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The Order of Saint BenedictWhat Was NewApril, May and June 2007Rev. 30 June 2007
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June 2007
Monastery Elevated in Brazil
On 13 June 2007 the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life elevated the Benedictine Monastery in Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerais, to become a conventual (independent) monastery in the Brazilian Congregation. The Abbot President appointed Dom Bento de Lyra Albertin OSB to be the community's first prior.
New Prioress for Queen of Angels
On 17 June 2007, the Benedictine Sisters of Queen of Angels Monastery in Mt. Angel, Oregon, installed Sister Donna Marie Chartraw OSB as Prioress. Sister Donna Marie succeeds Sister Dorothy Jean Beyer OSB who served as prioress from 1987-1995 and 1999-2007. Queen of Angels Monastery was founded from Maria-Rickenback, Switzerland, in 1882. In 2007 the monastery is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its founding.
The Year of Saint Paul
On Thursday, 28 June, during First Vespers of Sts. Peter & Paul at the Roman Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Holy Father proclaimed next year, June 2008 to June 2009, the Year of Saint Paul. The Pontiff said: "In the papal basilica and Benedictine abbey attached to it, there can take place a series of liturgical, cultural and ecumenical events, as well as various pastoral and social initiatives, all of them inspired by Pauline spirituality. Special attention can also be given to pilgrims who from various places will want to go to the tomb of the Apostle in a penitential way in order to find spiritual benefits" (Zenit News Agency). Dom Edmund Power OSB, Abbot of St. Paul and caretaker of St. Paul's tomb, explained that "Inspired by the teachings of St. Paul who taught us how to 'theologize' Christ, crucified and risen, we can renew our dedication to the same Christ." Prior Johannes Paul Abrahamowicz OSB spoke to Zenit about the ecumenical aspects of the Pauline year.
New Abbot for Schweiklberg
On Saturday, 9 June, the monks of Schweiklberg Abbey elected as their sixth abbot, for an indefinite tenure, Father Rhabanus Petri OSB, 44, of St. Ottilien Archabbey. Until his election, Abbot Rhabanus was novice master and junior master at St. Ottilien as well as assistant cantor and organist. Abbot President Jeremias Schroeder OSB says, "He will be sorely missed in his monastery of profession. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh, praised be the name of the Lord!" The predecessor of Abbot Rhabanus, Abbot Christian Schuetz OSB, 69, resigned on 15 February after 25 years in office.
Eco-friendly Ottiliens
Schweiklberg Abbey has been creating electricity by water power for over 75 years, and, since 1998, the monks have been using solar power to heat water. In August 2004 new solar panels were installed that convert energy from the sun into electricity.
In 2000, celebrating their centennial, the monks of Münsterschwarzach Abbey set as a goal the reduction of CO2 emissions of the monastery by 100%. After seven years, with the installation of a biogas generator, almost 95% of that goal has been achieved. The first 6% was achieved by construction of a water power plant, followed by the introduction of solar panels, and participation in a wind park. The new biogas equipment uses fermented corn, grain pellets and liquid manure to produce both electricity and heat. Surplus electricity is sold and distributed to the region's network.
Election at Mount Michael
On Friday, 1 June 2007, the monks of Mount Michael Benedictine Abbey, Elkhorn, Nebraska, elected Rev. Michael Liebl OSB, 56, to be their third abbot. He succeeds Rev. Theodore Wolff OSB, 78, who is retiring after 18 years as abbot. Prior to his election, Abbot Michael served as subprior and treasuer and worked as a physics teacher and tennis coach at Mount Michael High School. In 2006, the National Science Teachers Association recognized his innovative use of data-collection technology in the classroom. Abbot Michael attended Mount Michael and St. Thomas Seminary in Denver. He earned degrees at Creighton University and Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minn. He professed first vown in 1971 and was ordained in 1977. Abbot Peter Eberle OSB, President of the Swiss-American Congregation presided at the election and installation of Abbot Michael. Ad multos annos!
ICBE Convenes in Chile
The International Conference on Benedictine Education (ICBE) announces that 30 July is the deadline to regiser for Benet: Chile - 2007. The conference, 31 October to 3 November 2007, will be held at San Bento School, a Manquehue Movement school in Santiago, Chile. Father Columba Stewart OSB, Saint John's Abbey, and Señor Cristóbal Valdés R OblSB, Headmaster of San Anselmo School, will address the theme of the conference, "To Teach as Benedict Did." Participants will be able to participate in two of 13 workshops being offered. Secure payment and registration online is available.
May 2007
Nebraskan Elected Prioress in Tanzania
The Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastic Peraminho Priory, Tanzania, have elected Sister Rosann Ocken OSB prioress. Sister Rosann has had a long association with the priory since her maternal aunt, Sister Roselle Koch OSB, served there in the 1960s and founded the secondary school at Peramiho. Sister Rosann is a Missionary Benedictine Sister at Immaculata Monastery in Norfolk, Nebraska. She got to know the African community personally in 2003 when the community invited her to do facilitation work and community discernment for a month.
+ Dom Ambroise Watelet OSB
Dom Ambroise Watelet OSB, 94, died on 6 May 2007. Formerly Prior of Sant'Anselmo, Abbot Ambrose also served as President of the Congregation of the Annunciation from 1980 to 1992. He had been a monk for 75 years and a priest for 69 years. Ô Juge tout-compatissant, rends ton serviteur Ambroise digne des douceurs du paradis.
Summer Events
Benedictine Pedagogy: Do We Rally Teach Differently? is presented by Benedictine University's Center for Mission and Identity, Lisle, IL, 31 May to 2 June 2007. Featured speakers are Prof. Gary Bouchard PhD, Saint Anselm College, NH, and Prioress Judith Ann Heble OSB, Moderator, Communio Internationalis Benedictinarium. Contact: <atait @ ben.edu>.
Community: The Art of Living Together is a special sesquicentennial conference sponsored by two Benedictine communities in central Minnesota. Planning for the conference, 10-13 June 2007, is governed by the ideal of real interaction, sustained listening, openness to everyone's ideas and experience. There will be occasions to form community as well as talk about it in the grand tradition of interchange -- monasticism is not forsaking the world, but for the sake of the world -- and it is about the future. We want to create new shared understandings of community for our tomorrows. Cost is $275-375. Registration form.
Living in Community: Insights From the Rule of Benedict is a conference offered by the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood, Idaho, 1-7 July 2007. The presenter will be Sr. Mary Forman OSB PhD,associate professor of Monastic Studies at St. John's University School of Theology, Collegeville, MN. Topics of this conference will include: 1) Prayer, Lectio divina, Divine Office: Encounter with God; 2) Christ in the Rule: Who Do You Say I Am?; 3) Loving Service: Fulfilling the Love Command; 4) Radical Hospitality: Exchange of Mutual Gifts; 5) Humility: Way to Authenticity; 6) Good Zeal: Community as the Way to God in Christ; and 7) Living the Rule in the World. Cost is $395. For more information see the website.
Welcoming the Other: A Path to Holiness and Peace. This year's Monastic Institute is an effort to help communities see interreligious exchange as an important contemporary expression of the charism of hospitality that can, indeed should, be practiced by all who are called to the monastic life. 1-5 July 2007, Saint John's University School of Theology. PDF registration form.
Changing Realities is the theme for the next meeting of the Benedictine Musicians of the Americas that will coincide with the Monastic Liturgy Forum Conference at Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton, South Dakota, 17-21 July 2007. Participants will discuss the changing realities within our communities and how these are affecting liturgical celebrations. Fewer and aging members, more guests, larger age gaps between younger and older community members, priest shortages: these are a few of the realities that have changed the way some monastic liturgies are prepared and celebrated. Cost: $340-360. Contact: S. Patricia Ann Toscana OSB <sptoscano @ hotmail.com>.
Douai Abbey in Reading, England, is the site for a conference, 20-22 July 2007, on Icons of a New Monasticism. The conference is in partnership with the University of Wales Lampeter's Monastic Studies Programme and MONOS, a nonprofit organization concerned with the engagement between monastic culture, spirituality and contemporary society. For further information, contact Nancy Dorshler at <info @ monos.org.uk>.
Learn Latin in London: The Benedictine Study & Arts Centre, Ealing Abbey, London, 28-31 August and 3-7 September 2007. Levels 1 through 5. Contact: <centre @ bsac.ac.uk>.
A new Course in Monastic Formation is being offered in Rome by the General Curia of the Cistercians (O Cist) at the College of Saint Bernard from 22 August through 22 September 2007. Simultaneous translation in five languages will be available. The faculty consists of Benedictine, Cistercian and other professors from the Roman universities.
Devasting Fire
On Thursday, 19 April, towards 5:30 p.m., the Benedictine nuns of
St
Michel de Kergonan, Plouharnel, France, had nearly finished
singing Vespers when a fire broke out in the Abbey church. The blaze
caused terrible damage to the nave, the steeple and part of the
second floor of the main Abbey building that housed the novices.
Attendance at Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours is not possible for
visitors until early in June.
Sant'Anselmo
Heidemarie Winter-Lehming writes knowledgeably and well about " Saint'Anselmo: a Case for Renovation" for the weekly Rheinischer Merkur. She understands the Abbot Primate's responsibility to tend to emergency repairs, conserve ancient artifiacts, as well as envision better use of the finite space available for academic purposes at Collegio Sant'Anselmo.
Rapid City Monastery Sold
The Benedictine Sisters of St. Martin Monastery announce the successful sale of the monastery and 400 acres of land in Rapid City, South Dakota. The new owners, the Good Samaritan Society, the Rapid City Catholic School System, and the Diocese of Rapid City will develop the properties in accord with the wishes of the Sisters. "The sisters had a specific vision about what they wanted here, and we're just glad that we get to be part of it," Bishop Blase Cupich said. In 1889, the first residence for Mother Angela Arnet OSB and the founding Sisters from Melchtal, Switzerland, was an abandoned tavern in Sturgis, SD.
36 Martyrs of the Korean Mission
Abbot Simon Ri OSB, the abbot of Waegwan Abbey and Apostolic Administrator of Tokwon Territorial Abbey launched on Wednesday, 9 May, the process of beatification for 36 martyrs of the Benedictine Mission in North Korea. They were killed in prison and labor camps between 1949 and 1952. This group of martyrs, "Abbot Bishop Boniface Sauer OSB, Fr Benedict Kim OSB, and companions," comprises monks of the abbeys of Tokwon, Yenki, St. Ottilien, Münsterschwarzach, Schweiklberg and Beuron, sisters from Tutzing and Wonsan, secular priests of the diocese of Hamheung and a laywoman, Agneta Chang, who was an oblate of the Wonsan sisters' community. Archabbot Jeremias Schroeder OSB, Prioress Gertrud Kim OSB of the Tutzing Sisters' Daegu Priory and Dr. Johannes Mahr, expert on the history of the Missionary Benedictines, attended the ceremony at Waegwan Abbey. The ceremony marked the formal opening of the proceedings. Fr Eduardo Lopez-Tello OSB of St. Ottilien will be the postulator of the cause which is now to enter its diocesan stage under the authority of Tokwon Territorial Abbey.
Polish Monks Expand Distribution
The Polish monks of the Abbey of Tyniec, near Cracow, plan to expand their online store of locally produced organic "Benedictine Products" by opening a chain of shops. "We plan to open more than 100 franchise outlets. Sixty of them will be opened before the end of the year," said Father Zygmunt Galoch OSB, who is in charge of the monks' commercial affairs ( Agence France).
Olivetan Named to Roman Curia
The Holy Father named on Tuesday, 8 May, Abbot Christopher M. Zielinski OSB Oliv., Pecos, New Mexico, the new Vice President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church and Vice President of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaelogy. Born in Lakewood, Ohio, on 11 April 1953, he professed first monastic vows for Monte Oliveto Maggiore, Sienna, on 1 November 1972. After theological studies at Sant'Anselmo, Rome, he was ordained a priest on 8 September 1977. He studied widely in monastic spirituality; Gregorian, polyphonic and modern music; medieval history, and, above all, the history of art. He earned a degree in Social Psychology in 1991 from the University of Florence. On 2 December 2003 the monks of Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey, Pecos, elected him abbot.
New Benedictine Bishop
On Friday, 4 May 2007, the Holy Father named Dom Cletus Chandrasiri Perera OSB, 59, Bishop of Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. Father Cletus has been Prior of the Monastery of Saint Sylvester at Kandy since 2002. He first professed vows on 28 February 1965 and became a priest in the Sylvestrine Congregation on 4 August 1973. Father Cletus has served in various pastoral and diocesan assignments including duty as Vicar General of Kandy and pastor of the Cathedral parish. Sylvesterines and all Benedictines are proud of Dom Cletus and heartily wish him, "Ad multos annos!"
Patriarch Bartholomew Receives Benedictines
On the Second Sunday of Easter, 15
April, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinopole, His
Holiness Bartholomew I, received a group of teachers and
students visiting from the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant'
Anselmo. Previously they had attended the Divine Liturgy in the
patriarchal church of Saint George the Trophy-Bearer. The kindness
of the patriarch allowed the group to visit the Patriarchal Library
and to see some of its precious historical manuscripts, many from
various monasteries suppressed through the centuries.
After the audience, they were invited to an ecumenical and convivial lunch at the patriarchiate. His Holiness expressed his great interest in the unity of the two Churches, evidenced especially during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in November 2006. He also conveyed his great appreciation for the Benedictine Order that he has known since the time of his studies in Rome.
April 2007
Dom Jean Mabillon OSB
2007 marks the 300th anniversary of the death of Dom Jean Mabillon OSB at 75, 27 December 1707. He is buried in Paris at Saint-Germain-des-Prés. For Le Monde des Livres (20.iv.07) Blandine Kriegel writes, " Dom Mabillon: la religion de l'histoire," a glowing tribute to the great Maurist historian. Fostered by Cardinal Richelieu, the Benedictine Congregation of St. Maur indulged in scholarly pursuits to "reconcile piety with truth, for religion has nothing to fear from the truth." Mabillon's great work of nine folia, the Acts of the Benedictine Saints (1668-1701), was surpassed in importance and effect by his De re diplomatica (1681), the first textbook of paleography. "With this important work Mabillon established the principles for the modern science of determining manuscript authenticity by means of dating" (Jean Mabillon).
Pope Chooses Abbess Vera
Pope Benedict XVI has invited Mother Vera Lúcia Parreiras Horta OSB, Abbess of the Benedictine Monastery of Salvador, Brazil, to be part of the Fifth Conference of the Bishops of Latin American and the Caribbean. The participants will assemble in Aparecida, São Paulo, Brazil. The conference runs from 13 to 31 May 2007. For two days before the opening of the conference, the Holy Father will stay as a guest at the Benedictine Monastery in São Paulo.
From 23 to 28 April the abbots, abbesses, priors and prioresses of the Brazilian Benedictine Congregation have gathered at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, Rio de Janeiro, to prepare for the General Chapter of the Congregation to be held in 2008.
Bush among the Benedictines
Responding to criticism of the impending visit of President George Bush to St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to give the commencement address on 11 May 2007, a campus-wide forum addressed the issue. The forum was broadcast live on C-SPAN (Real Media). Before becoming president of the college, H. James Towey served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives. "Archabbot Douglas [Nowicki OSB] invited the President of the United States because he feels our graduates and their families will benefit from hearing the leader of the free world share his thoughts about the issues of the day and the future" ( President's Blog).
Prinknash Proceeds
Having made the difficult decision to move from their 1972 abbey, the monks of Prinknash Abbey, Gloucestershire, have had to sell some items from the monastic library to finance the costs of removal to and the renovation of St. Peter's Grange. At an auction recently, 250 books: bibles, theological, and rare books fell under the hammer to realize £116,000 ($232,490; €171,000). Father Martin McLaughlin OSB, bursar, commented on the sale, "We're selling off some of our books and giving away some to other monasteries. We can't take everything with us and there are a lot of costs involving in moving. It's quite sad to see them go, but the kind of people who are buying them are passionate about these types of books" (The Independent, 14 April 2007).
Cistercian Studies Center
Abbot Simone Fioraso OCist, of the Abbey of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, Rome, announces the founding of The Institute of Cistercian Studies. The scholarly activities will be coordinated by the newly founded Chair of Cistercian Theology and Spirituality at the Pontifical Angelicum University. The inauguration is set for 8 November 2007, and the first classes will be offered in the summer semester of the 2007-2008 academic year. The Institute will promote publications relevant to Cistercian studies and an annual colloquium on theological, spiritual, literary, artistic, and cultural themes.
Visit to Solesmes
John Tagliabue writes for The New York Times about his visit to Solesmes Abbey during Holy Week. He interviews Dom Yves-Marie Leliãvre OSB, choirmaster, and others in the village of Solesmes about the monks' commitment to preserving Gregorian Chant and the renewed interest in and use of chant in French parishes.
Widget
The Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas, have made the most popular offering on their website available as a Macintosh widget (Mac OS 10.4 or higher). The Daily Reflections are short lines, provocative of thought, written by one of the sisters based on a reading in the current day's Roman Catholic Lectionary for Mass. The widget shows the reflection of the day and provides a link to the Scripture passage on which the reflection is based. Additionally, the widget serves as a search tool to look up any Scripture passage in the New American Bible. The widget is available for download at <www.mountosb.org/widget/>. A version for Microsoft Windows is in development.
Interview with the Abbot Primate
Die Welt Online published on Holy Saturday an interview with Abbot Primate Dr. Notker Wolf OSB about German politics. His book, What Are we Wainting For? (Rowohlt, 2006), sounds the call for more personal responsibility in society. He couples individual freedom with responsibility for the whole of society, especially its weakest members. He suggests that St. Benedict would probably feel more at home in the Christian Democratic party than among the Socialists, but the saint would place greater emphasis on the Christian element than today's party leaders do.
St. Walburg Sisters Featured
St. Walburg Monastery, Villa Hills, Covington, Kentucky, was among several congregations of women in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati mentioned in a long article by Margaret McGurck. Although the title, " A vanishing tradition: Not enough young nuns to replace an aging population" speaks to the contemporary situation, it is comforting to learn that the "National Religion Vocation Conference reports a 19 percent upswing in the number of people entering religious communities since 2004" (The Enquirer). The vocation conference also reported a 125 percent increase in the number of contacts seeking information through its Web site. Sister Deborah Harmeling OSB spoke from a Benedictine's perspective, "Fifty years from now," she said, "religious life will be different. We won't be so much interested in institutions as we will be in seeking God. We pray four times a day. ...Benedict called it, 'The work of God.' That is the work we do, no matter how old we are."
Fire at Waegwan Abbey
Archabbot Jeremias Schroeder OSB revealed to members of the Ottilien Congregation the sad news that in the earliest hours of Good Friday, 6 April, the main building of Waegwan Abbey, Korea, burned down. [ Illustrated report.] The destroyed building contained many monks' rooms, the office of the abbot, the administration, the secretariat, etc. Fortunately the fire was discovered very soon by the subprior, Brother Andreas Jeon OSB, who was returning from vigil at the Altar of Repose. He immediately sounded the alarm so that, thankfully, nobody was injured or killed.
Father Bartholomaeus Henneken OSB wrote from a parish to report that the inferno raged for five hours while fireman, supported by a helicopter, battled the blaze. The roofs of all three wings and of the chapter house were destroyed. The archive was salvaged, but the porter's office and the abbey church were the only elements undamaged. About 70 monks stationed at Waegwan now find themselves homeless. At the moment the cause of the fire is believed to have been a short circuit in the mansard roof of the south wing. "Our prayers are with our confreres in Waegwan. I am sure that I can pledge the generous solidarity of our communities" concluded Abbot-President Jeremias OSB. He will visit the community in Easter week as a gesture of solidarity and to determine how the Congregation can help best.
The Monastery
The premiere of "Into the Silence," the first episode of The Monastery, scheduled for Easter Sunday, 8 April, on The Learning Channel, has been postponed. Viewers were to have followed five independent, gregarious women as they experience a severe culture shock and struggle to be part of a society where community trumps individualism, where possessions are frowned upon, and total silence is the order of the day. The Trappistines of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, Iowa, opened their doors to the five women. The photographers and crew from TLC accompanied them. In making the decision to allow filming, the Sisters discerned "the opportunity to evangelize, to spread the hope of salvation and the Good News of Christ to a world suffering often profound discouragement. We also believe that we have been blessed with a tremendously rich life, and that God was giving us a chance to share our riches with others" (website).
Campaign Against Torture
Numerous Benedictine communities or individual members have registered support for "Torture is a Moral Issue," the statement of conscience by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Both LCWR and CMSM urge member communities of religious to endorse the statement. Most Reverend William S. Skylstad, President, represents the UCCB among a distinguished group of National Denominational and Faith Group Leaders.
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