This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of typescripts of Pennington's books and articles, as well as published newspaper and periodical articles. It also includes conference materials, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence, notes, newspaper clippings, documents relating to various Cistercian monasteries and multimedia recordings that belonged to Pennington. The fourth series, the family collection, contains genealogical material on the Pennington family and its origins in England, including correspondence between family members and others, as well as photographs (prints and digital images).