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Last Updated: 22 January 2008 Site designed by www.cddweb.co.uk |
Background Information
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Bardsey Island Bardsey - or Ynys Enlli in Welsh - has been a place of pilgrimage since the 5th century. People are always drawn to the edge of places and so St Cadfan came from Brittany preaching the Gospel and living a solitary life, here on the mainland, and further west to a small island where he thought God had called him and which he felt, in the tradition of the early saints, to be the place of his resurrection. Throughout the centuries, across the dangerous waters of Bardsey Sound, boat loads of pilgrims have made their way to pray on Bardsey. A place beyond time, a place beyond words. There is a rich history of the development of a Clas church at Aberdaron and the remains of St Mary's Abbey can still be seen on the island which is used to celebrate the Eucharist and also for contemplative prayer. |
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22 years ago, the island was sold by Lord Newborough and his family. The people of Wales wanted it to become, once again, a place of silence and retreat. So an appeal was launched and the island was purchased by the Bardsey Island Trust. It is now a place of outstanding natural beauty, of rare sea birds, of precious flora and fauna, of seals and dolphins. The Trust has had a tremendous job to do in repairing the houses and bringing the island back to being a unique place for visitors from all over the world to visit. |
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Carreg Trust In recent years the Christian presence and continuity of prayer maintained on Bardsey Island for so many years had begun to fade. The Hermitage, the Oratory and the house Carreg Fawr are a group of buildings set apart from the other houses. Carreg Trust was formed in 2002 by a group of Christians who believe that God is calling us to reclaim the complex and preserve and develop it as a place of contemplation and prayer. A place for both guided and individual retreats and above all a place set apart for peace and development of the inner life. The great traditions of Welsh spirituality and the development of prayer and the experience of the contemplative life - even if for a short period - is close to so many hearts. |
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We do not live in the past here, but we bring from the past the traditions that provide our firm foundation. Now we feel bound to develop, encourage and teach how the great spiritual roots of the past can be used to grow and develop a centre for prayer which is so desperately needed by so many today. We have only one opportunity to do this now and re-establish the house of peace to meet the needs of those who wait in hope. Therefore we go on in faith to offer in the present time and lay down for the future a beacon of light in a dark world, and that beacon of light will be a place where prayer has been valued and will once more be the essence of spirituality on the island.