Guest Post: Odd things you’ll never believe were made by Monks

Today’s post is a guest post by Robin Armit who works for Holy Art, a company which sells all kinds of religious gifts. All religious items have a wondrous story to tell, and Robin enjoys telling them…

It is common knowledge that monks and nuns have a long history of manufacturing many different kinds of products. Production has traditionally been restricted to fairly standard items such as jams, sweets, beers, wine, and even some medicinal goods. Some monasteries are particularly famous for the quality of their products. For example, Trappist monk beer is considered by many to be some of the best brew in the world.

However, not all monasteries have restricted themselves to the more traditional products. Over the years, some monastic communities have branched out into more unusual ventures. For example, would you like to buy some modern cosmetics and skin care products? Perhaps you might want to learn how to ski? Maybe you would like to liven up an evening with some tonic wine? While I wouldn’t recommend trying these all at the same time, but it might surprise you to know that Catholic monks can help you in each of these cases! In the article which follows you’ll learn more about these enterprising monks, as well as the products and services which they supply.

Skiing monks (Austria)

Located in the foothills of the Austrian Alps, a group of Cistercian monks spend a portion of their time each day imparting their skiing knowledge to all those who enroll for classes. The school was originally set up as a way of improving the quality of Austrian skiing in the wake a huge medal deficit at the 1966 skiing world championships in Portillo, Chile. Skiing is Austria’s most popular sport and, naturally, such a poor showing of medals was seen as huge national embarrassment. The Cistercian monks took it upon themselves to help reverse these fortunes. Their mission was to train a new generation of young athletes who would go on to win medals for Austria.

Their mission has certainly born much fruit. Since the opening of the school in 1967, the school’s pupils have gone on to win over two hundred Olympic and World Championship medals. Although the monks still do some of the general teaching, they tend to be more involved behind-the-scenes of the school.

Modern Cosmetics (Italy)

To some people, this might come as less of a surprise, since over the centuries monasteries have been very involved in growing herbs and plants for medicinal purposes. Nonetheless, aftershave, skin cream, hair care products, and perfume are probably not the first things that come to mind when thinking of monks!

These particular cosmetic products are mostly produced by monastic orders of Camaldolese monks in Italy and, once again, our good old friends the Trappists. Monastic products are often popular because they rely chiefly on natural ingredients and these cosmetics and skin-care products are no different, thus making them ideal for those with sensitive skin.

Tonic wine (UK)

Our final product may seem to be a surprising inclusion in this list. After all, there is nothing particularly odd about monastic wine production:

“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, there’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!” – Hilaire Belloc

So although love of wine is hardly abnormal in the Catholic world, Buckfast’s wine is a little unusual, which is why it merits inclusion in this list.

As the name suggests, the concoction comes from a community of Benedictine Monks in Devon based at the Buckfast Abbey. Their first batch of the tonic wine was produced in 1890 based on a French recipe, and was originally sold as a medicine. Nothing too unusual yet… However, one needs to understand is that Buckfast wine isn’t normal wine. It is a fortified wine mixed with high levels of caffeine. In fact, some studies have even concluded that Buckfast – drop for drop – contains more caffeine than Red Bull.

So, although tonic wine might not be something you should drink in large quantities, the good people of Scotland (Glasgow in particular), have developed a particular penchant for this concoction over the years. It is often said that a popular defense in court is: “the Bucky made me do it”…a defense which usually fails! 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this list. Please let me know in the Comment Box below of any weird and wonderful things that have been produced by monasteries in different parts of the world.