Fr. Peter Kavanaugh
Unplug from the Machine. Tune in to God’s Reality.
The Ave Maria Farm is a homesteading community in rural Texas building a life centered around sacramental worship, classical values, beauty, leisure, and a healthy relationship with nature and dirt. You will find here the main farmhouse, three tiny homes, a pole barn, community garden, and a small herd of cattle, sheep, chickens, and Bonity, the family donkey. We built the tiny homes to provide a place for young adults who want to spend time experiencing Orthodox community and learning basic farming skills. We are also a 15-minute drive from Midwestern State University, and our parish, St. Benedict Orthodox Church, which offers daily Mass, rosary services, catechism, spiritual life classes, and a classical co-operative school for homeschooling families. Get involved! We would love to hear from you!
Rationale and Vision
Life is out of balance. The moral and cultural foundations of society are crumbling, but what are the underlying reasons? Where did we go wrong from the start, and how can we get back to balance? How can we reclaim, here and now, in twenty-first century America, an authentic Christian culture, a living environment that will allow an individual, a family, and a parish to thrive? Here at the Ave Maria Farm, we are stepping out of the norm, reexamining, discussing, and building sacred culture.
The Kavanaugh Family
Fr. Peter Kavanaugh grew up in a log home in rural Virginia where he acquired early on a love for nature. After studying philosophy, religion, and psychology in college, he spent a year learning to pray and farm at a monastery on Mt. Olympus, Greece. He went on to work as a farmhand in Virginia and later to complete his M.A. in Divinity at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Today, he is the priest at St. Benedict Orthodox Church and headmaster at St. Benedict Classical School in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Fr. Peter and his wife, Matushka Dr. Zoe Kavanaugh, are excited to homeschool their four children, Kevin, Eva, Ella Rose, and Fiona. Their education philosophy is heavily influenced by Charlotte Mason, John Senior, and C. S. Lewis, all steeped in the liturgical life of the Orthodox western rite. Through hours of sharing delicious literature, tilling dirt, gathering eggs, and kneeling before the altar, they are grateful to share this Life in Christ with family and parish community.
Reach out and get involved!