New Camaldoli Hermitage

[1] The hermitage was founded in 1958 by two monks from the motherhouse in Camaldoli in Tuscany, who had spent two years searching for a site that combined solitude and natural beauty.

It is located at an altitude of approximately 1,300 feet (400 meters), and is approached by a winding road nearly two miles long, which gives the visitor a clear view of the landscape and Pacific coastline.

Before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1700s, the land may have first been occupied the Salinan Antonianos subtribe who are believed to have lived on the coast and inland as far north as Soledad.

It is believed the northern limit of the tribe along the Santa Lucia Mountains is Junipero Serra Peak, east of Slates Hot Springs.

If you have just come to the monastery, and in spite of your good will you cannot accomplish what you want, take every opportunity you can to sing the Psalms in your heart and to understand them with your mind.

Empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his mother brings him.