The monastery was founded by two groups of nuns from the medieval Abbey of Our Lady of Nazareth (commonly called
Brecht Abbey) in
Belgium in 1962, the first four arriving on the site on 1 November 1962. Noted art director
Robert Usher, an extern brother of the
Abbey of New Clairvaux in
Vina, California had donated his house and grounds to the Cistercians. The nuns soon settled in and established themselves; they were formally declared a new monastic community on 15 August 1963. It was established as an independent abbey the following year, and the founding
Mother Superior, Mother Myriam Dardenne, O.C.S.O., was elected the community's first
abbess on 21 November 1964. The abbey was dedicated on May 2, 1967, by
Leo Thomas Maher,
Bishop of Santa Rosa. Mother Myriam led the community until 8 December 1989. The current Abbess is Mother Kathy de Vico, O.C.S.O., who was elected in 2000. ==See also==