Eighty-seven-year-old Nicholas remembers those times well, having arrived 60 years ago from Holland to study at Kopua.
“We made a living for ourselves. And we had two big paddocks of potatoes, I have arthritis in my back from picking those potatoes,” he laughs.
The six monks at Kopua pray seven times a day, starting at 4am and ending about 8pm.
What differentiates a Trappist monastery is its observance of the Rule of St Benedict, seeking a life of deep contemplation while living on-site at a monastery, practising significant periods of silence, and often undertaking manual labour.
At its peak Kopua Monastery had 27 monks, but today there are just six. Photo / Alexa Cook
“Monasteries are usually places quite isolated from cities, that’s why people come here – they want the peace, the quiet, the silence,” he said.
Although some monks keep the “Great Silence” from after Night Prayer until Community Mass the next day, Nicholas said the practice has become more relaxed over the years.
“It is not so strict anymore. Silence is something you have to get into. I come from a family of 12 kids and we talked all the time – when I came here, I found it very, very hard.
“The whole purpose of silence is to listen to God. He speaks to us all the time but unless you are silent, you might not pick it up.”
Nicholas’s face lights up as he talks about his love for Kopua Monastery and explains how the monastic institute is all about the holy order to contemplation, which is a deep sustained attention to the divine.
“I always knew I wanted to be a priest from the age of 7, I just knew it. It was a feeling inside.”
Father Nicholas knew from the age of 7 he wanted to be a priest. Photo / Alexa Cook
But it wasn’t until many years later that Nicholas travelled to New Zealand to visit and work with his brother, then began studying with the monks at Kopua Monastery in his 20s.
“It takes about six or seven years of preparation to make sure you are called to this. It’s a wonderful life, but it’s not an easy life.”
At its peak, Kopua Monastery had 27 monks, but today there are just six. The decline in numbers is something Nicholas said is being seen around the world.
“Many are struggling to get callings, today especially. Our world is not very open to this kind of life at the moment.
“It usually goes up and down, and at moment we are in a period of going down.”
Kopua Monastery’s graveyard, where many of the priests and monks are buried. Photo / Alexa Cook
There are around 160 Cistercian monasteries worldwide, split between the Common Observance and the stricter Trappist branch, but Nicholas said those numbers are declining.
“A lot of monasteries are closing because they don’t get vocations and are full of old people who are going into rest homes … that’s the way it is.”
And while the 87-year-old plans to spend the rest of his days at the peaceful Kopua Monastery, as the only priest, he has begun planning regarding who will eventually take over his role.
“We hope that somebody can begin studies … I’m not going to live forever and someone is going to replace me.”
Brother Aelred picking strawberries from his impressive garden beds. Photo / Alexa Cook
Aelred S Antonio is a newer addition to the monastery. Originally from the Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of the Philippines Guimaras Island, he arrived in 2018.
“I enjoy the monastic life here and it’s so conducive for our life in prayer and silence.
“You can exercise your vocation more here because now, in the Philippines, it is too crowded, there are so many houses around … you can hear a lot of noise and it’s sometimes very disturbing for us,” he said.
He’s passionate about growing food, and oversees a large vegetable garden as well as a number of chickens and ducks.
“We are encouraged as monks to work with our own hands … if you are at work, it means you’re not idle.
“At the moment we have broccoli, strawberries, spring onions and potatoes for Christmas,” said Aelred.
The Kopua Monastery guesthouse was built in 2007 and opened in 2008. Photo / Alexa Cook
The monastery is continuing the tradition of welcoming visitors, and has a modern guesthouse that was built in 2007 and sees hundreds of people stay every year.
Nicholas said it offers the opportunity to be in an environment which is spacious, tranquil and holy.
Many of the first monks at Kopua Monastery came from Ireland. Photo / Alexa Cook
“We always have guests, people come here for all kinds of reasons – to pray and to sort themselves out, to rest.
“Most of them are Anglican Catholic, not Catholic – our door is open to everybody.”
– RNZ