Groundbreaking at Clear Creek Abbey: Completing the Abbatial Church and Refectory

On 13 August 2026 the monks of Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, Oklahoma officially broke ground on the next phase of construction: the completion of the abbatial church and the monastic refectory.

Driven by a steady stream of vocations and the growth of the community, now numbering 55 monks, this phase completes the master plan envisioned by the late Thomas Gordon Smith and carried forward by William Heyer. It follows the chevet, completed in 2016, and the chapter house, finished in 2023. The abbey expects construction to run for the next two to three years.

Bill was on site for the ceremony with Father Abbot and the project foreman, Colton Roberts. The monks write that the work “is the work of the whole Church: it is the fruit of the prayers and generosity of so many faithful men and women from around the world,” and ask for continued prayers and support as the abbey is brought to completion.

Read the abbey’s announcement at clearcreekmonks.org. Photograph courtesy of Clear Creek Abbey.