Leaving central Huế toward the southwest through low hills covered in pine trees, visitors arrive at a remarkably quiet hilltop. Ahead rises a multi-tiered bell tower whose stacked roofs narrow toward the top, looking from afar like the pagoda tower of a Buddhist temple. Only up close does one see the cross at its peak. At the foot of the tower, the church nestles into the hillside with curved tile roofs rather than soaring like a Gothic cathedral.
Visitors who arrive at the right hour hear the bell ring, followed by black-robed monks chanting the Divine Office. This is Thiên An Benedictine Monastery, the first Benedictine monastery in Vietnam. It is not a bustling parish church, but the home of a community of monks committed to lifelong stability in one place, taking prayer and manual labor as the rhythm of every day.
IHow a monastery differs from a parish church
People outside the faith often assume that every place with a Catholic church serves the same purpose. It does not. A parish church is where local parishioners gather for Mass, served by a parish priest whose ministry revolves around family and parish life. A cathedral such as Phủ Cam Cathedral in the same city of Huế holds the bishop's cathedra and serves as the mother church of the entire diocese. A monastery, by contrast, is where a community of male religious live together, pray together, and work together for life under a monastic rule.
In a monastery, the church is first and foremost the place where the monks chant the Liturgy of the Hours several times a day. Lay faithful and visitors are welcomed in, yet the daily rhythm of the house revolves not around visitors, but around the community's hours of prayer.
The monks of Thiên An live under the Rule of Saint Benedict, a monastic rule written in Italy in the 6th century that became the foundation of Western monasticism. Its spirit is summed up in the familiar Latin motto Ora et labora, prayer and work, which the monastery expands into a threefold rhythm of prayer, reading the Word of God, and manual labor. Slow, meditative reading of Sacred Scripture has its own name, Lectio divina.
According to the Archdiocese of Huế website, the monks' minimum daily schedule includes five common hours of the Divine Office, with the Eucharist as the summit of the life of prayer. Woven between them are private meditation, manual work, study, common meals, and community chapter meetings. A Benedictine monk takes a vow of stability, binding his life to a single monastery rather than transferring from parish to parish like a diocesan priest.
| Feature | Monastery | Parish church |
|---|---|---|
| Who lives there | A community of monks living together for life | A parish priest and perhaps assistant priests, while parishioners live in their own homes |
| Main daily rhythm | Common hours of the Divine Office chanted several times a day | Weekday and Sunday Masses for parishioners |
| Primary work | Prayer, reading the Word of God, and manual labor | Pastoral ministry, catechesis, and sacramental care for parishioners |
| Leader | An abbot or prior elected by the monastic community | A parish priest appointed by the bishop |
| Typical setting | Away from town, quiet, with enough land for manual work | In the middle of a residential community of parishioners |
Seeing the multi-tiered tower and curved roofs, many visitors mistake the building for a Buddhist temple or assume the monks practice a blend of Catholicism and Buddhism. That is not the case. Thiên An is a purely Catholic monastery living under the Rule of Saint Benedict. The pagoda-like tower and curved roofs are an architectural choice meant to harmonize the church with the landscape and visual sensibility of Huế, not a sign of another religion.
IIFrom a thatched hut to a monastic family
The monastery in Huế began with two men. Earlier, monks from the Abbey of La Pierre-qui-Vire in Burgundy, France had founded the Monastery of the Prince of Peace in Đà Lạt on November 10, 1936, before seeking a permanent site in Huế on a 40-hectare tract in Cư Chánh Hamlet. Father Giuse Maria Nguyễn Văn Thích gave the new hill the name Thiên An, meaning peace of heaven. Dom Romain Guillauma (spelled Romain Guillaume in some newspaper articles) and Dom Corentin Colin came to Thiên An Hill, put up a thatched hut, and celebrated the first Mass there.
- 1940First MassOn June 10, the two monks Romain Guillauma and Corentin Colin celebrated the first Mass in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus inside a temporary thatched hut. The monastery takes this date as its founding day.
- 1941First tile-roofed buildingA road up the hill was opened. According to Thanh Niên newspaper, a three-story building with about 28 rooms for monks was erected.
- 1960Church construction beginsIn May, construction of the monastery church began. According to the Archdiocese of Huế website, the building structure was completed in late 1962. Earlier, on May 16, 1959, Thiên An had been raised to an independent priory with Father Anselmô Nguyễn Ngọc Ngãi as its first prior.
- 1962Founding of Thiên Hòa MonasteryOn December 8, the Thiên Hòa house in Kontum was established as Thiên An's earliest daughter foundation.
- 1965Consecration of the churchOn July 11, the Feast of Saint Benedict, the church was consecrated, marking the monastery's twenty-fifth anniversary silver jubilee. That same year, Thiên An was also erected as a parish.
- 1969 and 1972Founding of Thiên Bình and Thiên PhướcThiên Bình Monastery was founded in 1969 and Thiên Phước in 1972. Both houses were raised to autonomous status in 1988. In 1998, Thiên An was elevated to an abbey with Father Têphanô Huỳnh Quang Sanh as its first abbot.
- 2010Foundation in Chiang MaiOn October 7, Thiên An established a monastic house in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Another house was opened in Hòa Bình that same year.
Regarding the daughter monasteries, sources record two different sets of dates. The library's index table lists Thiên Bình as founded in 1969 and Thiên Phước in 1972. The Archdiocese of Huế website records the dates on which they became autonomous priories, namely April 25, 1988 for Thiên Bình and September 3, 1988 for Thiên Phước. Founding and autonomy are two distinct stages in the life of a monastery, so the two sources do not contradict each other. The archdiocesan page also mentions Thiên Hòa in Kontum, founded in 1962, which does not appear in the index table. Regarding the surname of the founding monk, the Archdiocese of Huế website writes Dom Romain Guillauma, whereas Thanh Niên newspaper and several travel pages write Dom Romain Guillaume.
Regarding the church, some sources give an inauguration year, others give the consecration year, and still others note that construction finished at the end of 1962. Those three dates refer to three different milestones. July 11, 1965 is the date of consecration, when the church was solemnly dedicated to divine worship.
The monastery belongs to the Subiaco Cassinese Benedictine Congregation, the same congregation as its mother abbey of La Pierre-qui-Vire.
IIIA hillside crypt-style church and a pagoda-shaped bell tower
The monastery church is an early experiment in inculturation within Vietnamese Catholicism. Its structural frame is Western, with restrained Gothic lines, while its roofs, tower, and ornamental motifs belong to Huế. According to Thanh Niên newspaper, the building was designed as a semi-subterranean hillside church, following the natural slope of the hill rather than rising high above it, in keeping with the Benedictine spirit of simplicity, interiority, and contemplation.
Introductory accounts describe a seven-story bell tower whose successively smaller roofs evoke a Huế Buddhist pagoda tower, crowned at the top by a cross.
The nave steps down along the slope of the hill, so visitors walk downward rather than upward as they enter. The spatial impression is of being embraced by the earth rather than lifted into the sky.
Yin-yang roof tiles extend forward with upturned eaves like those of traditional Vietnamese communal houses and temples, quite unlike the steep pitched roofs of European churches.
According to architectural descriptions, the church features the character Phúc (Blessing) on the railings, two dragons flanking the moon, lotus blossoms on the round windows, and square lanterns with curved roofs on either side.
Inscribed on the building are three Chinese characters reading Thánh (Holy). The library interprets these as the Sanctus acclamation (Holy, Holy, Holy) at the end of the Preface in the Mass, an interpretation offered by the library.
The monks' residence, workshops, and gardens surround the church. According to the Archdiocese of Huế website, the monks support themselves by growing oranges, distilling cajeput oil, processing noni fruit and turmeric, growing vegetables, and making handicrafts.
Placed alongside Phủ Cam Cathedral, the two architectural approaches become clear. Phủ Cam is a metropolitan cathedral built to hold large congregations, so it opens wide and rises high in the city. Thiên An is a monastic church built to preserve silence for a community chanting the Divine Office, so it nestles into the hillside and wears the familiar silhouette of a Huế tower. Each building was shaped for its own work.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
A clear note is needed at the outset. Catholicism does not teach feng shui. Churches traditionally follow liturgical orientation, meaning the placement of the altar and sanctuary according to the norms of worship rather than a geomancer's compass. Benedictine monks choose a monastic site for reasons specific to monastic life, namely distance from town to preserve silence, access to water for daily needs, and sufficient arable land to support themselves by manual labor. The observations below represent the library's reading through traditional Vietnamese geomancy as a point of comparison for readers familiar with that tradition, not anything recorded in the monastery's own documents.
The first element is the hill country. Thiên An Hill lies within the belt of low hills southwest of Huế, the very zone chosen by the Nguyễn emperors for their royal tombs. Traditional geomancers favored this area because low hills link together like successive screens with streams and ponds threaded between them, allowing qi to gather without becoming hemmed in. The monks came here in 1940 for a completely different reason, yet they stood squarely within the zone that Huế geographical treatises regarded as auspicious ground.
The second element is the hillside posture. Rather than perching on an exposed summit, the church nestles into the slope with the mass of the hill backing it. In traditional geomancy, a building set on a bare crest catches wind from all four sides and scatters qi, whereas a building tucked into a slope achieves wind sheltering (tàng phong), the first condition required to gather qi (tụ khí). The semi-subterranean church form, chosen for monastic interiority, coincides with the very posture favored by traditional geomancy.
The third element is the pine forest. Pine trees encircle the monastic compound as a protective ring. Traditional geomancers call such surrounding vegetation the wrapping hills or trees (sa) that stand around the node (huyệt) to shield it from wind. At Thiên An, that ring of pines performs an additional task not mentioned in geomantic manuals by keeping the noise of the city outside so that the chanted hours can resonate within.
Finally, the library has not verified the exact compass bearing of the sanctuary and therefore does not offer a directional reading. What is worth noting is the convergence itself, as monks seeking a quiet place for prayer and geomancers seeking a wind-sheltered spot that gathers qi both arrived at the same kind of hill.
VLiturgical hours, patronal feast, and anniversaries
The liturgical rhythm of the monastery unfolds on two levels. The first is the daily Liturgy of the Hours, repeated from early morning until night as the monks' primary work. The second comprises the feasts of the universal liturgical year together with several observances specific to Thiên An.
| Date | Observance | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) | At least five common hours chanted daily, plus Mass. Visitors may sit quietly in the area reserved for the laity. |
| May 1 | Anniversary of Thiên An Parish | The parish was established in 1965 and celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2025. |
| June 10 | Founding anniversary of the monastery | Commemorates the first Mass celebrated in the thatched hut in 1940. |
| Moveable feast, usually in June | Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus | Patronal feast of the monastery, whose date shifts each year according to the Easter cycle. |
| July 11 | Feast of Saint Benedict | Feast of the founder of the order, and the anniversary of the consecration of the church in 1965. |
| Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter | Major liturgical seasons | Observed in union with the universal Church, with the Divine Office chanted more solemnly. |
July 11 is the most emblematic date at Thiên An because a single day brings together three meanings, namely the Feast of Saint Benedict, the consecration of the church in 1965, and the monastery's silver jubilee that same year. Yet visitors do not need to wait for a major feast to experience the spirit of this place. Simply sitting quietly through Vespers and listening to the monks chant reveals what sets a monastery apart from every parish church.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Đồi Thiên An, phường Thủy Xuân (xã Thủy Bằng cũ), thành phố Huế
- Getting there
- The monastery stands on Thiên An Hill in Thủy Xuân Ward, Huế City, within the territory of former Thủy Bằng Commune. From central Huế, head southwest through the pine hills near the royal tombs.
- Coordinates
- 16.4111, 107.5826
Because this is where monks live and pray, silence is the first rule. Dress modestly, speak softly on the grounds, and do not enter the monks' residential quarters or workshops. When attending the Liturgy of the Hours, sit in the area reserved for visitors and do not photograph the monks while they are chanting. The pine forest is part of the monastic environment, so please do not litter or light fires there.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
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Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Đan viện Biển Đức Thiên AnEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
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?Quick Questions
Which religious order does Thiên An Monastery belong to
It belongs to the Order of Saint Benedict, living under the Rule of Saint Benedict within the Subiaco Cassinese Benedictine Congregation. It is the first Benedictine monastery in Vietnam, founded on June 10, 1940 by two French monks from the Abbey of La Pierre-qui-Vire.
How does a monastery differ from a parish church
A parish church is where local Catholics gather for Mass under the pastoral care of a parish priest. A monastery is where a community of monks live together for life, chant the Divine Office several times a day, and support themselves through manual work under an abbot or prior. Thiên An serves both as a monastery and, since 1965, as a parish.
When was the Thiên An Monastery church built
Construction began in May 1960, the structure was completed in late 1962, and the church was consecrated on July 11, 1965, on the Feast of Saint Benedict and the monastery's silver jubilee. Built as a hillside church nestled into the slope, its bell tower evokes the silhouette of a Huế pagoda tower.
What does Ora et labora mean
It is the Latin motto of Benedictine monastic life, meaning prayer and work. At Thiên An, that motto is expressed in three parts, namely prayer, reading the Word of God, and manual labor. The monks support themselves by growing oranges, distilling cajeput oil, processing noni fruit and turmeric, growing vegetables, and making handicrafts.
Where are the daughter monasteries of Thiên An located
From Thiên An came Thiên Hòa in Kontum in 1962, Thiên Bình in 1969, and Thiên Phước in 1972 (the latter two becoming autonomous in 1988), along with a foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2010 and another in Hòa Bình that same year.