Benedictine Abbey of Newark

What Benedictine Abbey of Newark does

The Benedictine Abbey of Newark is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastic community established in Newark, New Jersey in 1857 by Abbot Boniface Wimmer of Saint Vincent Archabbey. Operating as a 501(c)-equivalent religious nonprofit with 14 named vowed monks and a total headcount of 11-50, the Abbey is one of the only urban monasteries in the United States. Its three core operating units are St. Benedict's Preparatory School (an inner-city Catholic college-preparatory school for boys originally founded in 1868, closed in 1972 following the Newark riots and white flight, and re-founded in 1973 with 87 students), St. Mary's Church (a Roman Catholic parish serving a thriving immigrant community primarily from West Africa and the Caribbean), and the Monastic Formation Program, which is supplemented by the Benedictine Volunteer Program for young men aged 20-30 and an oblate association for lay participants. The Abbey also operates the Pierre Toussaint Food Pantry and maintains a country retreat property in Sussex County, New Jersey. Revenue derives from three streams: educational services at St. Benedict's Prep, parish collections and professional services through St. Mary's, and a distributed donor base giving via the Abbey's website (powered by Blackbaud) at suggested one-time levels of $50-$1,000 with monthly recurring options. The community is governed by an Abbot elected for life and is a member of the American-Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine Monasteries; Abbot Augustine J. Curley was elected as the Third Abbot in May 2022, succeeding Abbot Melvin J. Valvano, who served for 49 years.

Name

Benedictine Abbey of Newark

Legal name

Benedictine Abbey of Newark

Website

https://newarkabbey.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1857

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Benedictine Abbey of Newark is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastic community in Newark, NJ, operating since 1857. It runs St. Benedict's Preparatory School, St. Mary's Church parish, a monastic formation program, and urban outreach for inner-city youth and immigrant parishioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious and Educational Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (813110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious Orders & Monastic Communities (Monasteries, Convents) (BPAGAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG), Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

Keywords

• Monastic community services
• Catholic secondary education
• Parish ministry
• Urban food assistance
• Religious vocational formation

Headquarters

HQ city

Newark

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Educational Services: Monks operate St. Benedict's Preparatory School, an inner-city boys' college preparatory school in Newark, NJ. The school was re-founded in 1973 and serves students from diverse racial, economic, and ethnic backgrounds.
2. Parish Ministry: Monks serve as priests at St. Mary's Church, which serves a thriving immigrant community from Africa and the Caribbean. Priests from the monastery also serve as chaplains to St. Walburga Monastery in Elizabeth and help in parishes in neighboring communities.
3. Donations and Benefactors: The Abbey relies on generous benefactors who donate through the Support Us page. The website accepts one-time and recurring donations via credit card or direct debit for Monastery Operations, Monastery Endowment, or other designations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Benedictine Abbey of Newark is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastic community of monks in the Order of Saint Benedict who sustain a life of prayer, study, and work while operating apostolic works: St. Benedict's Prep (an urban college-preparatory school for young men from Newark and surrounding communities), St. Mary's Parish and Church (downtown Newark), a monastic formation program for candidates discerning religious life, the Benedictine Volunteer Program (post-college lay volunteers serving at the Prep), and the Pierre Toussaint Food Pantry (emergency food distribution to Newark residents in need).

Product overview

Benedictine Abbey of Newark operates primarily as a monastic community with educational and parish apostolates. The core offerings include St. Benedict's Preparatory School (a Catholic college-preparatory school for young men), Saint Mary's Church (a Roman Catholic parish serving a diverse immigrant community), the Benedictine Volunteer Program (for young Catholic men), and a monastic formation program for those discerning a religious vocation. The abbey also operates outreach programs including a food pantry. These products and services are interconnected through the monks' commitment to the Benedictine values of prayer, work, and community service in an urban setting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• St. Benedict's Preparatory School: Boys' preparatory school operated by the monks of Newark Abbey, serving students from Newark and surrounding areas since 1868, reopened in 1973 as an integrated inner-city school.
• Saint Mary's Church

Products and services

• St. Benedict's Prep An urban, Catholic, college-preparatory secondary school for young men, operated by the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Newark in Newark, New Jersey. The school serves students from Newark and the surrounding region, with a strong emphasis on Benedictine values, academic rigor, and tuition affordability supported by Abbey scholarships and donor aid.
• St. Mary's Parish and Church A Roman Catholic parish in downtown Newark, New Jersey, served by the Benedictine monks of the Abbey, providing Sunday worship, daily Mass, the sacraments, faith formation, and parish community life to parishioners, students, families, and downtown residents.
• Benedictine Volunteer Program A post-college volunteer service program placing recent Catholic college graduates in one or more years of full-time service at St. Benedict's Prep, providing teaching, tutoring, mentoring, and residence-life support in exchange for room, board, and a modest stipend.
• Monastic Formation Program A formation program for men discerning and preparing for Benedictine monastic life in the Order of Saint Benedict, including candidacy, novitiate, and juniorate stages leading to solemn monastic profession, with priestly ordination for those called to the ministerial priesthood.
• Pierre Toussaint Food Pantry A free, walk-in emergency food pantry operated by the Benedictine Abbey of Newark that distributes groceries to Newark-area households and individuals experiencing food insecurity, regardless of religion or background.

Quantifiable outcome

• St. Benedict's Prep re-founded in 1973 with 87 students, now serving diverse inner-city population
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Saint Maur Priory (Indianapolis)minorOthers · 1 January 1989Newark Abbey adopted Saint Maur Priory in Indianapolis as a dependency in 1989. The seven monks attached to Saint Maur thereby became members of Newark Abbey. The arrangement has enabled integration of monks between the two communities.
• St. Benedict's Preparatory SchoolcoreOthersMonks of Newark Abbey operate St. Benedict's Prep, an inner-city Catholic college-preparatory school for boys in Newark, NJ. The school was re-founded in 1973 and has become the primary apostolate of the monastery. Abbot Melvin Valvano served as President of St. Benedict's Prep for nearly 50 years.
• St. Mary's Church (Abbey Church)coreOthersThe Abbey Church of St. Mary is staffed by the monks and serves a thriving immigrant community, now mostly from Africa and the Caribbean. Priests from the monastery also serve as chaplains to St. Walburga Monastery (Benedictine Sisters in Elizabeth) and help in parishes in neighboring communities.
• St. Walburga MonasteryminorOthersBenedictine Sisters in Elizabeth, NJ. Priests from Newark Abbey serve as chaplains to this sister community.
• St. Mary's Abbey (Morristown)minorOthersOriginally part of the same community until 1968 when Newark became independent. The Morristown house now operates Delbarton School. The two communities share some history and occasional collaboration.
• BlackbaudminorOthersThird-party donation processing platform used for the Abbey's online giving page. Handles credit card and direct debit donations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Belmont Abbey: Benedictine monastery in Belmont, NC, operating Belmont Abbey College. Comparable as a small-to-mid Benedictine monastic community running a Catholic college-prep apostolate.
• Saint John's Abbey: Benedictine abbey in Collegeville, MN, that operates Saint John's University and Preparatory School. One of the largest Benedictine monastic-educational complexes in the U.S., providing the same combined Prep + parish + formation model.
• Saint Meinrad Archabbey: Benedictine archabbey in southern Indiana operating Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. Comparable as a Benedictine community running an educational apostolate plus seminary formation program, with shared American-Cassinese affiliation.
• St. Benedict's Abbey (Atchison, KS): Benedictine abbey in Atchison, KS, that operates Benedictine College — a combined monastic community + Catholic college-prep institution directly comparable in mission, scale, and operating structure to Newark Abbey + St. Benedict's Prep.
• Saint Vincent Archabbey: Founding archabbey from which Abbot Boniface Wimmer sent the three monks who established Newark in 1857. Operates Saint Vincent College, providing the same Rule-of-St.-Benedict-based monastic + college-prep model with shared American-Cassinese heritage.
• Mount Angel Abbey: Benedictine abbey in St. Benedict, Oregon, that operates Mount Angel Seminary — a parallel monastic + seminary formation model under the same Rule of St. Benedict.
• Portsmouth Abbey: Benedictine monastery in Rhode Island operating Portsmouth Abbey School, a co-ed Catholic prep school. Comparable as a small Benedictine community operating a college-preparatory school as its primary apostolate.
• Saint Anselm Abbey: Benedictine monastery in Manchester, NH, founded by Newark Abbey monks in 1889. Operates Saint Anselm College, sharing the same Newark-rooted Benedictine culture and the combined monastic-educational apostolate model.
• St. Mary's Abbey (Delbarton School): Benedictine monastery in Morristown, NJ, that operated as the parent house of Newark Abbey until 1968. Operates Delbarton School, a boys' college-prep school — the most direct organizational and operational analogue to Newark Abbey's Prep + parish model.

Broad incumbents

• American-Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine Monasteries: The federation of Benedictine monasteries to which Newark Abbey belongs. Indirect 'peer' as the parent canonical body that Newark Abbey is affiliated with — not a competing organization but the coordinating structure for shared governance, formation, and resources across U.S. Cassinese monasteries.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/newarkbenedictinemonks
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NewarkAbbey
• Facebookfacebook.com/newarkbenedictinemonks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/benedictine-abbey-of-newark
• Instagraminstagram.com/newarkabbeymonks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Benedictine Abbey of Newark