Welcome to the Carmelite Priory
Thank you for watching Trading Places. If what you saw moved you, intrigued you, or simply made you curious — you are very welcome here.
A Community of Prayer in the Heart of Oxfordshire
We are a community of Discalced Carmelite friars living at Boars Hill, near Oxford, in a beautiful priory set within seventeen acres of woodland and meadow. Our daily life is built around prayer, silence, community, and service — a rhythm of life rooted on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land over 800 years ago.
We come from different countries and cultures — Nigeria, India, Ireland, and beyond — but we are united by a shared calling: to seek God in stillness and to share the fruits of that encounter with others.
As friars, we are not monks in the traditional sense. We live in community but also reach outward through our ministry, our teaching, and our welcome to all who come seeking peace, meaning, and a deeper life of prayer.
The Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality
Based here at the Priory, CACS is our centre for spiritual formation and renewal. We offer residential retreats in our peaceful grounds, a Spiritual Direction Formation Programme rooted in the Carmelite tradition, online courses and talks you can join from anywhere in the world, the quarterly Mount Carmel magazine, and a rich library of publications through our Carmelite Book Service.
We welcome everyone — Catholic and non-Catholic alike, people of all faiths and none. If you are seeking stillness in a noisy world, a deeper life of prayer, or simply a space to breathe and reflect, you are welcome.
The New Mount Carmel Project
Our community is growing, and so is the demand for what we offer. To meet this, we have launched the New Mount Carmel project — an ambitious plan to develop our Boars Hill site so that we can welcome more people for retreats, spiritual formation, and encounters with the Carmelite tradition.
The project will provide modern facilities whilst preserving the peace and beauty of our grounds — this extraordinary landscape that has been a place of prayer and contemplation for decades.
Your support can help make this vision a reality — a place of spiritual renewal for generations to come.
Three Ways to Connect
Support Our Mission
Your donation, of any size, helps us build a place of spiritual renewal for generations to come. UK taxpayers can increase their gift by 25% through Gift Aid.
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Come and stay with us, or join one of our online courses from wherever you are. There is something for everyone, from day retreats to our year-long programmes.
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