La Vid is in the Burgos region of Castile in Spain. It has been the site of a religious house (convento) since about the year 1140.

                                
A community decided to settle there in the twelfth century, beside the River Duero. Under the patronage at the hand of Alfonso VII (1104–57), the Spanish king of Castile and Leó  n from 1126 to 1157, this would become a much more grand structure. The buildings there, however, acquired their present size and number during the 17th and 18th centuries. The church was built in 1522 and altered in 1723. There was once also a hospital for travellers.

Much of the construction of those centuries still exists there today - the cloister (patio, clausura) in 1517, the church, the refectory of the monastery, and, finally, in 1798 the magnificent library. It was given the title of "imperial" in the eighteenth century. The Premonstratensian Order departed La Vid with the suppression of religious houses in 1836, and for thirty years the buildings were empty.

Of the various Spanish Augustinian Priovinces, the one interested in La Vid was the Philippines Province, based in Spain for misoioary ministry in Latin American and Asia. It bought the monastery on 16th October 1865 as a centre of study and formation for candidates to their Province. La Vid escaped the suppression of monasteries during the revolution of 1868 because, like the Augustinian college at Valladolid, it was training priests for the Spanish overseas missions. When a separate Province of Spain was formed in 1926, La Vid transferred to the young new province, and is still used as a house of formation.

La Vid was the venue of an international Augustinian youth festival (encuentro) in 1992. La Vid now accepts individuals and groups who wish to stay for a number of days in its atmosphere suitable for prayer. For this purpose it has fifty-five rooms available, and for recreation offers a swimming pool, paths for walking, and zones for various sports.

Links

Santa Maria La Vid Monastery. Many captioned photos.
http://www.manbos.com/en/vergalsitio.asp?galeria=Santa+Maria+de+la+Vid+Monastery

AN4263