The Monastery of the Holy Face of Jesus stands atop a commanding hill in suburban New Jersey, just ten short miles west of Manhattan. From the Monastery grounds one can view the captivating panoramic view of New York City and observe the heavy, fast-moving traffic of the Route 3 Highway below. Yet, the simple chapel and forested surroundings of the monastery provide visitors with the solitude and peace that have for decades made it a true oasis of prayer.
Holy Face Monastery belongs to the “Order of St. Benedict of Montefano”, now called the Sylvestrine Congregation, O.S.B. This family of Benedictine monks was founded in Italy in 1231 by St. Sylvester Guzzolini, who hailed from the town of Osimo in central Italy. To a renewed and rigorous observance of St. Benedict’s Rule for Monks, Sylvester added two innovations: a central governance for the several monastic communities he started and an external apostolate of preaching the Word of God and pastoral ministry.
It was this apostolic spirit that brought the Sylvestrine Benedictine monks to America. A brief but remarkably successful sojourn in Kansas, serving Italian coal miners from 1910 to 1928, was followed by a more permanent welcome in the Diocese of Detroit. The Congregation was firmly established there through the administration of three parishes and the construction of St. Sylvester Monastery in 1938. The building of a novitiate house followed in 1960, in a rural area near Oxford, Michigan, 25 miles due north of Detroit. This quiet and prayerful Monastery of “St. Benedict” would in time become the headquarters of the Sylvestrine Benedictine monks in the United States.
The development of the Congregation and increasing number of monks in Michigan opened up further expansion in the U.S. An isolated, wind-swept hill in Clifton, New Jersey, thought by many to be an “eye-sore” provided a unique and inspired location which far exceeded all expectations. The “Monastery of the Holy Face of Jesus” was dedicated on December 20, 1953, constructed on land purchased from a local physician and surgeon who, like St. Sylvester himself, was a son of Italy.
From the start, Holy Face Monastery was blessed by the special patronage of the Congregation’s saintly Abbot General, Venerable Hildebrand Gregori. Abbot Gregori not only named the place, but his personal devotion to the Face of Jesus led him to commission a life-sized replica of the Holy Shroud of Turin, recognized by many as the burial cloth of Jesus which bears the Lord’s unmistakable image. Blessed by Pope Pius XII, this image has been displayed in the Monastery chapel since 1955 and prompted an ongoing apostolate of evangelization centered on this striking icon of the Crucified and Risen Lord.
As the years have gone by, countless pilgrims flocked to this holy place. Beloved friends and generous benefactors left their mark through the addition of outdoor shrines, devotions and annual festivals. The “Hall of Saints”, established in the last decade, and the daily ministry of Eucharist and confession have been a source of great solace and peace for so many souls in need. And the faithful service of generations of Sylvestrine Benedictine monks has given witness to the enduring presence of Christ, the Crucified and Risen Shepherd, who continues to draw his people out of the hustle and bustle of daily life, into this sanctuary of peace and prayer!
(Compiled from the booklet, “History of the Monastery of the Holy Face of Jesus: 1951 – 1996” and the writings of Fr. Livius Paoli, O.S.B.)