REGINA: Clear Creek is an astonishing success story. How many monks are there now?
DOM PHILIP ANDERSON: We currently count 49 monks in the community, with 2 or 3 that will be joining the Novitiate soon. For the past few months we have been hovering at about 50—a bit more, a bit less.
REGINA: Is that a stable number?
DOM PHILIP ANDERSON: The Novitiate is a place of discernment: young men come, young men go, which is the normal thing. We have planned the monastery for a community of 60.
REGINA: And your community is so young!
DOM PHILIP ANDERSON: The average age is a little over 40 years. We have many young monks, but some of us are beginning to be not so young!
REGINA: What percentage were raised Catholic?
DOM PHILIP ANDERSON: Although I do not have any precise statistics about this, looking at our community list I would say that 78 per cent were raised Catholic.
REGINA: With so many failing to attract young vocations, what's the attraction to such a rigorous life as yours?
DOM PHILIP ANDERSON: God is the one who attracts souls. He must have His reasons. I can just say that I notice certain patterns.
REGINA: Patterns?
DOM PHILIP ANDERSON: Young men want to serve God in a place where they see other young men.
REGINA: Makes sense.
DOM PHILIP ANDERSON: They look for clear points of reference in a world that is lost in the space of Relativism, where there are few or no references.
REGINA: Clearly, we live in disorienting times. The ‘Age of Anxiety’ as it were.
DOM PHILIP ANDERSON: These men tend to appreciate the dignity and reverence of a more solemn liturgy, especially when celebrated in Latin. For many it seems important to be able to participate in what Pope Benedict XVI called the “Extraordinary Form” of the Roman Rite.
REGINA | 50