Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/458251
manuscripts, they became custodians of knowledge during the Dark Ages. The knitting retreat (still referred to as Knitting Camp by the regulars) has been taking place for 15 years, first in a rambling B&B in the resort village of Lake Manitou. When the establishment closed, the group searched for another venue just at the time when St. Peter's Abbey had finished renovating their guest quarters in Severin Hall. It was a perfect fit. "Actually, it is better," says Toye, also owner of Haus of Stitches in nearby Humboldt. "ere we had to do our own cooking and clearing away, or bring potluck suppers, which took time away from knitting. St. Peter's provides three meals a day. And there is lots of space." I came to this retreat not only to knit and to meet other knitters but to find out more about St. Peter's Abbey. When nine monks struggled overland by horse and wagon from Illinois, transporting a plow and a harrow, this part of Saskatchewan was remote and settle- ment had hardly begun. The abbey had to be self-sufficient so the monks started a farm with grain crops, gardens and orchards. And they had horses, chickens and cows. It is still a farm, complete now with barns, machinery sheds, a greenhouse and huge root cellar (known as the dungeons). On the outskirts of the small com- munity of Muenster, the abbey's dramatic and rather stern red brick buildings dating from 1909 are spread out like a village around the dominant three-storey structure where, until 1972, the monks operated a boarding high school. When the school closed, its Arts and Sciences program (begun in 1926), continued as St. Peter's College, now affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan. Nearby, a long low building accommodates St. Peter's Press, which handles commercial jobs and also prints the Catholic newspaper e Prairie Messenger. e monks keep separate quarters in the abbey building beside the church, a surpris- ingly modern structure designed by Etienne Gaboury in neo-Gothic style. It is simple and ver tical with a freestanding bell tower, exposed metal structure and high clerestory windows of stained glass. e oak choir stalls are arranged in monastic tradition, facing across the central aisle. Here, the monks gather for prayers and chanting four times a day, with accompaniment on a fine pipe organ. (It's nice that I can leave the afternoon group chatter and sit there knitting in the quiet, lis- tening to the organ, then later join the monks at Vespers, just before dinner.) On the other side of the church is Severin Hall, where previ- ous student dorms have been converted into private guest rooms on the top floor, with a large communal living room (perfect for knit- ters) and kitchen at one end. A devotee of the Brother Cadfael historical whodunits, which take place in 15th-century England, I am well attuned to the ringing of bells, the dark robes of the monks, the chant- ing of Matins, Vigils, Lauds and Vespers. I'm delighted to discover that Father Demetrius, the abbey guestmaster, is also a Cadfael fan. I first met him in the hallway trundling a trolley to help some college students move their stuff at the end of term. Wearing a work shirt and pants, he did not look at all like Brother Cad- fael, but later in his black robes, his hands tucked into his sleeves, the resemblance was uncanny, even to the cherubic smile. He has read all 20 of the Cadfael books, written by Edith Pargeter between 1977 and 1994 under the name Ellis Peters. e abbey hosts several conferences and retreats, both individual and group, through-