 Additionally, the abbey is also known for its ceramics that it produces.A number of the monks also teach at the seminary for the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and in colleges and universities in the Los Angeles area.At the invitation of Abbot Ansgar Schmidt, O.S.B., the Abbot President of the Benedictine Congregation of the Annunciation, of which St. Andrew’s Abbey is part, the monks at Valyermo began an intensive period of study and reflection in preparation for the election of a new abbot.