Welcome
We invite you to draw near to our community and learn something of its soul. Founded in 1848 by the 29 year old vicar of Wantage, William John Butler, it is one of the earliest traditional Church of England Religious Communities. It is dedicated to Mary the Mother of Jesus, the pondering one. Like Mary we want to draw closer to God:
• through our daily five-fold Office and in the Eucharist
• through waiting on God in our personal prayer
• in listening to God in our relationships with our Sisters
• by looking outwards to God’s presence in our guests and neighbours and in the joys and sufferings of contemporary society.
We invite you to visit or come and stay on our Guest Wing for quiet and reflection, to share, as you wish, in our worship in Chapel. We offer spiritual guidance and we host groups for quiet days and retreats.
There may be an opportunity to be with the Community for an extended time as an Alongsider.
NEWS
An extract from our latest news items is shown here, click on the headline to read the full story or visit our news archive on the News page …
EVENTS
Bishop Olivia is consecrated
The Rt Revd Olivia Graham has been consecrated as the Bishop of Reading at a special service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Olivia was consecrated alongside the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who was made Bishop of Dover. Olivia, a trustee of CSMV, is the first female...
Hand stitched with love
The Cope which the Bishop of Reading Designate will wear at her consecration later this month has been hand-made. Craftswomen working from a studio at St Mary’s Convent, Wantage have been stitching against the clock to get Bishop Olivia Graham’s Cope, Stole and Mitre...
