Your gift makes possible St. Bernard Abbey & Preparatory School. We invite you to make a gift today.
Help us repair our windows
Throughout the year, our extended St. Bernard family continually answers the call to support the daily life and mission of the monastery and school. Thanks to your steadfast generosity, this past year alone we welcomed five new monks to the monastery and provided 127 students with a St. Bernard education, a tremendous blessing for our community. This summer, however, our attention turns toward preserving the physical foundations of our campus. St. Bernard is blessed with beautiful historic architecture, especially the Administration Building and Benedict Hall, two of our earliest and most recognizable structures. While we have worked diligently over the years to maintain these buildings, one major need has remained unresolved: the restoration of the original wooden windows.
Many of these century-old windows are now rotted, leaking, and filled with loose or cracked panes of glass, creating not only an eyesore but also a serious safety concern for students, coworkers, monks, and guests, particularly during Alabama’s unpredictable thunderstorms. For years, the greatest obstacle was financial, as the cost to fully replace all 350 windows exceeded two million dollars. Fortunately, after careful research and consultation, we discovered skilled craftsmen capable of restoring these historic windows to their original beauty for 84% less than the cost of replacement. Our goal is to raise more than $100,000 and restore as many windows as possible before classes resume in August. We invite our readers, alumni, and friends to partner with us in preserving this important part of St. Bernard’s history, restoring the very windows through which generations have looked out upon the shining hills and beautiful woodlands of St. Bernard.
To discuss your gift to St. Bernard, please contact Fr. Paschal, Development Director, at [email protected] or 256-255-5782.