Here are some photos from a visit we made to Westminster Benedictine Abbey in Mission, BC. The monastery was established in 1939 by monks from Mount Angel, Oregon (near Guadalupe Abbey). The monastery covers appropriately 200 acres of farmland, seminary campus and forest. We had a chance to hike around and the forest is beautiful with gorgeous views of the Fraser River. When we arrived, a kind monk showed us around and with good sense of humor warned us that hanging around there we might turn into Catholics. He explained the confusing array of trails with hand made signs and talked about the history of the former Japanese farmers who owned the land and were removed from it during WWII. I was not expecting to like the stark modernist architecture, but the stained glass and vaulted ceilings were gorgeous and inspiring, almost mysteriously so. The abstract designs and large cement sculptures mixed tradition and modern forms and themes. It was still, quiet and beautiful.