Monastic Schools
Over the years I have encountered many graduates of the Cistercian Preparatory School in Dallas. Without exception they speak of their school, even decades after leaving it, with deep affection and gratitude. That is not the case with every school. Visiting Dallas this week, I experience the genius loci that inspires the life of the vibrant monastic community and their educational apostolate, springing from the charism and call of their Hungarian mother house. A précis of their history can be found in this brief film about Dom Denis Farkasfalvy, longtime headmaster and abbot (cf. Notebook entry for 15 February 2023). I am heartened to see the brethren’s commitment to their heritage as well as their generous, intelligent investment in their work. At the moment, in Europe, most monastic schools are shutting down. For this there are several reasons, some deeply tragic. Yet I cannot help thinking: in the light of a general breakdown in schooling, considering parents’ and children’s mistrust of conventional schools, in response to the growing thirst for a new Christian humanism, this monastic apostolate does not only have a venerable past, but an exacting and potentially promising future.
