The Order of Saint Benedict
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September 2007
+ Abbot Claude Ehringer OSB
On Monday, 17 September 2007, Abbot Claude Ehringer OSB, 99, died. He succeeded in 1965 the first prior sent from St. Meinrad Archabbey to Prince of Peace Abbey, Oceanside, California. The community elected him its first abbot in 1983 when he was 75. He resigned on 20 August 1994.
Abbot Claude professed first vows at St. Meinrad on 6 August 1930 and became a priest on 22 May 1934. Before going to California, Father Claude served as assistant to the novice master for clerics from 1934 to 1948 and novice master and superior of the brothers from 1948 to 1961. He became Prior of Oceanside in 1965. Prince of Peace Abbey celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, 27 September, with burial following in the abbey cemetery.
Abbot of Montecassino Named Archbishop of Gaeta
On Thursday, 20 September, the Holy Father announced the nomination of Bishop Fabio Bernardo D'Onorio OSB JUD, 67, Abbot Ordinary of Montecassino, as the Archbishop of Gaeta, Italy.
Pope John Paul II confirmed his election as Abbot of Montecassino on 25 April 1983 and named him Ordinary of the territorial abbey. On 25 April 2004 Abbot Bernardo was named titular bishop of Minturno and was consecrated the same year. Bishop D'Onorio serves as a consulter to the Congregation for Divine Worship, and he is a member of the commission for liturgy of the Italian Bishops' Conference.
+ Abbot Gernot Wottawah OSB
Abbot Gernot died on Saturday, 15 September, at St. Ottilien Archabbey where he has been on holiday among the Missionary Benedictines since mid-June. Abbot Gernot was born on 12 February 1940 at Seiffen in today's Czech Republic. After graduating from the monastery high school in St. Ottilien he entered the Archabbey and professed temporary vows on 25 September 1961. Bishop Aurelian Bilgeri of Eshowe, South Africa, ordained him to the priesthood on 4 September 1966. While he was on a visit to Zululand together with Archabbbot Notker OSB to conduct the canonical visitation of Inkamana Priory, S.A., the Inkamana monks chose him on 16 August 1978 to succeed Fr Elmar Kimmel OSB as conventual prior. When Inkamana was raised to the rank of an abbey on 25 February 1982, the capitulars elected Fr. Gernot abbot. He remained in office until December 2002 when he stepped down on account of ill health. Keenly aware of the signs of time, Abbot Gernot led the community with a firm hand during the transition period when Inkamana became more and more a monastery with an African flair.
New Abbot General for Sylvesterines
Gathered at Fabriano, Italy, the capitulars of the Congregation of St. Sylvester, on Saturday, 15 September 2007, elected as Abbot General Fr. Michael Kelly OSB Silv. Abbot General Michael is a member of St. Benedict's Monastery in Arcadia, Australia. He succeeds Don Andrea Pantaloni OSB Silv., Abbot General for 12 years.
Chinese Students Convene at St. Ottilien
St. Ottilien Archabbey, Germany, hosts about 90 priests, seminarians, and consecrated women from China for a workshop that runs from 7 to 21 September. Bishop John Tong, auxiliary of Hong-Kong, will lead a discussion on Pope Benedict XVI's letter of 27 May 2007 to Chinese Catholics that was warmly welcomed by Archabbot Jeremias Schröder OSB. Several other prelates pray and meet with the students about a variety of topics. The annual workshop for Chinese theological students in Europe began in 1994. Germany hosts the workshop this year. The program for the workshop is the responsibility of the St. Augustine China Center and the Missionary Benedictines. Fr Joseph Wong OSBCam of Big Sur, California, inaugurates the session with five days of prayerful reflection.
Nuns Elect Second Abbess
On Wednesday, 5 September 2007, the Benedictine nuns of Abbaye Notre-Dame de Venière, Boyer, France, elected M. Danielle Darosey OSB to succeed M. Marie-Joseph Roduit OSB, abbess from 1971 to 2007. Mother Danielle will have the care of Sisters aged from 22 to 102. The community supports itself through artistic productions, a gift shop, liturgical vestments, bookbinding, and the reception of retreatants.
+ Sister Mary Charles McGough OSB
Early on Sunday, 2 September, Sister Mary Charles McGough OSB died at St. Scholastica Monastery, Duluth, Minnesota. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from Notre Dame University, and received training as an iconographer from the St. John Damascus Sacred Art Academy in Ligonier, PA. She was an experienced artist in other media as well. She was proficient in woodcut prints, watercolor, and ceramic sculpture. Her iconography follows the Byzantine style.
Sister Mary Charles completed many large commissions for churches and religious houses such as; St. Paul Priory, St. Paul; St. Olaf's Church, Minneapolis; Glastonbury Abbey, Hingham, Mass.; St. Michael Monastery, Elkhorn, Nebraska; and St. Andrew's Church, Brainerd, Minnesota.
Visitation will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, and the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, 7 September, both in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at the monastery in Duluth.
August 2007
Monks of Portsmouth Elect
The monks of Portsmouth Abbey, Rhode Island, elected on 22 August 2007 Dom Caedmon Holmes OSB, 65, to become the third abbot. Abbot President Richard Yeo OSB presided at the election according to the norms of the English Congregation. Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of Providence, will impart the abbatial blessing on 11 October 2007 during a Mass at 11 a.m. in the Church of St. Gregory the Great.
Benedictines of Clyde Hallmarked
After appearing nationally on PBS television and being profiled in the Kansas City Star, spring 2007, the Benedictine Sisters feature in the September/October issue of Hallmark Magazine. "Living in Harmony: protecting the planet is an act of faith for the sisters at a Missouri monastery" is a six-page article that chronicles the sisters' environmental efforts, that include harnessing wind energy, restoring native prairie lands, recycling and renovation, as well as the careful attention paid to the abundance of animal life at home on the monastery grounds.
New Austrian Coins
The Austrian Mint has created a new €5 coin to commemorate the Holy Father's planned visit to Austria and to Mariazell in early September 2007. Founded from St. Lambrecht Abbey on 21 December 1157, Mariazell is celebrating its 850th anniversary. The medieval building was significantly enlarged in the middle of the 17th century to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims. Today Mariazell welcomes annually about a million pilgrims and visitors.
The front of the silver coin designed by Thomas Pesendorfer depicts the facade of Mariazell Basilica with the dates 1197-2007. The reverse, as the other coins in the nine-sided, €5-series, gives the value and the arms of Austria's nine states.
Additionally, a special commemorative edition of 50,000 silver coins honors Pope Benedict XVI's visit. The Holy Father and
his coat of arms
appear on the
front. The basilica and a representation of Maria, "Magna Mater Austricæ,"
adorn the reverse.
July 2007
Stanbrook Abbey Elects
On 25 July 2007 the capitulars of Stanbrook Abbey, UK, elected D. Andrea Savage OSB to become the 25th abbess. She will oversee the difficult task of moving the community from Worcestershire to Yorkshire. Elections in the English Congregation are normally for 12 years. Dame Andrea succeeds Abbess Joanna Jamieson OSB.
A Benedictine Way
In 2000 Melk Abbey, Austria, completed the renovation of a large park and pavilion on the south side of its Baroque edifice. Now visitors can take a leisurely stroll and learn about the wisdom of Saint Benedict. Father Martin Rotheneder OSB was inspired to create "Benedict's Way," 12 stations in the abbey's nature park that includes 250-year old, gnarled linden trees. Each station is dedicated to a particular teaching taken from the Rule of Saint Benedict. The third, for example, teaches about work, prayer, and reading.
Martha and Mary Retreat
The Gospel for the Sixteenth Sunday of the Year on 22 July 2007 offers insights into our life in Christ through the story of Martha and Mary (Lk 10:38-42). At anytime during the year, one can participate in an online retreat based on the same story. The Better Part: Family and Friendship Relationships with Martha and Mary is an 8-day exercise of reflection and prayer created by Suzanne M. Harker.
Abbot Albert Retires
In the context of the celebration of his 25th anniversary as superior of Kornelimünster Abbey, Germany, Abbot Albert Altenähr OSB announced his retirement that will become effective during the canonical visitation in October 2007. His time in office saw the closing of the boarding school, construction of a new wing of the monastery, the sale of the old monastic wing, and major renovation of the remaining parts of the old monastery. He renewed the life of the monastery by infusing traditional monastic hospitality with a missionary dimension. In his role as Visitator of the Subiaco Congregation, he will continue to exercise leadership at the highest levels of the German Pro-Province until 2012.
Longest Serving Monk Dies at 106
On Thursday, 12 July 2007, Father Angelo Zankl OSB, oldest monk of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, died at 106. Younger by four months than Father Theodore Heck OSB, St. Meinrad's Archabbey, Father Angelo preceded him by two years in 1921 making monastic profession. Born 19 April 1901, Father Angelo was the living link to Saint John's earliest history through Father Cornelius Wittmann OSB, the last surviving monk of the the five pioneers from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who founded Saint John's 150 years ago. The monks celebrate the Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, 17 July, at 3:30 p.m. in the abbey church.
For the record, the oldest monk in the world is Dom Nicholas Kao Se Tseien OCSO, member of Our Lady of Joy Abbey, Hong Kong. On 15 January 2007, he celebrated his 110th birthday. "In a life bridging three centuries, he lives through ten popes and two Chinese emperors, and voted for Sun Yat-sen as president of China in 1912" (Wikipedia).
Solemnity of Saint Benedict
Monastics and their friends celebrate Saint Benedict, Patriarch of Western Monasticism and Co-Patron of Europe, on Wednesday, 11 July. Born in 480 A.D., his Rule for Monasteries brought order and creativity to a world of decadence and corruption.
What we know of Saint Benedict comes from the Second Book of the Dialogues written by Pope St. Gregory the Great. The sequence, Laeta dies, poetically recalls incidents of Benedict's life in the light of scriptural precedents.
Abbey
of St. Walburga
Sister Edith Bogue OSB mentions in her blog, "Monastic Musings," a recent visit she made to the Abbey of St. Walburga, Virginia Dale, Colorado. She recaps a feature article about the Benedictine monastery by Kelli Lackett that appeared in the Fort Collins Coloradan.
Archabbot Featured
On Monday, 2 July, Garrett Matthews profiled Rev. Bonaventure Knaebel OSB, 88, former Archabbot of Saint Meinrad Archabbey from 1955 to 1966, for the Evansville Courier Press. After service as a missionary in Peru and Mexico and pastoral work in Texas and Indiana, Archabbot Bonaventure returned to Saint Meinrad in 2003.
S. Joan, persona non grata
Most Rev. Barry Jones, Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand, has voiced his opposition to the invitation of S. Joan Chittister OSB by the Adult Education Trust, an independent group of Catholic lay people. S. Joan is slated to talk about spirituality, culture, justice, and "God, women, and the world." Mercy Sister Pauline O'Reagan supports S. Joan saying, "I think she has a very loving attitude towards challenging the church in matters where it needs to look at itself. She should not be feared. She's a very, very spiritual woman." S. Joan has won seven Catholic Press Association Awards for her books.
Illustration: Ms. lat. 9448, fol. 66v, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.