Benedictine – Page 18

John Brahill elected 5th abbot of Marmion Abbey

Father John Baptist Brahill, 61, was elected by his confreres of Marmion Abbey (Aurora, IL) to the 5th abbot. Abbot John succeeds Abbot Vincent de Paul Battaille who has served Marmion’s abbot for the last 18 years.

The newly elected abbot of Marmion Abbey is a 1967 graduate of Marmion Academy and has been a member of the Benedictine community since 1978 and a priest since 1982.

A little more than a year ago Abbot John returned to Marmion Abbey after serving for many years (1992-2009) as prior of San Jose Priory in Guatemala. Most recently he has served as the master of novices and as the liaison for Abbey Farms.

Abbot John will serve an indefinite term as abbot. The election was confirmed by Abbot Peter Eberle, the Abbot President of the Swiss-American Congregation. He’ll receive the abbatial blessing from the Bishop of Rockford, Thomas G. Doran, at some point in the future.

Abbot Vincent has oversee many significant projects at Marmion including the building of the abbey church (St Augustine of Canterbury), various renovation projects at the same and at the Academy. Likewise the community has grown with a number of vocations.

Marmion was settled by monks of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in 1933. The monks of operated a military acdaemy, staffed a few parishes and founded a community of monks in Guatamala at the request of Pope John XXIII who asked religious communities to sacrifice 10% of their community to do missionary work. Since 1965, Guatemala’s San Jose Priory educates high school seminarians in the Benedictine spirit.

You may be familiar with the name Marmion, the 19/20th century abbot who is now known as Blessed Columba Marmion. Marmion lived in the years of 1858-1923. Of Irish and French heritage the young Marmion was first ordained a secular priest for the Dublin Archdiocese before becoming a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Maredsous in Belgium. His gifts recognized Marmion was a founder and later appointed prior of Mont Cesar (Louvain) and later elected abbot of Maredsous 1909, a position he held until his death.

For me, this is amazing series of events because a saintly abbot whose cause for canonization was not begun until 1957 and yet not 10 years after his death Marmion caught the eye of a monk of Saint Meinrad enough to name a monastic foundation for. Now we ask the Lord raise Blessed Columba to sainthood.

You may be interested in viewing the Abbey’s vocation video: Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Fidelity to the Monastic Way of Life, Stability, Obedience and Monastic Priesthood.

Fr Austin Murphy elected 10th abbot of St Procopius Abbey

Today, the solemnly professed monks of Saint Procopius Abbey, elected Father Austin G. Murphy as their 10th abbot.

The process of electing an abbot follows the Rule of Saint Benedict and the Constitutions of the American Cassinese Congregation (the grouping of monasteries to which St Procopius belongs). Archabbot Douglas of the Archabbey of St Vincent (Latrobe, PA) confirmed the election.

Abbot Austin, 36, assumes the office of abbot immediately and will receive the abbatial blessing from the bishop of Joliet at some point in the future. Before leaving the chapter room, the Abbot President will witness the profession of faith and oath of fidelity required of all major superiors.

Abbot Austin was born in Huntington, NY, on March 25, 1974, professed simple vows on September 6, 1997 and was ordained on July 3, 2004. He prepared for priesthood at the Dominican House of Studies earning the STB/MDiv. Of late he was doing doctoral studies in Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Abbot Austin succeeds Abbot Dismas Kalcic who has served for the since 2002. He will be moving to Marmion Abbey and Academy to teach in the economics in the school.

Saints Benedict & Scholastica and Saint Procopius, pray for us.

Damien Toilolo elected abbot of St Andrew’s Abbey, Valyermo

The monks of Saint Andrew’s Abbey, Valyermo (CA) gathered to elect a new abbot, Damien Toilolo on June 22, replacing Abbot Francis who stepped down two years ago. The new abbas is the second elected abbas of St Andrew’s.

St Andrew’s Abbey is an abbey of the Annunciation Congregation.

Abbot Damien, until now, has served the Benedictine community as the Prior Administrator. But he’s also been the vocation director, postulant director, novice master and sub-prior.

A native of Los Angeles, Damien has experience in other things including a teaching credential. He was ordained a priest in 2005 after preparing for priesthood at Mt Angel Seminary. Abbot Damien will serve a 8-year term.

St Andrew’s Abbey has roots in Belgium and was for a time a priory in China before it was forced to move to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It was raised to abbatial rank in 1992.

Abundant blessings!

Abbot Hugh Anderson: new abbot president for the American Cassinese Congregation

Yesterday, Thursday, 17 June, the delegates to the General
Chapter elected Abbot Hugh Richard Anderson OSB to a six-year term as the
fifteenth President of the American-Cassinese
Congregation. The fiftieth general chapter was convened at St. Bernard Abbey, Cullman, Alabama, 13-18
June 2010.

Abbot Hugh succeeds Abbot Timothy Kelly OSB offered his resignation for
reasons of health, midway through his second term as president which became
effective 16 June.

Abbot Hugh, 72, was First Councilor of the Congregation at
the time of his election, had served as the eighth abbot of Saint Procopius Abbey, Lisle, Illinois,
having served from 1985-2002. The Benedictine community of monks of Saint
Procopius was founded in Chicago in 1885, became a conventual priory in 1887, an
abbey in 1894; the abbey transferred to its present location in Lisle, IL in 1914.

According to process, Abbot
Hugh’s election was confirmed by Archabbot Douglas Nowicki OSB, the Second
Councilor. In St Bernard’s abbey church Abbot Hugh celebrated a Mass of
Thanksgiving and concluded the Mass with the singing of the Te Deum.

Benedictines changing the way life is lived

Benedictine abbots and by extension all monks, nuns and Christians are expected to give to the Lord an account of the way the goods of creation are used (Rule of St Benedict & Luke 16:2). In various contexts Pope Benedict has also addressed the Church on the proper use of creation for the good humanity and over the long haul. Questions of environmental sustainability surface more and more these days with critical assessments of how we live viz. the ideals by which we live (the Gospel, theology), questions of stewardship, availability of manpower, money, etc.

A good example of what I am indicating are the environmental programs sponsored by the monks of St John’s Abbey and University to take a deeper look into a holistic approach to the environment in light of various disciplines. In the last few years the monks of the Abbey of Saint Gregory the Great, Portsmouth, RI, have begun a number of initiatives to be good stewards: a wind turbine and a large garden to supply the abbey and the school with fresh vegetables, name a few (more info here). Also, we can survey various abbeys who made some good choices by the planting of hundreds of trees to reclaim a forest by the monks of St Meinrad Archabbey, the comprehensive review of Sant’Anselmo (Rome) to see how more efficient they can be, Conception Abbey working wind technology and St Mary’s Abbey maintaining an apple orchard, an extensive garden, land preservation and a few bee hives. But these few good things raise the question of how all of us think and act green for better and healthy living.

Monks, nuns, priests, brothers and sisters are expected to live differently from the secular counterparts; seemingly the seculars do a lot better a living with a green consciousness. But Benedictines and Franciscans usually get praise for their being good stewards of creation.

Two very recent items which are good to note:

Saint Meinrad monks and colleagues speak about the Benedictine Way of Life and Slow Communication

Today the Benedictine monks and administration of Kansas’ Benedictine College’s commitment to green living with a new building project.

Saint Vincent’s Archabbot re-elected

Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., 65, the eleventh Archabbot
of Saint Vincent Archabbey, was re-elected as the major superior of the
Benedictine community in Latrobe Pennsylvania on Tuesday, May 11.

In his role as
the Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey, Archabbot Douglas serves as the spiritual
leader of the first monastery established in the United States and one of the
largest monasteries in the world with nearly 175 monks. As archabbot, he is the chancellor of Saint Vincent
College and Saint Vincent Seminary.

The Benedictines operate the Benedictine
Military School in Savannah, Georgia, and the Penn State Campus Ministry
Program at State College, Pennsylvania.

In addition to his responsibilities in
this country, the Archabbot is also the spiritual leader of monasteries in
Brazil and Taiwan.

May God grant Archabbot Douglas abundant blessings today and in the years ahead.

Saint Benedict, pray for us.

Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.

NB: Beg the Holy Spirit for graces upon the Benedictine abbeys of Saint Procopius and Marmion (both in the greater Chicago area) who will be electing new abbots this summer.

Paul Augustin Cardinal Mayer, RIP

Paul Augustin Cardinal Mayer, OSB, died today just shy of his 99th birthday. He was the Church’s eldest Prince.

Cardinal Mayer was born on 23 May 1911 and professed vows the Abbey of Metten on 17 May 1931; he was ordained a priest on 25 August 1935 and elected abbot of Metten on 3 November 1966. Mayer’s service to the Church universal began in 1971 when he was ordained a bishop by Pope Paul VI and named secretary for the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes. later he was Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and then Ecclesia Dei. When made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II he was given the titular of Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino.

Cardinal Mayer was a priest for 74.5 years; 38 years a bishop and 24 years a cardinal.

In a telegram to Abbot Primate Notker Wolf, Pope Benedict XVI said of Cardinal Mayer:

“he leaves the indelible memory of an industrious life spent with mildness and rectitude in coherent adherence to his vocation as a monk and pastor, full of zeal for the Gospel and always faithful to the Church. While recalling his knowledgeable commitment in the field of the liturgy and in that of university and seminaries, and especially his much appreciated service to the Holy See, first in the preparatory commission for Vatican Council II then in various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, I raise fervent prayers that the Lord may welcome this worthy brother into eternal joy and peace.

May Paul Augustin Cardinal Mayer’s memory be eternal!

Gabriel Gibbs: founding abbot of Massachusetts abbey RIP

A generation of big names in “East coast Catholicism” in the past two years have died, and Right Reverend Father Gabriel Gibbs is numbered among them. Abbot Gabriel, 84, was the first abbot of Saint Benedict’s Abbey, Still River, MA.

Abbot Gabriel is likely to be remembered most for his questioning of religious liberty (no salvation outside the Church) that came to head in the doctrine put forward by the Second Vatican Council, though it was much discussed by theologians and bishops in the 1940s. Early in his life Abbot Gabriel was part of a robust Catholic center in Harvard Square, The Saint Benedict Center, where Jesuit Father Leonard Feeney lectured. After suffering for sometime with cancer, Abbot Gabriel died on March 27. Abbot is pictured above on the far right.

The abbot and I shared a friend in Cardinal Dulles and a few other monks. And so, we pray for God’s mercy on the abbot and his eternal rest.

Abbot Gabriel’s obit can be read here and here.

May his memory be eternal.

Pope visit monks of Sant’Anselmo to begin Lent

My friend Dom Elias Lorenzo, monk of St. Mary’s Abbey
(Morristown, NJ), is currently serving as the Superior and Prior of the Abbey
of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, Italy, the headquarters of international Benedictine
Confederation and home to the Pontifical Liturgical Institute.

In his capacity
as Father Prior of Sant’Anselmo, Dom Elias recently (February 17, 2010) welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to Sant’Anselmo
on the Aventine Hill. The Pope’s visit to Sant’Anselmo is an annual event to begin the Lenten season on Ash Wednesday with a procession from the Abbey Church to
the Church of Santa Sabina, the headquarters of the Order of Friars Preachers
(the Dominicans) where the Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated.

The Holy Father was greeted by Abbot Primate Notker Wolf (also German) and
Dom Elias, who escorted him into the basilica where he prayed before the Blessed
Sacrament. There the Pope stopped for a brief prayer, before beginning Mass at
the chair. Dom Elias said, “This is a unique liturgy in that the Pope
intones a penitential litany and the monks, visiting bishops and cardinals
process from Sant’Anselmo to Santa Sabina for the rest of the Mass.” The
pope vests for Mass at Santa Sabina.

New Benedictine Abbey in Oklahoma

Yesterday was the feast of Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict but today Father Abbot Antoine of the Abbey Our Lady of Fontgombault announced that Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek Monastery is now an abbey.

Dom Philip Anderson was named the first abbot of Clear Creek by the Abbot of Fontgombault, Dom Antoine Forgeot. Dom Francis Bethel the long-time guestmaster was named prior and Dom Mark Bachmann, subprior.

Pray for Abbot Philip and for the monks of the Clear Creek Abbey!

The Abbey of Our Lady of Fontgombault, France (1948) is a foundation of the Abbey of Saint Peter, Solesmes (revived in 1833).

Saints Benedict and Scholastica, pray for us.