A team of docents has graciously volunteered to help the Sacred Stones office conduct tours of the grounds.  All of them answered our call from an announcement in their church bulletins.  They come from Our Divine Savior Catholic Church and St. John's the Baptist Church in Chico, St. Patrick Catholic Church in Corning, and Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Red Bluff.

"They are a wonderful blessing to us," said Jerry Olenyn, the director of development at New Clairvaux, "especially since many of them bring experience as docents and church volunteers.

The docents are needed especially in the spring when more visitors come to the abbey.  In addition, the local, national and international attention that the Sacred Stones project is receiving is creating more enthusiasm and interest in the abbey.

"The docents are enormously valuable," said Karla Johnson who works in the Sacred Stones office. "We will now be able to provide more tours."

If you're interested in becoming a docent please contact the Sacred Stones office at (530) 839-9936 or email sacredstones@newclairvaux.org

Another significant milestone in the reconstruction of a medieval Spanish chapter house was finished.  On March 5, 2012, the crew sprayed gunite over the five tons of rebar atop the trans-vaulted ceilings.  

Phil Sunseri, the project's general contractor, says the 800-year-old sacred stones are now "locked into place."

"It's no longer an abstract pile of rubble," explained an excited Sunseri. "It's now a Gothic building."

The gunite will take one month to cure and will be tested before the shoring will be removed.  At that point, we will see the stunning ceiling!