BREAD BAKING? PARTY!

Beach, beer and bikinis--for many college students, this is the ideal recipe for spring break. But for Julia Manian, a sophomore at the University of Missouri, Cancun simply wouldn't do. Instead, Manian and 14 girlfriends packed their Bibles two weeks ago and headed to... Clyde, Mo. Their vacation? A week with the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

Monasteries have welcomed travelers for centuries, but now a younger demographic is showing up. Last month alone, monasteries in Missouri, Montana, South Carolina and New York opened their doors to spring-breakers. Some students go seeking a quiet breather from deadlines and responsibilities, while others go in search of spiritual rejuvenation. Sister Colleen Maura McGrane, whose Clyde monastery welcomes 3,000 guests of all ages a year, says, "There is a real hunger for these students to find ways to live their spiritual life in the midst of the secular world." Clyde's guests attend prayer services four times a day, assist nuns by making rosaries and baking communion breads, and explore the monastery grounds. For broke college students, there is an-other perk: a four-night stay, including three meals a day, costs only $25. Amen to that.