Benedictine monks established St. Benedict's Abbey in the late 1850s. Today about 40 monks reside at the abbey on the northern edge of Benedictine College. The historic complex is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Gothic-style abbey, completed in 1929, was built from limestone quarried from caves along the river. The abbey church, designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, was completed in 1957. It features a 44-foot high nave ceiling, facing choir stalls where monks gather three times a day for common prayer and frescoes by French painter, Jean Charlot.