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Welcome to Papa Stronsay

Over 1400 years ago St. Columba (521-597) met with Brude, the King of the Picts, and also the chief ruler of the Orkney islands. In that meeting, recorded for us by Saint Adomnán of Iona (627 – 704), (Vita Columbæ Bk 2 Ch. 43) St. Columba said to King Brude: "Some of our brethren have lately set sail, and are anxious to discover a desert in the pathless sea; should they happen, after many wanderings, to come to the Orkney islands, do thou carefully instruct this chief, whose hostages are in thy hand, that no evil befall them within his dominions." The saint took care to give this direction, because he knew that after a few months St. Cormac would arrive in Orkney. So it afterwards came to pass, and to this advice of the holy man, Cormac owed his escape from impending death. These early monks — Papari — gave their name (From Latin, Papa via Old Irish, Papar - Fathers) to the islands where they set up their monastic settlements, their "deserts in the pathless sea". Their islands were called Papey, there were three such Papey islands in Orkney although through the centuries we now know of only two: one called Papey meiri ( or big Papey, — big Priests' Island — today known as Papa Westray) and one called Papey minni (or little Papey, — little Priests' Island — known now as Papa Stronsay). For more than 1400 years this island of Papa Stronsay has been set apart from the other Orkney islands as a holy island.

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer

The Island

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer are a Roman Catholic congregation of missionary monks. Their life is both contemplative and active. Living in the spitiruality of the desert fathers, they find their "desert in the pathless sea" on the tiny island of Papa Stronsay, in the North Sea. From this holy desert, the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, leave their contemplative life and set out on voyages, from this island in the North Sea, like so many Irish or Viking monks, to preach the Eternal Truths in the form of Missions wherever they are invited; which means in any part of the world. Read More...

The island of Papa Stronsay is owned by the Monastery, which assures us the privacy and solitude that we need to live our life. Papa Stronsay is about 6 minutes by boat to the neighbouring Island of Stronsay. The Name "Papa Stronsay" means "Priests Island of Stronsay". The name from the Papar monks, who inhabited the island, withstood even the Viking invaders who settled Orkney from the 8th century onwards, because of the community of priests – monks, most likely – on Papa Stronsay. Read More...

Vocation

The Transalpine Redemptorist life is neither purely contemplative, nor entirely active, but combines both. Thus, we live neither for ourselves, nor for the people alone, but we devote ourselves first to our own sanctification by the practice of prayer and of all the virtues so that we be a living memorial (vita memoria) of the life of Jesus Christ, and then to the sanctification of others. Here you can find various information and articles about the religious vocation in general, and the Transalpine Redemptorist vocation in particular. Read More...

History

In March 1987 a young Redemptorist priest, seeking to make sense of the turmoil in the Church and finding, as by accident, that the crisis in the Church came from and was caused by a crisis in the Liturgy; and finding himself both convinced of his need to celebrate the seemingly forbidden ‘old Mass’ and to be out on a limb because of it; turned to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for advice and assistance.

As the months passed in the quiet of the seminary ... Read More...

Directions

To get to Papa Stronsay is not complicated but it is clearer if we say that there are three steps: First it is necessary to to get to Kirkwall, Mainland Orkney. Second, to get from Mainland Orkney to the island of Stronsay. Finally, from Stronsay the monastery boat will take you to Papa Stronsay.
Option 1: By Air. There are flights to Kirkwall from Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow or Edinburgh. The airline is Flybe https://www.flybe.com/ operating for British Airways.

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Find Us Online

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer
Golgotha Monastery Island
Papa Stronsay
Orkney KW17 2AR
UNITED KINGDOM