IN THE NEWS

Dubuque Telegraph Herald March 11, 2007 "Building the caskets is not just a secular enterprise for the monks. A spiritual component melds the work into the monastery's daily mission. Br. Felix Leja views it as a 'corporal work of mercy - helping to bury the dead. He takes extra care with each casket he works on. "I make a prayer out of it, make it part of my daily prayer life", said Leja" Cedar Rapids Gazette July 2006 "About a dozen of the abbey's monks are engaged in the business. 'It's a corporeal work of mercy, helping to bury the dead. It's very satisfying.' said Brother Felix, who helps turn out about three simple pine caskets a week." Minneapolis Star Tribune June 1, 2004 “Trappist monks in Iowa have built a profitable casket business that reflects their values of work… and allows them to sustain their community… The caskets are crafted by hand; the goal is to reflect the simple humility of the monk’s lives and to create a thing of beauty – a handmade homage to both life and death…”  U.S.A. Today February 4, 2004 “Outside Dubuque, Iowa, the Trappist monks of New Melleray Abbey can’t turn out their hand-hewn, wooden caskets quick enough. Sales have soared since 2000… doubling last year and projected to double again this year. Fashioned from sustainable wood, the caskets range in price from $695 for a plain pine box to $1795 for a walnut coffin.” Wall St. Journal October 24, 2003 “And, the monks will tell you, quite immodestly, the product, … sells itself. Mary Valsa of Chicago had handled all of her 97 year old mother’s wishes for a funeral except this: “She told me she wanted to be buried in a simple wooden casket. I thought, ‘where am I going to get one?” Mrs. Valsa’s daughter-in-law hopped on the internet and found Trappist Caskets. They chose the Oak model for $1495. It was delivered to a Chicago funeral home the next day. “They were all saying at the wake,” Mrs. Valsa says, “I’m sorry for your loss, but where did you get that casket?” Divine Word Magazine October 2003 “The Trappists’ distinctive caskets reflect a sincere and spiritual approach to death. The story of their craft begins in the woods from trees grown in the abbey forest. The logs are milled into boards at the abbey’s own sawmill and then the monks hand-assemble the caskets in the woodworking shop…. As responsible farm mangers, the monks plant 125 new trees for every tree they harvest…. The Abbey has won Iowa’s top award for its expert management conservation practices.” Smithsonian Magazine October 2002 “New Melleray monks, because they spend most of their time praying, studying or attending church, have only about five and a half hours a day to make caskets… The woodshop is a 100-year-old, wood-framed building with tall windows… Waste is unheard of. Scrap wood is made into small furniture… Sawdust is spread around trees for mulch… Though the casket venture brings in money for the abbey, it also reflects Trappist beliefs and practices, which include an abiding awareness of death as a sacred, not-to-be-feared part of life. “Keep death before one’s eyes daily,” says one of the strictures… which govern the monks’ lives.” Chicago Sun Times November 19, 2001 “The… monks have been building caskets… for 150 years, but the commercial venture is only two years old. Nonetheless, the marketing methods show modern savvy. Caskets can be shipped overnight anywhere in the country and… the monks are expanding their business. Today, the monks, who trade in their robes for work clothes, have trouble keeping up with sales. Daily work shifts are planned around several hours of prayer and private meditation.” New York Times September 6, 2001 “Now, someone looking for a moderately priced coffin can call a toll-free number and within a day, for a shipping cost of ($100 to $250), receive a low-priced pine… or a top-of the line walnut. Each is of a simple design reflecting simple Trappist ideals… “Their work is prayer, … they’re not interested in making a lot of money, just enough to sustain themselves”. Wood Magazine February 2001 “Many people spend much more than they can afford on a loved one’s casket because there hasn’t been an inexpensive, yet respectable looking option. Trappist Caskets fill that need. They’re dignified, yet affordable…. Having a wooden casket that was carefully crafted by monks also adds a spiritual aspect.”

© Copyright 2008: Trappist Caskets. All rights reserved. Notre Dame alumni and their families who have elected burial in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Notre Dame, Indiana, will be interested in viewing our exlusive line of Notre Dame caskets and urns.