Spiritual Life
Rooted in the Celtic Tradition
The Order of St David is rooted in the Celtic and Benedictine traditions, weaving together the contemplative depth of the desert with the wild, wind-swept faith of the saints of Britain and Ireland. Prayer, scripture, and simplicity form its daily rhythm, and in all things it seeks the living God.
SPIRITUAL LIFE
Prayerful, simple, disciplined, and communal: rooted in devotion, humble service, profession, worship, shared life, and wholehearted dedication to God.
OUR VOWS
Members of the Order of St David profess three vows drawn directly from the Rule of St Benedict: Stability, Conversion of Life, and Obedience.
A consecrated way of life for ordinary people seeking God in the simplicity and fidelity of each day, rooted in the spirit of Dewi Sant of Wales.
VOCATIONS
Our Rule of Life
The Order draws from two great wells of Christian wisdom. The first is the Celtic monastic tradition of St David, with its emphasis on closeness to creation, joyful simplicity, and the awareness of what the Celtic saints called the thin places -- those moments and spaces where heaven seems very close to earth. The second is the Rule of St Benedict, one of the most enduring guides to Christian life ever written, with its gentle wisdom, its balance of prayer and work, and its call to stability and conversion of life.
Together, these two traditions shape a Rule of Life that is practical, grounded, and suited to people living in the modern world.
Prior General
Most Rev Felix Gibbins OSD
prior@orderofstdavid.org
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The Order of St David © 2026.
The Order of St David is a Secular Institute of Consecrated Life erected under the Canon Law of the Ancient Apostolic Catholic Church
Prayer to St David
O God, who did call your servant David to be a preacher of the Gospel and a light to the people of Celtic communities, grant that we who honour his memory may follow his example: being joyful in faith, steadfast in hope, and faithful in the little things of daily life. Through the intercession of St David, may we drink deeply from the well of your grace, labour faithfully in your vineyard, and at the last come to that blessed rest where, with him and all your saints, we shall praise you for ever. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.