Oldest Trappist Monk in the world dies at 108

Trappist Father Benedict Chao, the oldest monk in the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, has gone to the Lord at the age of 108.

The Diocese of Hong Kong announced that Father Chao passed away on July 31, 2026, at the Abbey of Our Lady of Joy on Lantau Island, where he had lived for decades. He had been in monastic vows for 79 years and a priest for 77 years.

Born in 1918 in Hebei province, China, Father Chao entered the original Abbey of Our Lady of Joy.

He was ordained in 1949 — the same year the Chinese Communist revolution forced the monks into exile. Many of his confreres were imprisoned, beaten, or killed during the persecution.

After years of displacement that took him through Canada and a brief stay at the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity in Utah (where the monks learned cheese-making), Father Chao and his community finally reestablished their monastery in Hong Kong.

He later served as prior of the community from 1974 to 1998.

The Trappist order noted that his long life of silence, prayer, and work renews reverence for those who offer everything to God.

With his death, Sister Sebastiana Yamaguchi Teruko of Japan (age 107) is now the oldest Trappist religious in the world.

Father Chao’s funeral is scheduled for August 14.

A faithful son of St. Benedict who survived war, persecution, and exile, and spent nearly eight decades in the cloister — may he rest in the eternal joy he sought all his life.