Founded in 1997 by the Norbertine Canons of St. Michael’s Abbey (Orange, California), the Bethlehem Priory of St. Joseph is a Roman Catholic community of cloistered religious nuns, the first community of Norbertine Canonesses in the United States. As Canononess, we are especially dedicated to the solemn and reverential celebration of the Church’s Sacred Liturgy.

Founded in 1997 by the Norbertine Canons of St. Michael’s Abbey (Orange, California), the Bethlehem Priory of St. Joseph is a Roman Catholic community of cloistered religious nuns, the first community of Norbertine Canonesses in the United States. As Canononess, we are especially dedicated to the solemn and reverential celebration of the Church’s Sacred Liturgy, which we celebrate in keeping with the traditions of the Praemonstratensian rite of our Order, with pride of place given to the Latin language and Gregorian chant. Following the Rule of St. Augustine, we joyfully live out our canonical vocation within the monastic rhythms of liturgical prayer and contemplation, of community life and work, of silence, study and penance. Our Monastery is situated away from the hustle and bustle of the world in a quiet valley in the Tehachapi Mountains outside the city of Tehachapi, in the Diocese of Fresno, California. It is here, amidst the natural beauty of God’s creation, that we seek to continue the 900-year-old canonical tradition began by our Holy Father St. Norbert, one of the great reformers of the 12th century.