316 people take Chilworth’s Benedictine vocation quiz in its first month

Our online quiz attracts hundreds of people curious about Benedictine monastic life:  https://www.chilworthbenedictines.com/my-post7630d9ef 

More than 300 people have completed St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth’s online Benedictine vocation quiz in its first month, suggesting considerable curiosity about monastic life and the question of vocation.

The free 15 question quiz was launched on 6 August 2026 and by 5 September had already been completed 316 times.

Entitled “Could you be a Benedictine monk?”, the quiz invites those interested to reflect privately on some of the questions involved in discerning a possible vocation to Benedictine monastic life.

Questions explore areas such as prayer, community life, stability, obedience, simplicity and whether a sense of calling has persisted over time.

The quiz is deliberately simple and private. There is no registration, individual answers are not stored and participants receive an immediate result.

It is not intended to tell somebody that they have a vocation. Instead, it provides a private first opportunity to stop, think and consider whether the possibility of monastic life might be worth exploring further.

The response has nevertheless been striking: 316 completed quizzes in approximately one month, averaging more than 10 completions a day.

St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth has been placing renewed emphasis on helping people understand what Benedictine monastic life actually involves and encouraging those who may have a genuine calling to explore it carefully.

The Abbey stresses that discernment is a gradual process.

Someone interested in the monastic life would normally begin by making contact and visiting the monastery, followed by further visits and, where appropriate, a period of more serious discernment with the Community.

At Chilworth, the journey towards becoming a monk takes years rather than weeks and progresses through stages including aspirancy, postulancy, novitiate and temporary profession before solemn vows for life.

The unexpectedly strong response to the quiz does not mean that 316 people are considering joining the monastery. But it does demonstrate that, in 2026, hundreds of people are still willing to spend time asking questions about vocation, prayer and the possibility of a radically different way of life albeit not necessarily at Chilworth and possibly at other monasteries (see our UK directory of monasteries here)

In the meantime, enquiries continue to increase from men and women wanting to experience Benedictine monastic life for a few days by staying in our monastic guesthouse (by donation): https://www.chilworthbenedictines.com/guests-and-retreats

Could you be a Benedictine monk?

Take the free, private 15 question quiz and find out what your answers suggest: https://www.chilworthbenedictines.com/my-post7630d9ef 

St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth

A living Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery in the Surrey Hills near Guildford, UK