‘You O Lord are my lamp,
my God who lightens my darkness.
With you I can break through any barrier,
With my God I can scale any wall.’

Psalm 17(18) vv28,29

Dom Gregory was born in 1925 in Zaandam, Holland and made his monastic profession at Monte Oliveto. He lived and worked in the Lebanon and in Cockfosters, London before moving to Turvey in 1985. Dom Gregory’s arrival at Turvey as superior of the monks’ community helped to ensure the community’s survival after the death of Dom Edmund Jones its founder. While he was still at Cockfosters Dom Gregory had trained as a group psychotherapist, he used these skills at Turvey to establish the Turvey Centre for Group Psychotherapy, which continues to thrive. More recently Dom Gregory was instrumental in founding an Emmaus community for the homeless in the nearby village of Carlton, which also continues to thrive. This last project reflected Dom Gregory’s constant concern that Christian monastic life should be responsive to the needs of the poor.

Our dear brother:

GREGORY VAN DER KLEIJ

was called into the fullness of life and peace on

28 May 2005