the Congregation was confined to Italy. The Ceylon Mission was begun in 1845, their first foundation outside Europe. The Sylvestrines provided many of the clergy for that missionary diocese well into the 20th century. Additionally, they have monasteries in the United States, the first being established in Atchison, Kansas, where two monks arrived in 1910 and served the spiritual needs of the many workers in the coal industry there. As that industry faded and the local population began to move away, they looked elsewhere to build a permanent home. They were welcomed into the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1928, where they built their first monastery in the country in 1938, St Benedict of Oxford Monastery which serves as the orders headquarters in the United States. There is a daughter house Holy Face Monastery in Clifton, New Jersey. A conventual priory was founded in 1962 in Australia at Arcadia, Sydney, Australia, by an Italian monk serving in Sri Lanka. There are now also monasteries in India. In the late 20th century, a foundation was set up in the Philippines and, more recently, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Present day The Sylvestrine monks operated as a completely autonomous congregation for most of their history, until they joined the Benedictine Confederation in 1973. This placed the congregation under the general supervision of the abbot primate of the Benedictine Order, and joined them to the life of the entire Order throughout the world. As of 2020, there are three monasteries in Italy (Montefano, Bassano, and Giulianova). In September 2007, Dom Michael Kelly, O.S.B., a monk of the Australian monastery, was elected as the 115th abbot general of the congregation. On 28 May 2019, he was succeeded by Father Antony Puthenpurackal OSB of Saint Joseph’s Conventual Priory, Makkiyad, India. Distinctions One distinguishing mark of the Sylvestrines continues to be that their habit is dark blue, as opposed to the standard black worn by most other Benedictines. Additionally, they distinguish themselves from other Benedictines by adding the abbreviation "Silv." after the standard postnominal initials of the Order, O.S.B. Since they joined the Benedictine Confederation, however, that practice is seldom followed. References External links Congregazione Benedettina Silvestrina "Curia Generalizia" St Benedict Monastery, Oxford, Michigan. 1231 establishments in Europe Catholic orders and societies Religious organizations established in the 1230s