to a call made by Pope John XXIII to the Catholic Church in North America to assist their fellow Catholics in Latin America, the abbey established a new foundation, the Priory of the Resurrection, in Cobán, Guatemala. This small community of monks remained a dependency of Blue Cloud Abbey until the abbey's closing, when it was transferred to the authority of St. Meinrad Archabbey. Closure On 29 May 2012 the monks of Blue Cloud Abbey voted to close the monastery. The reason for closure was that the monastery had not been able to draw a sufficient number of new members, which led to an increasingly aging monastic community. After a final Mass on Sunday, 5 August 2012—the feast day of Our Lady of the Snows, the patroness of the abbey—it officially ceased operations, and all public liturgies and scheduled retreats were cancelled. Denis Quinkert, O.S.B., was Blue Cloud Abbey's last abbot. The 14 remaining monks of the community, almost all of whom were above the age of 70, dispersed to other monasteries. Current status While the abbey has not yet been legally dissolved, in December 2013, a Catholic nonprofit organization has taken ownership of the abbey property. It is now operated as the Abbey of the Hills Inn and Retreat Center and includes two hermitages. Abbots Gilbert Hess, O.S.B. (1954–1970) Alan Berndt, O.S.B. (1970–1986) Denis Quinkert, O.S.B. (1986–1991) Thomas Hillebrand, O.S.B. (1992–2009) Denis Quinkert, O.S.B.(2009–2012) References External links Abbey of the Hills Benedictine monasteries in the United States Christian organizations established in 1950 Catholic Church in South Dakota 1950 establishments in South Dakota 2012 disestablishments in South Dakota Religious organizations disestablished in 2012