Summer Side Trips: Westminster Abbey, Mission, B.C.

Summer is the time when many of us have the opportunity to hit the road and explore the Pacific Northwest.  It is also an opportunity to see some of the sacred archectiture and art that can be found in this part of the country.  In the coming weeks, I will highlight some of my favorite side trips. Perhaps readers will have some suggestions of their own that might be featured.

If you happen to be driving to Vancouver this summer, you might consider making a detour to visit Westminster Abbey in Mission, B.C.  Located on a ridge overlooking the Fraser River, Westminster Abbey is home to a community of Benedictine monks.

The present community dates back to 1939, when a group of monks were sent to British Columbia from Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon to found a monastery and seminary.  In 1953 the priory was raised to the status of an abbey, under the title of Westminster Abbey, and was relocated to its present site in Mission.

When the monks decided to build an abbey church and seminary, it contracted a Vancouver based architectural firm to develop the design for the buildings.  The firm sent its newest architect, Norwegian born, Asbjørn Gåthe, to work with the monks.  Gåthe was asked to design a building which combined contemporary advances in structure and design while expressing "something of the a Benedictine antiquity."

Work began on the complex of buildings in 1954.  A bell tower, a seminary, a monastic residences and guest house were completed in the coming decades.  Although plans for the Abbey Church were approved in 1960, it was not until 1982 until it was finally completed and dedicated by the English Benedictine monk and Cardinal, Basil Hume.

Although modernist in design and constructed of poured concrete, the interior of the Abbey church invokes the grandeur and feel of a Gothic cathedral. 

What makes the interior of the Abbey Church particularly impressive are the 64 stained glass windows, each 24 by 4 feet, totalling 7,000 square feet.  Abstract in design, the windows bring a brightness to the interior at any time of the day.   In the morning, the sanctuary is bathed in cool blues from the eastern windows, while in the evening the reds and yellows of the western windows caste a warm glow.  

Of particular interest are the bas reliefs of 30 saints,  created by Fr. Dunstan, the resident artist, which surround the Abbey interior.   It took Fr. Dunstan 16 years to complete the project.  After designing each sculpture, a casting box was made for each one, strong enough to contain 1,500 pounds of clay and plaster.  (More about Fr. Dunstan in a later post.)

If you decide to visit Westminster Abbey, be sure to ask about the pathway walk which leads out to a bluff over looking the Fraser River.   It offers a spectactular view of Mt. Baker and the Fraser Valley.