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Easter, 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Easter is an occasion on which to write to you at last.
I had always hoped that I could begin this letter with the news that the Director of Archaeology had given us permission to continue with the building of our assembly-hall in the cloister. At the end of January it looked as if this permission was about to be given. An official from the Ministry for Cultural Affairs, a former student of liturgy here and familiar with our situation, had intervened on our behalf. But, just at that time, the Italian government fell again, so we must wait once more. Last summer we were finally able to begin the excavation of the first section of the main cloister. Soundings had suggested that the remains of the Roman villa on which Sant'Anselmo is built would be struck at a depth of 7 metres. But, already at a depth of 4 metres the first signs of the walls of the villa, along with the remains of white mosaics, appeared -- in our opinion nothing out of the ordinary from what is usually found when one begins to dig in Rome. But for archaeologists such discoveries are more important than the Blessed Sacrament itself. From then on digging proceeded carefully in the presence of three archaeologists until finally all digging was stopped in September. After Christmas I tried via the Minister for Culture, Sig. Francesco Rutelli, to get things started again. And, indeed, we had a meeting in the Ministry with two of the Minister's officials and with the Chief Archaeologist of Rome. The latter suggested that we should make an application for permission to remove the mosaics and subsequently to build. We did this but to date have had no answer. Rutelli now has other concerns since he is trying to become Mayor of Rome. The Italian elections, general and local, will take place on 13th and 14th April. So, we have to wait once more and then see how to proceed.
Nevertheless, we have received permission to cover the site at the level of the cloister. This means that by the time of the Congress of Abbots, the ugly fence around that part of the cloister will be gone and both halves of the cloister fully open again. If and when we get permission we can continue to work underground. There being an exit at cellar-level which can be used to remove earth or whatever else needs to be removed into the garden. On the present archaeological site we want to put an assembly-hall for 150 people as well as an urgently-needed extension to the library. The new hall will replace the present Aula I which will then be altered for other uses. As mentioned above, the site will be covered at cloister-level and later a glass roof will be installed at arch-level to give a hall with 300 places. Such glass roofs have become very common where it is necessary to provide extra space in old buildings subject to building-restrictions.
We have been able to use the earth from the excavated cloister to level the sloping lawn around and below the swimming-pool. The plan is to cover this area with concrete honeycomb blocks and use it for receptions on special occasions and as a supplementary car-park Since it is no longer permitted to park on the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, the area in front of the church is hopelessly overcrowded when there is a wedding or a gathering of any kind. We have also made two new parking-lines along the terrace on the Via Marmorata side.
The re-roofing of the church and atrium having been completed, we began just the other day the next phase of the re-roofing project, this time over the so-called 'Libertà'. Scaffolding has been erected on the Via Marmorata side of the building as well as on the facade of the inner courtyard. The actual work of renovation will start immediately after Easter.
Work has begun, too, on the installation of a new elevator in the laundry staircase. This is a gift of the firm of Schindler. When this is completed the renovation of the two existing elevators will begin. These cannot be out of service during the academic year.
Thus, Sant'Anselmo is one big building-site and those in charge will have much to do in the coming summer to ensure that all is ready in time for the Congress of Abbots.
At last we have made progress in two important areas. Up to now there had been no clear agreement between the Holy See and Sant'Anselmo in the matter of the ownership of the property. Now Sant'Anselmo has a so-called usufruct agreement with the Holy See, valid in Italian law, for the maximum permitted period of thirty years. After this time, the agreement must be renewed. This gives us certain tax advantages as well as the possibility of requesting public funding. In addition, we have been able to acquire recognition in Italian law of the Athenaeum as a juridical entity. Bureaucratic regulation is on the increase and we must ensure that we are not suddenly faced with unpleasant surprises which can mean high additional financial burdens. In recent times, too, the cost of energy and of food in Italy has risen sharply.
For this reason I am happy that the two Sant'Anselmo foundations, in the United States and in Switzerland, are beginning to function. It will be some time before they achieve their goals and will be able to provide the necessary support to Sant'Anselmo. For the time being I shall still be searching for sponsors for our various projects.
Preparations are now in full swing for the Congress of Abbots. A sign of its approach was last month's Canonical Visitation which the Lex Propria requires to take place before the Congress. The Visitators report to the Congress. We are very grateful to Abbots Bruno Marin, Clemente Serna, and Placid Solari for this service. They spoke to many of the confreres. In summer the Enlarged Commission for Sant'Anselmo will meet. Every Congregation is invited to send a representative. We are still going through the program for this, clarifying the remaining questions. The Congress itself begins on the morning of 18th September and ends at midday on 27th. Before the Congress there will be two days of orientation for new abbots and any other interested superior, the aim being to familiarize them with the situation in Sant'Anselmo and the reality of the Confederation.
Our students will enter the final lap of the year after the Easter holidays. This year we have 450 registered students and with 120 residents from 43 nations the house is completely full. I should like to ask abbots not to forget Sant'Anselmo as a possible place of study for their monks. This will enable us to preserve the monastic character of the house. It would help all in their planning if new students were registered as early as possible.
The Athenaeum has its own website which is full of information: <www.santanselmo.org>. I should like, though, to mention three events: Dr. Wolfgang Huber, the Evangelical Bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg and Chairperson of the Conference of the German Evangelical Church, gave a guest-lecture on Dietrich Bonhöffer as a Protestant saint; the Liturgical Institute held its eighth Liturgical Congress at the Gregorian University and, finally, yet again, one of our professors was elected abbot of his monastery -- in this case Fr. Daniël Hombergen of the Trappist Abbey of Maria Toevlucht in the Netherlands. Fr. Stefano Visintin is his successor as Dean of the Theological Faculty and my second secretary, Dom Geraldo González y Lima took over Fr. Stefano's responsibilities as Secretary of the Athenaeum.
At the moment our course for Formators, actual or intended, is taking place in Rome. The Trappists also support and participate in this course. I constantly see evidence that this is a valuable help for many monasteries. We may, perhaps, widen the scope of this course to include all those with responsibility for leadership in their communities. This year, for lack of the requisite number of applicants, we did not hold the recyclage course for older confreres. It had also proved difficult to find a suitable co-ordinator. Preparations are already underway for the second World Congress of Benedictine Oblates which will take place in October 2009. The response to the first congress was so positive that there was no question of not having a second congress. It is important to underline that this congress is not an attempt to centralize the oblate movement. It goes without saying that oblates remain oblates of their own monasteries. However, meetings at an international level and the sharing of experiences from other countries and continents strengthens oblates in their vocation and good zeal.5. Meetings and Commissions of the Confederation
With regard to our Commissions: I renewed the mandate of Fr. Martin Neyt as President of AIM for a further five years. AIM has become a significant help for our younger monasteries in poorer countries. I have been able to obtain the services of Fr. William Skudlarek of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, as the new General Secretary of DIM. He lived in Japan for many years. After many years of successful service, Fr. Pierre de Béthune asked finally to hand responsibility for DIM to another. Fr. Timothy Wright, former Abbot of Ampleforth, is examining on my behalf the possibility of dialogue between Benedictines and Muslims. We have partner monasteries among Buddhists, but we must find other ways of meeting Muslims. In my opinion, there can be no question about the importance of such a dialogue. Our Commission for China met in February. Archbishop Celli reported to us on the recent developments following the Holy Father's letter to Chinese Christians. At the beginning of November, the International Commission for Benedictine Education held a meeting in Santiago de Chile for 170 heads of schools from 23 nations. Since many of our Benedictine schools -- now with 130,000 pupils -- are in many cases run by lay people, these meetings are necessary to communicate the valuable inheritance of St Benedict.
With that I come already to my travels. Many think that I am first of all a traveling abbot and wonder what I think about prayer and contemplation. They should look at the life of St. Bernard. I attended the education meeting in Chile mentioned above. I had come there from Mount Angel in Oregon where a new bell-tower and bells had been blessed. But not just that: the Benedictine sisters there were celebrating 125 years of presence in the locality and Abbot Nathan had organized an event in Portland in support of the Saint Benedict Education Foundation. I stopped in New York on the way back from Chile to attend a meeting of the board of that Foundation. Last year I attended several such meetings in the United States. I was also invited to the General Chapter of the American-Cassinese Congregation in Atchison as well as to the jubilee of the sisters in Madison and Ridgely. In Schuyler I met the fundraisers of our American monasteries. I always try to link 'official' and private visits.
The planned journey to China and North Korea was cancelled. Instead I was able to visit the Abbey of Waegwan in South Korea which had been destroyed by fire in the night of Holy Thursday to Good Friday. I took this opportunity to visit the two Tutzing priories of Seoul and Daegu as well as the Olivetans in Busan. These priories have many members, all over 100 and in one case over 400. At the end I gave a day of recollection the monks of Waegwan in view of the approaching centenary of the Benedictine presence in Korea which will be celebrated in 2009. In that year we shall have the Synod of Abbots President at Waegwan. Last year this synod was held at the Archabbey of Pannonhalma in Hungary. At about the same time the annual conference of the Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum was meeting in the Philippines.
At the end of January I attended the American Abbots Workshop in St. Joseph Abbey, New Orleans. This year the workshop dealt with ecological questions. The conservation of nature is a natural concern for Benedictines, but many are forced by rising energy-costs to look more closely at these issues. Some days later I was in the Abbey of Kappadu in Kerala for the annual meeting of the Indian and Sri Lankan superiors. The so-called 'Mobile Monastic Institute' has begun well. It is called 'mobile' because the several weeks of courses are held in a different monastery every year. This helps to keep costs down. After Easter I shall be attending the meetings of the German-speaking, Flemish, and Italian abbots, and finally, I shall be going to Santo Domingo for the ABECCA meeting which brings together the superiors of the monasteries of Central America and the Andes.
During the Pope's visit to Austria I was, once again, one of the commentators for Bavarian Television.Finally, a few practical matters: Father Prior Johannes Paul Abrahamowicz of St Paul's Outside the Walls, to whom I am very grateful, planned the Atlas OSB in such a way that individual webmasters can themselves update their data. In general, this works very well. It would be better, though, if all could cooperate. General responsibility for the Atlas now rests with Dom Giacinto Kurczynski of the Sylvestrine monastery at Bassano Romano. The address is: <http://atlas.osb-international.info/>.
I should like to draw attention to a publication, presented by our professors, which has appeared in Italian (Jaca Books) and German (Schnell and Steiner) with the support of the Confederation. The editor is Fr. Eduardo López-Tello García OSB and the German title is Benediktinische Kunst. Kultur und Geschichte eines europäischen Erbes. With its impressive photographs the book witnesses to the richness of an art that grows on the rich soil of the Gospel.
And so it only remains for me to thank everyone: all those who have the responsibility for Sant'Anselmo and all who work with them. Special thanks to my Council which meets almost every month to check our finances and to discuss matters of personnel and our various projects. Thanks too to those who live in the house whose contribution makes our community life possible. Thanks as well to those who work for our Commissions. Finally, I should like to thank all who welcomed me into their houses with warm hospitality. I am aware that many others would like to welcome me, but in my calendar the year only has 365 days.
May the feast of Easter enliven us with joy and hope and cause some of the Glory of God to radiate in all our monasteries.
With fraternal affection and heartfelt greetings,
+ Notker OSB
www.osb.org/intl/confed/cl2008eng.html