Genesee

Location

Official Name O L of the Genesee Abbey

64

Country USA

City Piffard, N.Y.

Address 3258 River Rd

Postcode 14533

Contact Information

Telephone [1] (585) 243-0660

Guesthouse Email [email protected]

Website www.geneseeabbey.org

Business Website www.monksbread.com

Superior Dom Gerard D'Souza, Abbot 2012-2024

Other Information

Juridical Status Abbey

Diocese Dioecesis Roffensis (Rochester)

OCSO Region USA

Founded/Restored 1951

Origins

Founded by Gethsemani. Raised to status of abbey in October 1953.

History

1951: a small group of monks arrives in March. On 26 May 21 founders take possession of the property.

1953: Blessing of the first abbot on 9 November.

1955: Dom Gerard McGinley, first abbot, arrived  at the General Chapter and fell ill on the first day.  He died in Dijon on 21 September 1955.

Foundations

Novo Mundo (1977); Adoption of Awhum (1978)

Father Immediate

Gethsemani

Daughter Houses

Awhum (delegated to Novo Mundo from 2018 to 2020); Novo Mundo ; Illah ; Spencer (since 2020).

 

 

Lay Associates

Genesee Lay Contemplatives

Past Superiors

Gerard McGINLEY — Superior — ?/05/1951 – 13/10/1953
Gerard McGINLEY — Abbot — 13/10/1953 – 18/09/1955
Walter HELMSTETTER — Abbot — 08/10/1955 – ?/08/1963
Jerome BURKE — Abbot — 25/04/1964 – 19/10/1971
John Eudes BAMBERGER — Abbot — 12/11/1971 – 14/09/2001

John DENBURGER — Abbot — 2001 – 2012

Work and Sources of Income

1) Bakery – “Monks Bread”, fruitcake and chocolates;

2) Farm: corn, soybeans, sunflower seeds, peas and wheat;

3) Bookshop.

Guest Facilities

Main guesthouse with 16 rooms; two houses for groups and family visits as well as for individual retreats (32 rooms).

Transportation

Station : Rochester, New York.

Monasteries

  • Jarabacoa

    Dominican Republic

  • Port du Salut

    France

  • Monte Sion

    Spain