Güigüe Abbey

The Benedictine Abbey of Saint Joseph Abbey or Güigüe is a monastery in Güigüe, a small town south of the Valencia Lake, in the district of Carlos Arvelo, in Carabobo, Venezuela. Is a tourist attraction in the region.

History

On April 2, 1923, the first four of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilia in Caracas, Venezuela arrived to establish a branch of the Benedictines. They wanted to continue the work of the priest Santiago Machado for children. On 16 June 1947, the monks were given the right of a monastic foundation. On December 7, 1964, the monastery was raised to the abbey. The abbey was moved to Güigüe on 22 September 1990. The building was designed by the Venezuelan architect Jesús Tenreiro Degwitz, who received the National Architectural Prize for Venezuela.

Abbot

Abbot of the monastery since 2004, P. Otto Lohner OSB, who is originally from the Abbey Saint Ottilia.

Offices

The abbey has two dependent branches. One is located in Chico Camuri on the Venezuelan coast near Caracas, the other in El Rosal near Bogotá in Colombia.