A Swan Song


In view of the
swan episode that I experienced a few weeks ago St Louis Abbey with their swan walking the street, I thought you’d want to know
that Abelard the Abbey swan was found dead yesterday morning by the maintenance staff
of the Priory School (St Louis Abbey). My friend Father Ambrose wrote me about
this event. They think he was probably killed by coyotes or maybe by a big dog. 

Whether you have a liking for birds, I am sorry about this. Abelard was a
beautiful animal. He was already 18 years old; in captivity, swans can live
into their twenties. So he was already old by swan standards; and I think his
mind was going. In fact, after I left, he wandered off several more times and
had to be brought back. I think he had the swan version of Alzheimer’s. Also,
several of the monks think he missed Father Michael (who used to take care of
him and give him bread scraps, etc.). So he was old and debilitated, and in the
natural order of things, another species brought about his demise.

Now the
Priory has all those odious Canada geese.

Abeland died on my friend’s priestly
ordination anniversary, the feast of St. Augustine. Abelard came to live with the
monks as a gift from Father Bernard, back in 1998.

You may want to see Father Augustine’s update on the Juniors at St Louis Abbey!!!

Two St Louis Abbey monks ordained deacon







Cassian and Francis ordained deacon.jpgToday, The Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, archbishop of Saint Louis, ordained two Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis to the Order of Deacon. Brothers Francis Hein and Cassian Koeneman received this sacrament of order at the request of Abbot Thomas Frerking. May God them many years of faithful service!

The archbishop ordained these men to the Order of Deacon and next year, Deo volente, he will ordain them to the Order of Priest.

Brother Francis has been at the Dominican House of Studies (Washington, DC) and Brother Cassian has been at Rome’s Angelicum.

What does the Church teach about deacons? The Catechism answers:


Deacons share in Christ’s
mission and grace in a special way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them
with an imprint (“character”) which cannot be removed and
which configures them to Christ, who made himself the “deacon” or
servant of all. Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the
bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the
Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing
marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over
funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity.


Since the Second Vatican Council the Latin
Church has restored the diaconate “as a proper and permanent rank of the
hierarchy,” while the Churches of the East had always maintained it. This
permanent diaconate, which can be conferred on married men, constitutes an
important enrichment for the Church’s mission. Indeed it is appropriate and
useful that men who carry out a truly diaconal ministry in the Church, whether
in its liturgical and pastoral life or whether in its social and charitable
works, should “be strengthened by the imposition of hands which has come
down from the apostles. They would be more closely bound to the altar and their
ministry would be made more fruitful through the sacramental grace of the
diaconate.”
(CCC 1570-71).

Abbot Luke Rigby, RIP

Luke Rigby with Thomas Frerking.jpg

Earlier today I received news that an old friend died, Abbot Luke Rigby. Abbot Luke, 89, was the longtime religious superior of the monks at Saint Louis Priory –later Abbey– having come from England’s famed Ampleforth Abbey to live the Benedictine life. 


Both Ampleforth and St Louis are Benedictine monasteries in the English Benedictine Congregation. In the USA Portsmouth and St Anselm’s (DC) are also of the English Congregation.


Dom Luke Rigby was appointed the Father Prior of his community succeeding Dom Columba Cary-Elwes in 1967; when the Priory granted independence by Abbot Basil Hume, Father Luke was elected the Conventual Prior by the community beginning in 1973. By grace St. Louis Priory was given abbatial status in 1989 and Prior Luke was elected its first Abbot; he served in this capacity until 1995. As the retired abbot of St Louis the English Benedictine Congregation bestowed on Abbot Luke the honor of being the Titular Abbot of Whitby.

Abbot Luke was a dear man; an insightful leader and a holy man of God. As monks say, he persevered in his vocation. I first met Abbot Luke in 1994 when I first went to St Louis for studies and then became friends with the monks there. Without fail I was received like a brother by Abbot Luke. Thanks be to God for all this.

Abbot Luke died peacefully this morning at Mercy Hospital after a long illness. His Mass of Christian Burial is Saturday, 24 March at Saint Louis Abbey.

From his biography at St Louis Abbey, it is written of Abbot Luke:

The life of this “ordinary fellow” (per his description) starts in London in 1923 in a Catholic family, through whom he is related to Saint John Rigby and other martyrs, priests, and religious of the Recusant period in England. He lived in suburban London in a Catholic environment until his father, a banker, was posted abroad. At this point Abbot Luke became a boarding student at Ampleforth College. He joined the monastery straight after high school.

Two items worth reading:

An Experience of the Eremitic Life: An Experience of the Eremitic Life by Luke Rigby.pdf

The Homily for Abbot Luke’s 50th Anniversary of Priesthood: Homily for Abbot Luke’s 50th Anniversary of priesthood.pdf

May God grant Abbot Luke mercy and may SaintsBenedict and Scholastica lead him to beatitude.

Saint John Rigby, pray for us.

Thomas Frerking, Abbot, re-elected at St Louis Abbey

Thomas Frerking and Cardinal Burke.jpgToday, the monks of Saint Louis Abbey elected for the third time, Abbot Thomas Frerking. 

Abbot Thomas, 69, was first elected in 1995; he will serve for an 8-year term. The abbots of the English Benedictine Congregation have term limits: you can be elected indefinitely for 8 years each terms.

Abbot Thomas is a St Louis native. Harvard and Oxford University educated, Frerking studied Philosophy; he’s also a Rhodes Scholar. The Abbot is a noted Thomist.
Saint Louis Abbey operates the Priory School, Saint Anselm Church and the Oratory of Saints Gregory and Augustine. Abbot Thomas is the father of a monastic community which numbers 30 monks.
May God grant, through the intercession of Saints Benedict, Scholastica and all the Benedictine saints and blesseds, the graces needed to lead the monastic community of Saint Louis Abbey.

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke visits the St Louis Oratory of Sts Gregory & Augustine

Cardinal Burke at StL Oratory .jpg

The Rector of the Oratory of Sts Gregory and Augustine, Father Bede Price, and Abbot Thomas with the monastic community of St Louis Abbey, welcomed Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on Friday, January 7th.
His Eminence was the Archbishop of Archdiocese of Saint Louis between 2003 and 2008. Since 2008, he’s been the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura.
On the First Sunday of Advent, December 2, 2007, Cardinal Burke canonically established the Oratory of Sts Gregory and Augustine as a non-territorial parish of the St Louis Archdiocese following the 1962 Roman Missal.

Visiting St Louis Abbey: seeing old friends

St Louis Abbey church exterior2.JPGThese last 9 days I’ve been in St Louis, MO visiting friends, lay and monastic (including Mrs. Casey!). I periodically return to St Louis the scene of some studies I did at St Louis University between 1994 and 1997. I stayed with the Benedictine monks of Saint Louis Abbey; there I have many old friends.

When I went to St Louis in 1994 I didn’t expect to meet Benedictine monks as I was fully ensconsed in the life and works of the Society of Jesus. While I did hear of the St Louis monks, I really never thought that a friendship would flower with them. By Divine Providence I met two monks, Fathers Gerard and Gregory, at a consecration of a Coptic Orthodox Church. The monks had some Copts in their school and so being at the church consecration was a natural thing to do and I was there because of my high interest in Eastern Christianity. Plus, who could resist saying you met a pope, the Coptic Orthodox pope, Shenouda? To this day I still get some mileage out that anecdote.

Ambrose models a warm fuzzy.JPG

From the providential meeting of the two priests I met other monks with whom I have had the privilge of being friends. Over the years the company has grown and for that grace, I am very grateful.
I haven’t been back to St Louis in the past three years. Since then the city and various suburbs have changed for the better with buidling and/or renovating public places and the like. I love the many new stores and the restaurants. Actually, there are many good eats in the greater St Louis area! But some things remain the same: a people who know each other vs. the terrific annonymity of many east coast cities. Sometimes, I have to say, St Louis is too small….
Time spent at the abbey and with other friends was truly delightful. I went particularly to see Fr Ambrose whom I hadn’t seen in a while and with whom I share many things, not the least being Rome and warm fuzzies. Fr Ambrose is modeling a warm fuzzy in the picture to the right.
I happily had the opportunity to visit with the students of St Louis Priory School making what is affectionately known as “Monkamp” (i.e., 4 days’ introduction to the monastic way of life, or at least the fundamentals of it –prayer, manual labor, community, silence, balance, study and fun); monkamp is a small effort at vocation promotion. At some point I had terrific dinner with a classmate who 

abbey coat of arms.JPGremains in the Gateway City, David Miros, invitations to getting ice cream at Ted Drews (3x), a “drive-by” meeting with Tim Hercules, making an attempt with Fr Ambrose at having a Lebanese lunch at St Raymond’s Maronite Cathedral (instead we went for something equally as exoctic, Indian, as the Lebanese lunch was closed for a month), and the meandering around St Louis University and seeing an old friend who was recently ordained a Jesuit priest, Kevin Dyer, etc. While visiting St Raymond’s I ran into an old friend who told us of the tragic killing of her grandaughter, Gina, a few months ago by teenage muggers. Roxy’s recounting the crime moved me to tears. Pray for Roxy and her family as they deal with the aftermath. Gina, a single mother leaves two sons, one of whom witnesses the brutality of his mother’s murder.

BVM.JPG

Crucially important for me was the time spent with the monks in their fraternal life. Theirs is a more intense life than many US Benedictine monks in that their day begins with Office of Vigils at 5:35 am and ends with Compline at 7:40 pm with three other parts of the Divine Office, Mass and Lectio Divina integrated into the day complemented with care for the senior monks, house duties, parish and school work. Free time (holy leisure) is not often found, sadly. Besides the Priory School (junior and high) the monks are the pastors of Saint Anselm Church, the Oratory of Saints Gregory and Augustine (the traditional Mass crowd), and a vibrant Oblate program.

PAZ with Brs Sixtus with Aidan2.JPG

Catching up with Brothers Sixtus, Aidan, Mark, Maximillian, Edward, and with Fathers Ambrose, Linus (the newly ordained), Dominic and Bede (for an afternoon), et al, was good for me because I am edified by their witness. These are great men living a vocation that is engaging, attractive, life-giving and lived in order that God be glorified.
 
Particularly joyful for me was to see Brother Sixtus following his solemn profession of vows, and to see Brother Aidan. In the photo to the left is Br Sixtus and Brother Aidan.
Let us pray to Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Graces and to Saints Louis, Benedict, Scholastica, Walburga, Emma and Gertrude for the monks, their benefactors, Oblates and co-workers & students.
Other pictures found here.