The Cistercian Order was founded in France in 1098 by a small band of monks from the Abbey of Molesme. Desiring a purer and more integral living of the Gospel and of the Rule of Saint Benedict, they headed off to a swampy plot of land called Cîteaux. There they struggled to live a communal life of prayer, sacred reading, and work, in an environment of poverty, solitude, and simplicity.

The arrival of Saint Bernard and thirty companions at Cîteaux in 1112 assured the success of the new venture. Through Bernard’s influence the Cistercians grew rapidly and spread throughout the Europe of his day.

The common name Trappist derives from a reform begun at the monastery of LaTrappe in France in 1656, under the leadership of Abbot Armand-Jean de Rancé. Seeking once more a purer living of the Rule of Saint Benedict, de Rancé initiated a series of observances that harkened back to the ascetic rigors of an earlier monasticism. In 1892, three congregations which followed his reforms were united to form the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance.

Mepkin Abbey was founded in 1949 in the Low Country of South Carolina by 29 monks coming from the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Through Gethsemani, we trace our roots back to the Abbey of Melleray in France, one of the earliest foundations (12^th century) of Cistercians.

The property of Mepkin Abbey has a long and storied history and was originally used by the Native Americans as a hunting ground.

The American patriot, Henry Laurens, purchased Mepkin in 1762. Engaged in commerce and the cultural and economic development of South Carolina, Laurens served as the First President of the Continental Congress (1777-1778). He was captured by the British on the high seas as he traveled to France to negotiate military aid. Held in the Tower of London, he was given in exchange for Lord Cornwallis at the end of the American Revolutionary War, and signed the Peace Treaty in Paris with Benjamin Franklin and John Jay. He is buried with other members of his family in a picturesque cemetery at Mepkin, overlooking the Cooper River. His line remains extant and descendants visit Mepkin on a regular basis.

Passing down through various owners, Mepkin was purchased in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the noted publisher-philanthropist, and his distinguished wife, the Hon. Clare Boothe Luce. They donated a large portion of their property to the Abbey of Gethsemani in 1949, for the purpose of founding a monastic community here.

Shortly after the Luces purchased Mepkin in 1936, Mrs. Luce commissioned the famed landscape architect Loutrell Briggs to create the Mepkin Gardens. They were renovated in 1988 through the vision of Nancy Bryan Luce, wife of Henry Luce III. Thousands continue to visit us and to stroll through these Gardens each year.