Mother Benedict: Foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis

I picked up "Mother Benedict" out of interest and collegial support, and planned to skim through a few sections. But at the first page, the book yanked me into this gripping and thoroughly human story. I plopped down on a sofa and read two chapters--despite dinner on the stove and children making requests. Toni Bosco, a friend and role model, has crowned her career with this book. It testifies to her long hours, days and years with the Benedictines at the Abbey of Regina Laudis. It confirms her willingness to truly enter into the life, vision and pilgrimage of a towering figure. "Mother Benedict" combines the joy of a story with the gratification of spiritual depth and insight.

What a wonderful story !!! I just went reading it pages after pages and find it to be very noble , spiritually and life inspiring. a wonderful journey starting at the eve of the second world war to now. lesson of courage ,friendships , believe and faith unfold in the book written by Antoinette Bosco. It's been delight full for me to read the book and getting to know better the full story of Mother Benedicte, the community of the Abbey of Regina Laudis .and Mother Marie Aline Trilles de Warren, who was was my dear great Ant . I have been a dear friend in my heart of the Abbey of Regina Laudis for the last 17 th years. it has been a magical place to me, a great retreat while i needed to step back and take a look at life , A sacred place of peaceful meditation , beauty and unconditional love. Once again through the abbey and their story told in this book it just give me wings to fly , believe even more in myself and shoot for the stars, because somewhere and some how they also brought me faith in my heart...... Patrick Trilles de Warren. Patrick de Warren Photographer New york

I just finished reading this unforgettable volume. More than a biography, Bosco takes readers inside the mind and work of a great woman. I grew up with traditional habit-Gregorian-chant Benedictine nuns in Brazil, who were beautiful, intelligent, holy, and capable of imparting an excellent education in the school my sisters and I attended. Today they are hard to come around. I knew about Regina Laudis and always wanted to know more... The book fills in all of the dots and more! I didn't expect the glossy pages with photographs in the middle of the book... icing on the cake! Thanks Ignatius Press for a great publication!

How does she then make the journey to start a new foundation in another country? This is a fascinating look at how a young American woman, and a young convert to Catholicism, ends up doing both of these things. One of the things I found particularly interesting is that Mother Benedict was born in the United States, spent time in the U.S. and in France, entered a convent in France, but then ended up founding a Benediction foundation of contemplative nuns in the United States. In a sense, she came full circle - and she came home. Another interesting tidbit concerned the story behind the movie "Come to the Stable." I had not realized that the movie was loosely based on Mother Benedict and the founding of Regina Laudis.

Its finally here! Just got my copy of the long awaited, highly anticipated story of the amazing Mother Benedict Duss, foundress of that incredible Benedictine monastery in Connecticut, the Abbey of Regina Laudis. Well known as the home of famous, highly accomplished women from various professions in the world before joining Regina Laudis, including scientists, doctors, artists, teachers, and even a Hollywood actress (Dolores Hart), this flourishing, holy abbey was founded by the great Mother Benedict in the early 1950's. The story is full of high drama as it tells of how she heard the clear call from the Lord at her beloved Jouarre Abbey in France to go to America to start a new abbey just as she saw the American tanks come into her French village to liberate France from the Nazis in WWII, led by Gen. George Patton. The young Bendictine nun had no idea how she would accomplish this overwhelming task, but went with total faith and trust in Providence to fulfill this mysterious call to return to her home country to found the first community of contemplative Benedictine nuns ever in America. How she was able to accomplish that incredible feat, the daunting challenges she had to overcome, and the story of that amazing Benedictine monastery that now thrives in that lovely corner of Bethlehem(what a name!),CT., is very well told by Antoinette Bosco, a longtime friend of Mother Benedict and the monastery. It is a deeply moving story of faith, courage, trust and love of God and man that will appeal to all modern seekers and believers. No wonder countless people, famous and common folks alike, visit this beautiful spiritual oasis every year. These nuns are the real deal,living the full spirit of their founder, the great Saint Benedict, chanting the office five times a day, chanting the Holy Mass, and working hard at their variety of muti-faceted tasks, including operating a 400 acre farm ("ora et labora"). Their singing of the chant is so beautiful that when an American music producer heard them singing in their chapel during a visit, he convinced the nuns to let him record their glorious Gregorian chants, and the result has been two best-selling CDs from this cloistered community! (Women in Chant-Vol.I and II.) Complete with numerous photos that give an added bonus to this moving volume, this book is a must for all those who love a great, true story of a heroic, modern woman, as well as being a "spiritual banquet of delight", as Fr. John Catoir has called it.