Saint Robert of Molesme Festival

A monastic celebration in the heart of the Caserta region

The Saint Robert of Molesme Festival is the annual event where the Monastic Fraternity of Ruviano, in the municipality of Ruviano (Province of Caserta, Campania), celebrates its patron saint. The date follows the liturgical calendar of January 26th, commemorating the French monk who, in 1098, led the group of brothers to Cîteaux that would eventually form the Cistercian Order.

This is neither a food festival nor a public street fair: it is a day of prayer and hospitality, where a monastery built just over a decade ago opens its doors to friends, neighbors, and visitors from afar to share the liturgy and a meal with the monks. This blend of silence and conviviality is what sets this day apart from the many patronal feasts in the area.

The community behind the event

The monastery was born from the experience of two priests of the Church of Naples, Father Fabrizio Cristarella Orestano — the community's prior — and Father Giampiero Tavolaro. The fraternity has been present in the area since 2007, moving into its new facility on Via Morroni in 2011, nestled in the countryside sloping toward the Volturno River; diocesan records date the true birth of the monastic community to 2009. Today, the house is enlivened by the monks and supported by local families who collaborate on its paths and activities.

Daily life is built on three pillars declared from the very beginning: prayer, work, and hospitality. The Liturgy of the Hours in common, personal lectio divina, a guesthouse for retreats and spiritual days, online theology courses, and an in-house publishing project make up a vision of a monastery that, as the monks love to repeat, «still has much to say to the world today».

Why Saint Robert?

Robert of Molesme (c. 1029–1111) is the primary founder of the Cistercian Order: on March 21, 1098, he left Molesme with about twenty monks, including Saint Alberic and Saint Stephen Harding, to establish the Abbey of Cîteaux and restore monastic life to the letter of the Rule. Simplicity, manual labor, study, and prayer: these are the same coordinates that the Ruviano fraternity recognizes as its own, and it is no coincidence that the monastery houses a relic of the saint. The January 26th festival is therefore much more than a calendar date: it is the day the community publicly reflects on its roots.

How the day unfolds

• 12:00 PM — Solemn Eucharistic celebration in the monastery church;
• Following the mass — A convivial moment with guests who wish to join the monks' celebration;
• Artistic interlude during lunch — In 2025, actor Fulvio Sacco read passages from «Three Rebel Monks» by Father M. Raymond, the book that tells the story of Robert, Alberic, and Stephen Harding;
• All day — Hospitality in the guesthouse for those arriving from afar who wish to stay.

The formula, sober and repeated year after year, is that of an extended family celebration: the prior invites friends from the Diocese of Alife-Caiazzo, and the dining table becomes the natural extension of the liturgy.

Ruviano and its territory

Ruviano is a small municipality in the Province of Caserta overlooking the Volturno Valley, in the Caiazzo district, within the Diocese of Alife-Caiazzo. We are in inland Campania, a land of agricultural villages, olive groves, and hills rising toward the Matese mountains: a landscape that explains why a monastic community chose this corner of the province. Those who climb to the monastery for the festival find a silent countryside just a short distance from Caiazzo.

A monastery open to culture

January 26th is not the only occasion for meeting. Throughout the year, the fraternity offers spiritual days, retreats, vigils, and cultural paths. In 2026, for example, the monastery promoted «InterrogArti», a journey for young people aged 17 to 25 that weaves together theater, art, and music, with two workshop days on April 18th and May 9th, and a residential MusiCampus on July 25th and 26th. It is the same spirit as the patronal feast: culture as a path to self-knowledge and listening.

Before you go

As this is a community celebration rather than a tourist event, participation in lunch must be arranged in advance with the guesthouse; the 12:00 PM mass, however, is open to everyone. For 2026, no dated communication regarding the festival has been found: it is best to contact the monastery to confirm times and arrangements.