Carmelite Monks Near Meeteetse Use Modern Tech To Build Gothic Monastery

Say the word monastery and the word medieval is likely not far behind. Monasteries and monks, they just all have an old-world vibe.

Perhaps not deservedly so.

“When you think of monks, you think medieval, you know, Dark Ages,” Brother Isidore Mary of the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming told Cowboy State Daily. “You think of something way back in the past.”

But during that medieval history of the distant past, it was often monks who were the most open to new methods and new ways. 

They invented water clocks to ring bells marking their prayer times. They crafted eyeglasses to help them see better and the heavy plow so that they could more readily grow their own food. They invented Parmesan cheese, Champagne, pretzels and even better beer. 

They also copied ancient texts to preserve knowledge and built upon the knowledge they preserved to further science and medicine, bringing more light into the world. 

And let’s not forget Gregor Mendel. 

While he was not a monk but an Augustinian friar — a close cousin of sorts — Mendel transformed the world’s understanding of biology through his observations and experiments with pea plants and established the science of genetics.

“A lot of the technologies of the medieval world were actually developed by monks,” Mary said. “They were kind of cutting edge for the time.”

So, it is perhaps not as surprising as it might at first seem that an ancient order of Carmelite monks living in remote Wyoming are using a decidedly cutting-edge modern technology to craft decidedly old and beautiful architecture. 

The monks are using a computer numerical control, or CNC, machine to build a full-on Gothic monastery.

Think computers with a robotic arm spraying out jets of high-pressure water and using a diamond drill. Beneath that drill, however, are exquisite carvings in an ancient Gothic style.

The result is a beautiful architectural masterpiece set in the picturesque mountains near Meeteetse.

Who Are The Carmelite Monks

Carmelite monks trace their origins back to Mount Carmel in Israel, a location that has a rich religious history. 

It was on Mount Carmel that the prophet Elijah defended true faith in the God of Israel and won a great challenge against the priests of Baal. That’s also where Elijah, praying in solitude, would see a small cloud that brought life-giving rain after a long drought. 

In 1189 or so, some European pilgrims settled near the spring of Elijah in one of the narrow valleys of Mount Carmel. They were hermits, intending to live out their days after the example of Elijah. In the middle of the monastery they established, these hermits built a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, and she became the patroness of the Brothers of Saint Mary of Mount Carmel. 

The order was finally recognized formally by Pope Innocent IV in 1247, and it has continued into the present day.

“There’s been, at times, different wars and things throughout history where (Carmelite monks) weren’t (living near Mount Carmel), but they’ve always come back,” Mary said. “So, we’re in that same tradition here in these mountains of Wyoming. And we kind of call the mountains near where the monastery is built the new Mount Carmel.”

The monks chose Wyoming for a simple reason, Mary added.

“We came out here to pray because we all know this is God’s country in Wyoming,” Mary said. “Just being out here in this wilderness, in these mountains, it just lifts the soul to God. And we wanted to find a place where it was conducive to that prayer.”

Practice Makes Perfect

Most of the monastery’s buildings are now complete. All but one. The crown jewel of the monastery. The chapel itself.

The monks saved that for last for a very good reason. Practice, as they say, makes perfect. And given that none of these monks had any experience with stonework or CNC techniques, practice was definitely needed before tackling this most ornate and special building. 

“So, the first months when our order came out here to Wyoming back in 2003, a couple of decades ago, we started with $400,” Mary said. “That was all the money they had coming out to restart this and to build a monastery like the ancient monasteries of Europe, monasteries that are 1,000 years old, out here in the Rocky Mountains.”

People thought the monks were crazy, Mary acknowledged.

“There’s some good reason for that — it definitely sounds crazy,” he said. “But miracles do happen, and our whole history is just full of them.”

Not the kind of walk-on-water or water-into-wine miracles of Biblical times, but just the everyday living miracles, where things that shouldn’t work out, that seem too crazy to work out, somehow manage to after all. That is, as the order sees it, part of God’s plan for them.

“Through a lot of generosity, a lot of benefactors and through hard work, we thought we had saved enough money to build our monastery,” Mary said. “And we were working with a renowned architect and had several big contractors come in and put bids on what this would cost to build a stone, Gothic monastery.”

The figures, Mary recalled, were staggering — $80 million at the lowest end. 

It was a completely impossible figure for a monastery that’s supported only by sales of its Mystic Monk brand of roasted coffee, heavenly though that cup of Joe might be.

“So that wasn’t an option,” Mary said. “We could never in 100 years raise the kind of money to build something like that.”

Keeping The Faith

But the monks weren’t deterred by this blow to what they believed was a sacred plan for their order. 

“Our whole life, we consider everything we do a prayer,” Mary said. 

That’s not just true of the Psalms the brothers pray eight times a day every day, or the gatherings where monks come together to formally pray for the world. 

“We’re also praying privately all the time, just praying for the world, praying for people, and we consider even our work, everything we do, a part of that,” Mary said. “So, things that happen, things that go wrong, things that irritate — all of that is part of the sacrifices we have to make. 

“You know, it means a lot more. You have to make some sort of sacrifice to show your love. It’s a greater proof of your love for someone when you suffer for them.”

So, the impossible cost of building their dream in the Wyoming mountains near Meeteetse didn’t deter these monks, not at all. It just meant more prayer was required. More thinking. More contemplation. God would show them the way.

“We’re like, ‘Well, there must be another way,’” Mary said. “And when we were looking at the quotes, the biggest line item was always the stonework. So we said to ourselves, ‘Well, carving the stone can’t be that difficult. Why don’t we just learn to carve the stone ourselves? And that will take care of most of the cost.’”

But Carving Stone Is Difficult

Bear in mind that none of these monks had any experience whatsoever when it comes to carving stone. They didn’t see how hard it could be because none of them had ever done it, or tried to do it, before.

“We knew nothing to start with,” Mary said. “We had no background. None of the monks here had a background in stone-cutting, CNC machines, manufacturing or anything like that.”

As they cast about for literature that could help them learn about carving stone, they found there wasn’t a whole lot out there to help them. There certainly wasn’t anything about using CNC (computer numerical control) machines to carve old-school Gothic architecture.

The closest thing with any comparability was rebuilding the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris after a catastrophic 2019 fire engulfed the church’s spire and most of its roof. Millions of dollars were raised to rebuild what many consider the spiritual heart of Paris. 

“They rebuilt that, all those pieces,” Mary said. “But that was a huge project with a budget far beyond what we have.”

Even that didn’t deter Wyoming’s Carmelite monks. They were determined to accomplish what they’d set out to do, build a Gothic style monastery in the Rocky Mountains.

When they ordered their first block of stone, it weighed 25,000 pounds and was 40 feet long.

Obviously, they were going to have to break that down into some smaller sizes so they would fit into place for their CNC machines.

“We’ve got a really large circular saw that can cut these blocks up into smaller pieces, and then we put it in a CNC machine to do the cutting and the shaping into different ornate and intricate pieces,” Mary said. “And typically, these are diamond-coated, because the stone is very hard. But the diamond is harder than the stone, so you can use it to grind the stone down and shape it for anything from a simple molding running up the side of a window to something more ornate, say flowers and leaves and vines and gargoyles and angels and all kinds of different things.”

But not all the blocks are tiny. No, not at all. Some of the blocks still weigh up to 4,000 pounds.

Just imagine turning that so that a different side can be carved. Mary said the monks have learned to do that very carefully so that the design isn’t broken, using forklifts and cranes.

They’ve worked up to the point where they can handle one of the big 25,000-pound blocks about once a month, and then they spend the rest of the month breaking that down into smaller components and using them to build out this dream monastery.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

One thing that helped was each of the monks discovered they already had some applicable skills along the way that could transfer to the task at hand of carving stone. 

“One of the monks is a self-taught kind of sculptor,” Mary said. “And so, he designs the different pieces and shapes and angels and flowers and everything in the modeling programs.”

Others had some experience with big equipment like cranes and forklifts, thanks to work on the ranch, or digging and excavating. The latter often uncovers huge rocks that are in the way, so being able to do that themselves is also a big cost-saving factor.

“The equipment side of things, in some ways, is more natural for us,” Mary said. 

Mary, meanwhile, had strong mechanical aptitude, demonstrated early on when he was helping roast coffee. He could figure out how the roasters work to fix them.

“For the coffee roasting, we use a variety of equipment,” Mary said. “Nothing like a CNC machine, it’s much simpler, but there’s some basic level of automation. Just very basic computer control, and systems, and things like that.”

When things weren’t going so well with the operation of the stone-cutting machines, Mary was transferred to the CNC project, to see if he could apply that mechanical aptitude to that project.

“It was a huge learning curve,” Mary said. “But we’re still here.”

Mary isn’t sure exactly when Wyoming’s Carmelite monks will be finished building their chapel but said it could be as soon as 2030. There might even be, once it is finished, a rare open house at that point, though no decisions have been made on that.

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.