Soon after its foundation the abbey acquired patrons and postulants from all social classes and the community of the monks had a rapid growth in the number of vocations.

Further proofs of the flourishing activity in Morimondo was the Scriptorium, aimed at creating the monastic library and at supplying the two new daughter houses with some basic books, and the large agricultural holdings of the motherhouse, on which several granges were in fact settled in the surroundings.

Another fervent period was in the 17th century when the abbot Antonio Libanori (1648-1652) from Ferrara was able to effect a revival of the cultural and spiritual life of the monastic community.

In 1941 the Blessed Cardinal Ildefonso Schuster, archbishop of Milan, wishing to restore the monastery, made contact with the Trappist Fathers of the Cistercian Order of the Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome, but with no success.

In 1991, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini entrusted the pastoral care of the parish to the Congregation of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with a new call to revive the abbey of Morimondo as a center of spirituality.

The "Fondazione Abbatia Sancte Marie de Morimundo" aims at promoting the cultural and religious heritage of the abbey by organizing seminars, exhibitions, visits to the church and nearby building.

The abbey has given the name to the Rotary Club Morimondo Abbazia[5] which was founded in 2013, a parallel being acknowledged between the compassionate and industrious attitude of Cistercian monks and the rotarian commitment to "service above self".

The aims of the Foundation are to develop cultural and religious activities at Morimondo Abbey and to promote the maintenance of the architectural heritage of the monastery.

In fact, the Cistercian architecture in Morimondo Abbey adopts some gothic features, e.g. the cross vaulted arches, which can also create rectangular spans.

It is an interesting example of Renaissance wooden furniture as shown by the compact and architectural design, which is after the style promoted in Lombardy by Bramante, and by the technique used to engrave the figures, which were curved with woodcuts made with hot iron.

Although derived from classical antiquity according to the Renaissance style, they represent spiritual values such as generosity of God’s gifts (the fruit basket) or the saving action of Christ (the fish).

In the cloister the layout typical of a Cistercian monastery is still legible despite successive interventions (the three arcades built in 1500 - 1505 and the north and west sides raised in mid eighteenth century).