Coming To Peace

One June morning, in 2002, the bells at a Benedictine abbey in northwest Missouri tolled dozens of times

The 83 rings was not random, coming a day after a murderous rampage inside Conception Abbey. The number represented the combined number of years two slain monks had lived at the abbey, which is located about 100 miles north of Kansas City.

The gunman, Lloyd Robert Jeffress, 71, of Kearney, Missouri, wounded two other monks and ended by killing himself in the basilica with a single gunshot to the head. Authorities at the time speculated that Jeffress’ anger might have stemmed from his 1959 divorce and annulment two decades later.

Flatland photographer Chase Castor visited the abbey on the 15th anniversary of the shootings, finding that the incident was still too raw for the monks to discuss. Nevertheless, he found a contemplative community that remains committed to its foundations of peace, prayer and work.

In Conception, Missouri, it isn’t odd to see a tractor on the road or a hay rake stowed in the median. Yet what distinguishes this small farm community from many other like it is the presence of Conception Abbey, which is tucked in the middle of rolling hills dotted with giant wind turbines. The abbey is a compound of brick buildings fitted with beautiful murals and stained glass windows. It is a space of serenity, nature, spirituality — and even a soccer field.

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The abbey is home to 66 monks, who have dedicated their lives to prayer and work following the Rule of Saint Benedict. They are peaceful, humble, and hospitable. Residents range from elderly monks, who have spent a majority of their years living this way, to young men starting their monastic life. Yet they are one community, coming together to pray six times a day, filling the basilica with psalms and ancient prayers sung in reverberating unison.

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