Located on the western slopes of the Cardamom Hills, around 150 km east of Kochi, the monastery is currently home to 13 monks and 6 brothers in formation.
Within a few years, this establishment had grown into a large "Formation Center for Poor and Orphan Boys and Young Men" known as Don Bosco Bhavan.
For those who joined the community working at the orphanage, a daily routine of communal and private prayer, shared meals, and recreation became important.
[2] In December 1988, Fr Zacharias wrote to Abbot Ivo Auf der Maur of St Otmar's Abbey, Uznach, Switzerland, explaining his intention to start a Benedictine community in Kumily.
In early 1990, Archabbot Notker Wolf, accompanied by Abbot Stephan Schröer of Königsmünster and Fr Basil Doppenfeld, visited Kumily.
[3] The Council of the Congregation charged Abbot Schröer with the task of assisting the Kumily community in their quest to establish a Benedictine monastery.
[5] The monks of St Michael Priory continue to administer Don Bosco Bhavan, the orphanage school that inspired the formation of the Benedictine community.