The Abbey Church at Ampleforth in North Yorkshire is an iconic building, a beacon of Catholicism and prayer in the North of England.

The church has played a major role in so many lives since it was built. It has seen weddings, baptisms, funerals, memorials, daily prayer, as well as countless moments of rejoicing and of sorrow. It has heard thousands of voices raised together magnificently in song, spanning generations of people drawn here by the invitation to experience our unique way of life, grounded in the Rule of St Benedict. It is a place that is of immense value to many people and is central to the daily life of prayer of the Benedictine Monastic Community resident here.

Now we are reaching out to our friends, whether you are a frequent visitor or someone who is just getting to know us, with an urgent appeal for support. The Abbey Church at Ampleforth is suffering badly from the effects of wear and tear. Due to the scaling back of our activities during COVID-19 the monastic community has seen a significant decrease in the Ampleforth Abbey Trusts ability to earn a living and look after our very special buildings.

During the last few months, we have noticed significant and troubling damage to the South Transept of the Abbey Church, which is escalating quickly. We are very concerned that if we do not tackle this soon the cost of repairing this will escalate to a point where we will have no option to enable repairs and the damage may be irreversible.

We have been so blessed that during these challenging times the monastic community have been able to connect with so many people through the online ministry of the community, whether that be Home Retreats, Home Prayers, the audio stream of the Daily Office and the Live Stream of Mass from the Abbey Church. Thank you for joining Ampleforth in prayer during this challenging time, the community hope that this has been a source of comfort and community for you.

We hope that many of our friends will consider supporting us through kind donations, so that we can source the additional £160,000 we need in place by March 2021 to facilitate these vital repairs.