Tours

Since the early third century of Christianity, we know that people have been fascinated by monks, their life, and their prayers. The ancient books of "The Life of St. Anthony" and the "Diary of Egeria" tell of day trips and pilgrimages that people would make to monasteries of monks in Egypt and the Middle East. One thousand seven hundred years later, the same can be said here in Arkansas, as our Abbey is one of the most visited tourist spots in the state. If you visit, though, it is essential to understand that we are a "working" monastery with numerous ministries. As such, much of our monastery may be off-limits on any given day due to the security provisions we have in place for the safety of our all-boys college-prep Academy.
 
There are two types of tours that can be offered for your visit:

SELF-GUIDED TOUR: You can drive to our Abbey and follow the signs leading to our Coury House Retreat Center. You can register and take one of our self-guided brochures to walk around the Abbey and see many of our sites there. You will want to call ahead to ensure no events might preclude your visit. This visit will usually allow you to walk East Park and visit the central Church's interior if we do not have services or weddings. We monks gather as a monastic community five times daily to offer communal prayers and chant. You can enter the front of the Church, unlocked during the day, and sit anywhere in the pews on the west side of the altar to listen. You can find the schedule of our communal prayer times listed below. If you would like, you can also join with us in the choir stalls for our recitation and chant of the Divine Office since we have handy tablets to follow-along. 

GUIDED TOURS: This option is available ONCE per week or by appointment for groups over 10 in number. In addition to East Park and the Church interior, you would also be allowed to see our monastic inner court, our monastic refectory, our museum highlighting some of the old items from our history, as well as meet a monk, learn about our way of life, and have him lead you to various sections of our monastery. We have this "guided tour" at no cost Saturdays at 1:00 p.m., but you must reserve 24 hours ahead. Groups of 10 or more may contact us to arrange a guided tour at other times of the week if a monk is available.

Contact: Br. Francis Kirchner, O.S.B.
EMAIL: brfrancis@subi.org
PHONE: 479-438-9115