portsmouth
Controlled churches	St. Michael's Abbey Church
People
Founder(s)	Eugénie de Montijo
Abbot	Dom Cuthbert Brogan
Important associated figures	Eugénie de Montijo Napoleon III Napoléon, Prince Imperial
Site
Location	Farnborough, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Coordinates
Grid reference	SU873560
Public access	Yes

Saint Michael's Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. The small community is known for the quality of its liturgy, which is sung in Latin and Gregorian Chant, its pipe organ, and its liturgical publishing and printing. It is also the national shrine of St Joseph.

History

Tomb of Empress Eugénie

The Abbey was founded in 1881 by the Empress Eugénie (1826–1920) as a mausoleum for her late husband Napoleon III (1808–1873), and their son the Prince Imperial (1856–1879), both of whom rest in the Imperial Crypt, along with Eugénie herself, all in granite sarcophagi provided by Queen Victoria.

After the church and monastery were founded, they were initially administered by Premonstratensian Canons. In 1895, the Empress replaced them with French Benedictine monks from St Peter's Abbey, Solesmes. Fernand Cabrol, monk and scholar, became prior and afterwards abbot (1903); Henri Leclercq and a small group of French monks joined the house at the same time, and Leclercq and Cabrol collaborated for many years in scholarly endeavours. The medieval scholar Dom André_Wilmart (1876-1941) was a liturgist at the abbey. The community, once famed for its scholarly writing and musical tradition of Gregorian chants, became depleted in number by 1947, and was augmented by a small group of English monks from Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire. The last French monk, Dom Zerr, died in 1956. In 2006 the community elected the first English Abbot of Farnborough—the Right Reverend Dom Cuthbert Brogan.

Public tours of the Abbey take place every Saturday at 3pm, with the tour comprising a tour of the church and a visit to the crypt.

Abbey Church

The Abbey Church was designed in an eclectic flamboyant gothic style by the renowned French architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur.

The Abbey Church is home to a renowned two-manual organ, installed in 1905, built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll & Company. The instrument's origins are shrouded in mystery. Although installed after the death of Cavaillé-Coll, it bears his name rather than that of his son-in-law Mutin, and the internal works are of a quality which identifies this model with the highest standards of workmanship of the high days of that company. Organ recitals are held on the first Sunday afternoon of the month between May and October at 3pm.

The church also contains the thigh bone of St Alban, the largest relic of the saint in England.

Catholic National Library

The Catholic Central Library was set up by the Catholic Truth Society after the First World War. It was for many years maintained by the Graymoor Friars in Westminster until they were obliged to withdraw. It moved into the care of St Michael's Abbey in 2007 for a probationary period pending a final decision on its future. In 2007 it was renamed the Catholic National Library, and is one of the finest collections of Catholic books in England.

External links

• Official website
• Website about the famous Cavaillé-Coll organ in Farnborough Abbey