Westminster Abbey (British Columbia)

The abbey is home to the Seminary of Christ the King and is a member of the Swiss American Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation.

Five monks, including Father Eugene Medved, later Prior and Abbot, were sent from Mount Angel Abbey, Oregon, to British Columbia in 1939 to found a priory and to take over the running of the Seminary of Christ the King, which was then located in Ladner, B.C.

[2][3][4] The following year, the monks moved their new priory together with the seminary to Burnaby, near Vancouver, B.C., neighbouring New Westminster.

[2][3] The same year, construction began on a new abbey, church, and seminary, designed by the Norwegian architect, Asbjørn Gåthe.

The monks began to live on this site beginning in 1954; buildings were gradually added, culminating in the abbey church in 1982.

The abbey is located on a hill northeast of the town centre, with a view up the Fraser River valley.

The monks pray the Liturgy of the Hours, namely Lauds, Midday Prayer, Vespers and Vigils at four different times throughout the day.

He has painted several frescoes around the abbey, and he has also created a series of concrete bas-reliefs affixed to pillars inside the church.