From Spain to Miami: How a Medieval Monastery Traveled Across the Atlantic

So how did it get from Spain to Florida?

William R Hearst, who was best known for his work as a big-shot editor and owner of large publication companies like the San Francisco Examiner and the New York Morning Journal, is responsible for bringing the St. Bernard de Clairvaux monastery to the United States.

Hearst apparently wanted to build a cabana around his swimming pool with the monastery (kind of excessive, don’t you think??).

And so he purchased the building in 1925, had it taken apart and shipped to a warehouse in Brooklyn, New York where it sat for over 25 years.

Unfortunately for William Hearst, he soon found himself to be in a bit of financial trouble – probably from buying one too many Spanish monasteries – and had to auction off most of his collection of art and assets, including the St. Bernard de Clairvaux.

In 1952, a year after Hearst died, two gentlemen named W. Edgemon and R. Moss bought the pieces of the monastery and had it rebuilt in its current location just outside of Miami, Florida as a tourist attraction.

In 1964 it was sold once again to Colonel Robert Pentland Jr. who then gifted the monastery to the Bishop of Florida.

Today, the monastery is still operational with services held on Sundays and weekdays in both English and Spanish, and is also a popular tourist destination.