A Heav e nly Home When Abbot Innocent Wolf retired from his office in 1921, the monastic community had outgrown their home (now Elizabeth Hall at Benedictine College). Having too many monks is certainly not a bad problem to have, but over the next few years it was clear that a new Abbey was needed. In 1922 the monks, now under the leadership of Abbot Martin Veth, decided to put the Abbey on hold in favor of a new gymnasium (at left, now the Haverty Center) for the college. By 1926 plans for an Abbey were created, a loan of $300,000 was secured, and on November 11, 1926, ground was broken for a magnificent new Abbey on the bluff overlooking the Missouri River Valley. The stone was quarried locally and cut on site.
The Abbey rose from the bluff stone by stone, but with each stone the construction costs mounted. An additional $100,000 was borrowed and by the time the Abbey was ready for occupancy the cost had ballooned to $780,000 (adjusted for inflation, a cost just shy of $12,000,000 in 2020). Plans for the Abbey Church were temporarily put on hold and on August 5, 1929 Abbot Martin blessed the new Abbey; a noble home for the deeper religious life that he desired for the monastic community.
After living in their new home for just two short months, the Great Depression racked the nation – jobs were scarce, prices plummeted and, to add to the mounting burden, local farms experienced a drought. The salaries from monks in parish work provided the only income – just enough to cover the interest on their loans; but, owing to the great depression, pastors could not be certain of their own salaries. Despite their own hardship, the monks sent financial aid to another abbey in even worse distress. Thus, for 25 years the monks gathered for Mass and prayer in their chapter room, modified to serve as a chapel (at left).
Fall 2020
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