Abadia San Benito de Palermo

This guide to the Abadia San Benito de Palermo in Buenos Aires follows six Spanish Benedictine monks who arrived in 1914 on quiet countryside once owned by writer Jose Hernandez, living out their motto of prayer and manual work. You'll hear how a small chapel and Gregorian chant startled the neighborhood, and how the community grew over decades from a bare cell into an abbey, with the stone church's cornerstone laid on Christmas Day 1940. Inside, look for a crucifix that seems to hang in midair and a set of pastel-blue Stations of the Cross painted by hand.