The 900-year-old order of the Norbertine Fathers originated in northeastern France. St. Michael’s Abbey was founded by the Norbertines in Orange County in 1961, independent of any local archdiocese. The order commissioned a new religious site for housing, worship and burial.
MATT’s team constructed a new church, monastery, administrative and guest wing building, burial chapel, bell tower and sewage treatment plant. The structures were built with a mixture of structural steel, structural shear stud walls, CMU walls and CIP concrete walls. MATT sequenced the installation for a smooth flow on site among the multiple structural trades.
Adjacent to the 108-foot bell tower, the two-level church features a Romanesque integral color plaster interior with high radiused ceilings and limestone flooring. Below the church, a crypt will house burial vaults for the abbots. The monastery provides archival space and living facilities for the monks, as well as a sacristy and a chapel. The administration building provides office and conference space, as well as a guest wing.
The updated campus occupies 40 acres of the order’s 327-acre property. Sitework includes landscaping, hardscaping and new access roads.
