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MONCKS CORNER — Roughly 100 people gathered on April 26 in the gardens of Mepkin Abbey to remember the people who lived, worked, and died on the land now home to the Catholic monastery. The overcast and windy day saw the blessing and dedication of the abbey's Meditation Garden of Truth and Reconciliation , which was built next to the Laurens family gravesite and an adjacent cemetery for those who were enslaved on the land. Fr.
Joe Tedesco, the superior of Mepkin Abbey, said that they've found two cemeteries for enslaved people on the grounds from the days the land was Mepkin Plantation. "It's fitting that a memorial be dedicated to all the enslaved, so that their memory and contribution to our country can be remembered and honored," Tedesco said. "And that's what we're about — to come to that reconciliation that we so desperately need as a country, to heal all these wounds that are still there.
" Dora Ann Reaves touches the ‘Thy Father’s Hand” statue during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. The statue that stands at one end of the garden, titled "Thy Father's Hand," was donated by Dora Ann. James J.
Reaves Jr. Tedesco recalled during the ceremony when Dora Ann had called him asking if he wanted the statue. "As soon as I saw the picture, I said, 'Here is the memorial for slavery for Mepkin Abbey," he said.
Speakers during the ceremony included South Carolina State University professors Frank Martin and Alison McLetchie, both of whom served on the committee that helped develop the garden. Assistant Professor at South Carolina State University Alison McLetchie, Ph. D.
speaks during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. McLetchie said inspiration for the garden, in part, came from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa after the end of apartheid as well as the recent efforts by the Canadian government and Catholic Church to address the injustices surrounding residential schools for indigenous people. The United States, she said, has yet to engage in a reckoning with the "grievous actions or crimes committed on God's people.
" "I am grateful that the monks at Mepkin Abbey have decided to be brave and create a space that calls us all to tell the truth and to work towards reconciliation — guided by the Holy Spirit — with ourselves, with each other, and with God," she said. The procession from the tent where the ceremony was held to the meditation garden was led by the monastery's Brother Ambrose, who carried the wooden Foundation Cross that Tedesco said the monks brought with them from Kentucky when they migrated to the Lowcountry in 1949. A procession during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
Attendees filed down the steep stairs and across the bridge in the small ravine before ascending out into the garden. Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune, who oversees the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, blessed the garden in three spots — the statue, a tombstone in the middle of the figure-eight-shaped garden, and the cemeteries of both the Laurens family and the people enslaved on the plantation. The procession and bishop's blessing were livestreamed to the tent where the ceremony was held for those unable to make the journey up and down the steep stairs to the meditation garden.
U.S. Rep.
Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, spoke after the blessing. He said that he believes there's a "certain rhythm to history." He said that rhythm is what brought him to the ceremony, as his late wife, Emily, hailed from a farm in Berkeley County not far from the county airport in Moncks Corner.
And in turn, he said, the ceremony made him reconsider the epilogue to his upcoming book, "The First Eight." Congressman Jim Clyburn speaks during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. "I've gone through it about three or four times, and I finally submitted what I thought would be the epilogue," Clyburn said.
"When I get back to my residence this evening, I'm going to take another look at the epilogue and see if I can get in touch with (publisher) Little, Brown (and Company) and ask them to hold up a little bit because I think heard something today — I have felt some things today that I feel I may need to rewrite some of this epilogue." Fabre-Jeune closed out the ceremony. He said that while the people being honored during the ceremony may have been enslaved, "their souls were never enslaved.
" "They were children of God when they were born, and they went back to the Father's house," he said. Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune blesses the Truth and Reconciliation Garden of Mepkin Abbey honoring those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Fabre-Jeune, who is the first Black bishop of the Diocese of Charleston, also spoke about how he envisioned the souls of the enslaved welcoming the recently-passed Pope Francis into heaven.
"Probably, they are saying, in heaven, something is happening on Earth, something special," he said in reference to the ceremony and blessing of the garden. The ceremony ended with the hymn, whose words were written by the great Black poet James Weldon Johnson, " Lift Every Voice and Sing, " sung altogether by everyone in attendance. Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune blesses the Truth and Reconciliation Garden of Mepkin Abbey honoring those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune blesses the Truth and Reconciliation Garden of Mepkin Abbey honoring those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Congressman Jim Clyburn speaks during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
Father Joseph Tedesco speaks during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. A procession during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Dora Ann Reaves touches the ‘Thy Father’s Hand” statue during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Assistant Professor at South Carolina State University Alison McLetchie, Ph. D.
speaks during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. “Thy Father’s Hand” during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune blesses the Truth and Reconciliation Garden of Mepkin Abbey honoring those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
Photos: Mepkin Abbey's Truth and Reconciliation Garden Mepkin Abbey dedicated its Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War. Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune blesses the Truth and Reconciliation Garden of Mepkin Abbey honoring those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune blesses the Truth and Reconciliation Garden of Mepkin Abbey honoring those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Congressman Jim Clyburn speaks during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Father Joseph Tedesco speaks during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
A procession during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Dora Ann Reaves touches the ‘Thy Father’s Hand” statue during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
Assistant Professor at South Carolina State University Alison McLetchie, Ph. D. speaks during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
“Thy Father’s Hand” during a dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune blesses the Truth and Reconciliation Garden of Mepkin Abbey honoring those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner.
A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner. A dedication of Mepkin Abbey’s Truth and Reconciliation Garden, which honors those who were enslaved on the grounds when it was a plantation before the Civil War Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Moncks Corner..
