Seven white-habited Benedictines visited Caldey in mid-October, as guests of the Cistercian monks who have occupied the ancient monastic island since 1929. The Benedictines, three from Prinknash Abbey in the west of England and four from Pluscarden Abbey in the north of Scotland, were celebrating the 100 years since their original community, then living on Caldey, was received into the Roman Catholic Church.

The Benedictine community was founded in London by Aelred Carlyle around 1895, in the hope of restoring monastic life to the Church of England. He brought them to Caldey on St. Luke's day 1906, seeking permanent settlement there, and they built the present monastery well before their conversion to Catholicism in 1913.

But grave financial problems obliged them in 1928 to sell the island to the Cistercian Order, well known in the history of Wales for its 13 pre-Reformation houses of monks and two houses of nuns. The convert Benedictines, meanwhile, accepted the legacy of Prinknash Park, near Gloucester, and in 1928 established there what became the present abbey. Then in 1948 they sent part of their number to colonise the pre-Reformation monastic site of Pluscarden, near Elgin in Moray; this is now Pluscarden Abbey.

At Caldey on this St Luke's day, October 18, 2013, the Abbot of Prinknash (Father Francis Baird) presided at a Mass of thanksgiving, and the Abbot of Pluscarden (Fr Anselm Atkinson) was the preacher.

The previous day, the Prinknash archivist, Father Aelred Baker, gave a talk on the meaning of the conversions in 1913. His second lecture was on the personality of the founder, Abbot Carlyle, who died in 1955, having retired to Prinknash after many years of devoted pastoral ministry in Canada.