Contents The Abbey Banner
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Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey
Cover Story
Volume 2, Issue 2 Fall 2002
TUPA! by Eric Hollas, OSB
Editor Daniel Durken, OSB
cover photo by Andra Van Kempen
Editorial and Production Assistant Margaret Wethington Arnold
Designer Pam Rolfes
Contributing Writers Timothy Backous, OSB Alberic Culhane, OSB Daniel Durken, OSB Joseph Feders, OSB Fran Hoefgen, OSB Eric Hollas, OSB Ken Jones John Klassen, OSB Michael Kwatera, OSB Patrick McDarby, OSB Dolores Schuh, CHM Shaun Sommerer Don Tauscher, OSB
Features 4 Reflections of a Faculty Resident by Timothy Backous, OSB 8 From Our Mail: Voices of Hope and Concern 9 Still More Monastic Terms by Patrick McDarby, OSB
Proofreader Dolores Schuh, CHM
Circulation Cathy Wieme Mary Gouge
Printer Palmer Printing The Abbey Banner is published three times annually by the Benedictine monks of Saint John’s Abbey for our relatives, friends and Oblates. The Abbey Banner brings the extended family of Saint John’s Abbey together with feature stories and news of the monastery. The Abbey Banner is online at www.sja.osb.org/AbbeyBanner
Saint John’s Abbey, Box 2015, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321. 320-363-3875
10 St. Augustine’s Parish and Pastor by Alberic Culhane, OSB 12 The Relics of Collegeville: Souvenirs of the Saints by Michael Kwatera, OSB
14 Longevity and Community in the Abbey Retirement Center by Dolores Schuh, CHM 16 Abbey Jubilarians 18 “Then the LORD God planted a garden . . .” by Fran Hoefgen, OSB 20 An Unforgettable Slice of Saint John’s Bread by Kenneth Jones
Departments 3 From the Editor From the Abbot 22 Vocation News 23 Strengthening Foundations 24 Abbey Missions
26 Obituaries 28 Banner Bits 31 Spiritual Life Back Cover Calendar of Events Abbey Prayer Time
FROM EDITOR AND ABBOT
Autumn Leaves by Daniel Durken, OSB
The first time I heard Roger Williams’ piano version of “Autumn Leaves” I knew that song would be a year-round favorite. The haunting melody crept into my memory as this fall issue of The Abbey Banner was being finalized. This particular autumn will be considerably different for me. Having recently retired from teaching after fortyseven memorable years, I will no longer walk into a quadrangle classroom to meet three dozen young men and women to begin another adventure in education. I will miss the opportunity to open these young minds and hearts to the riches of our Catholic tradition. One assignment I will especially miss is the report of their interviews of people old enough to remember what the Catholic Church was like before the Second Vatican Council. Their papers tell me that learning the Catholic vocabulary is as difficult for them as the jargon of finite mathematics is for me. And so they write about: Our Lady of Perpetual Health, the Infant Jesus of Plague, the Scared Heart of Jesus and Angles. All Soles’ Day, Amber Days, the Weighing of the Cross during Lent and congressional singing. The Nights of Columbus, a parish bizarre, the Alter Society and being taught by nouns. Praying the rosemary before Mass, getting your sins omitted in confession and using missiles during Mass. Eventually the students’ vocabulary and spelling improved, they were surprised and grateful that the Church is a lot better than it used to be and they were relieved to learn the difference between what the Bible says and what the Bible means. So when the falling leaves drift by the window, the autumn leaves of red and gold, I will be more glad than sad that it was by teaching that I have grown old.
There is an envelope enclosed with this issue. This is an invitation for you to contribute to the cost of publishing The Abbey Banner or to another designated cause. We need your help to cover the $10,000 cost of each issue of the magazine. Thank you for your assistance.
A Letter of Apology by Abbot John Klassen, OSB [The following excerpt is from a longer letter sent to the faculty, support staff, administrators, and employees of Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict on June 7, 2002.]
The Rule of Saint Benedict teaches, “Receive everyone as Christ.” I am deeply sorry that some members of the Saint John’s monastic community have violated such a fundamental part of our commitment by engaging in abusive sexual behavior with people in our schools and parishes. My first concern is those victims. Representing Saint John’s Abbey, I acknowledge the wrongdoing, apologize for it and pledge my determination to assure that appropriate boundaries between members of this monastic community and other persons are never violated again. I affirm and pledge to continue my monastic community’s policy of extending opportunities for therapy and other assistance to victims to assist them in their process of emotional and spiritual healing. It is also important to be clear about our policies and practices that include the prevention of misconduct and abuse by those who have committed misconduct in the past. My proposal includes ongoing training for all members on issues of celibacy and sexual abuse; continued thorough screening and training for candidates for the monastic way of life; and strict supervision, therapy and rehabilitation for monks who have acted inappropriately. The monastic community believes it is acting responsibly to provide a program of therapy and rehabilitation for persons who have violated appropriate interpersonal boundaries. The alternative is to expel them to live in the broader community without the restrictions, supervision and help of such a program. I am sorry for the pain we have caused others and I pledge to do everything in my power to lead this monastic community through a period of healing and reconciliation. I ask for our friends’ prayers and support as we embark on a journey to make us fully worthy of confidence and trust as we reaffirm our search for God. For Abbot John’s complete letter and information on this subject, visit: http://www.stjohnsmn.org/response. The Abbey Banner Fall 2002 page 3
FEATURE
Benedictine Faculty Residents pose for a group photo: Front row, l. to r.: Timothy Backous, Alberic Culhane, Robin Pierzina, Walter Kieffer Second row, l. to r.: Robert Pierson, Robert Koopmann, Thomas Andert, Nicholas Doub Third row, l. to r.: Rene McGraw, Paul Richards, Paul Fitt, Mark Thamert Not pictured: J.P. Earls, Joel Kelly, Neal Laloo, Luke Mancuso, William Schipper, and Mssrs. Ryan Blevins and Michael Hemmesch photo by Andra Van Kempen
Reflections of a Faculty Resident by Timothy Backous, OSB
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f I had to choose a defining moment in my work as a Saint John’s Faculty Resident (FR), it would be the night of April 1, 1995. Walking back to my room on the second floor of St. Thomas Hall, I saw that almost every door had shaving cream, ketchup, peanut butter or a combination of these smeared all over it.
This episode comes to mind for two reasons. One, I had no plan for my “unleashed fury.” Had the students called my bluff, I would have been stumped. Two, this incident reminded me that stunts will be pulled, but ultimately I could rely on the students’ good graces to keep a sense of normalcy (and cleanliness) in our lives together.
I picked up my phone and recorded this message: “If this hallway is not cleaned up by morning, all the residents of this floor will see a fury unleashed such as they have never before seen in their lives!” With the touch of a couple of buttons I sent my message to every resident on the floor.
This experience encapsulates the essence of what being an FR is all about: authority and ministry. We have to keep order—someone has to! But also we must remember that these are college men, prone to all kinds of antics. If they don’t rise to the occasion and clean up the mess they created, we have to think of another way of getting our point across.
Within minutes I could hear a host of students scrambling for mops, cleaning rags and solvents to rid their doors of the offending stains from this April Fool’s joke. By the time I left for Morning Prayer in the abbey church there was no evidence that hours before the place could have qualified for disaster relief funds.
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Each one of the university’s nineteen FRs (seventeen monks and two laymen) has a similar story to tell. Living amidst college students requires us to make adjustments. We deal with them outside the classroom, so our command of their attention is not as pronounced. We can
FEATURE tell them to turn down their music and they usually comply. But sometimes we don’t feel like getting up at three in the morning, so we adjust by using earplugs. We might have plans to attend Morning Prayer but then find ourselves up at all hours helping a resident work through the death of a beloved grandparent. Sometimes we are a mentor helping them figure out better study habits. Other times we are a babysitter who keeps an eye out so they don’t get hurt. Unlike the days of yore when the FR was known as a “prefect” and his main concern was discipline, today’s job description defies clarity and usually changes by the hour. The agenda of many graduates returning at Homecoming almost assuredly includes finding their old FR. This is both gratifying and humbling. But it should not
be surprising because colleges are beginning to understand and appreciate the depth of learning that takes place outside the classroom. FRs help complete the cycle of an ordinary day. What we guide students through is a sense of appreciation for what they have learned in class and how it might apply to the reality of everyday life. Another important aspect of the FRs’ work flows directly from our life as monks. We learn in community that life together helps us find God. So our treatment of one another needs to be gentle, respectful and prayerful. What we hold as valuable in the monastery we also espouse among our residents. We encourage the men we live with to be gentle men. We hope that their respect for one another can help create and keep the peace.
is the largest contingent of monks working in any one ministry of the abbey. Yes, life in the residence halls can be a roller coaster of fun and fury, shallowness and depth, frustration and fulfillment. But it is a chance for both monks and students to share a common goal of growing stronger in mind and spirit.
Timothy Backous, OSB, is the director of the Faculty Resident Program at Saint John’s University.
We also make it possible for students to seek God, never letting their academic lives get too detached from their spiritual ones. We try to remind them constantly that prayer is essential to a balanced life. That is why the FR program
Robin Pierzina, OSB, Faculty Resident, visits with SJU student Andrew Raun of Cloquet, Minnesota. photo by William Schipper, OSB
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COVER STORY Jerome Tupa’s “Road to Rome” will be on display at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., from October 2002 through May 2003. photo by Andra Van Kempen
TUPA!! by Eric Hollas, OSB
“H
ave you ever done miniatures?” The question drew peals of laughter from Jerome Tupa, OSB, and almost as spontaneously came an emphatic: “I don’t know how to do that!” Perhaps he has not considered the need to do them; or perhaps they hold no attraction; but clearly miniatures have not been part of the artistic vocabulary of Father Jerome, a monk of Saint John’s Abbey since 1962.
Quite the contrary. Those familiar with Jerome’s work know the marks of his artistic expression. Colorful, bold and fluid quickly come to mind. But expansive is also part of the recipe, and there never seems to be enough canvas to contain the energy that Jerome imparts to it. The broad canvases that present Jerome’s work are perhaps reflective of his own journey in life. Born and reared in small towns in northeastern North page 6 The Abbey Banner Fall 2002
Dakota, Jerome traded the limitless horizons of the prairie landscape for the more circumscribed skies of central Minnesota. His arrival at Saint John’s may have narrowed one horizon, but it did not limit the growth that has marked his life since he was a novice. At Saint John’s University he earned his B.A. degree, followed by a Ph.D. in French at the University of Paris. During a career as a teacher of French at Saint John’s and as a respected guide on university programs in Europe and the Middle East, Jerome also managed to squeeze in seminary studies, and in 1982 he was ordained a priest. Running as a thread through his life in North Dakota, Minnesota, Paris and back again to Minnesota has been a lifelong interest in art. Jerome began his study of art in high school and continued it through more formal training at Saint John’s. But it was Paris that seized his
COVER STORY imagination. Its galleries opened his world dramatically, and in Paris art triumphed as one of the great passions of his life. There have always been monks who have combined the search for God with an intense need to speak through art, and Jerome shares much with their experience. Like many of them he is introverted, and the preferred avenue of expression has tended to be internal, whether through the medium of prayer or art. In Jerome’s instance, words seldom fail him, but it is in art that his insight combines with vitality of expression to reveal a personality that is suddenly on view to the world. If Jerome is exuberant, he is prolific as well. A tour of his studio quickly uncovers a mass of finished canvases and a plethora of paintings and drawings in progress. Jerome works quickly, and the growing roster of shows from Paris to Los Angeles is testimony to the appreciation for his work. In an era when artists and galleries favor
secular themes, Jerome has elected to concentrate on religious art. While a dark view of life often infuses contemporary art, Jerome’s by contrast is positive—conveying hope, whimsy and spiritual fantasy. For over twenty years this spiritual dimension has animated his canvases, and it was evident in his recent exhibit on the California missions. Jerome has now fixed his gaze on pilgrimage and the great destinations of Rome, Santiago de Compostela, and Jerusalem. The first of this trilogy, The Road to Rome, is complete and will run at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., from October 2002 through May 2003. He will present twenty-nine oil paintings, twenty-one watercolors and two sketchbooks. In this show he portrays the churches and cityscapes that pilgrims encounter as they wind their way through Italy to Rome. Jerome has no regret that he did not live in the renaissance of sacred art five hundred years ago. “Our society needs
religious art,” he points out, and it is his privilege to address that deep longing. In the process, Jerome brings a keen eye and his own personality to meet that need. His art bursts into your line of sight, and the bold colors and the scale of each piece literally command attention. Perhaps it is through art that he can dispense with the careful introductions that enable polite conversation between people, because his pictures suggest there is not enough time to get acquainted in the conventional way. Unlike Jerome, the paintings are not shy.
Eric Hollas, OSB, is the senior associate for arts and cultural affairs for Saint John’s University. He recently retired from his position as executive director of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library.
One of Jerome Tupa’s California missions included “Cloister Walk” at San Juan Capistrano. Jerome drew and painted each of the twenty-one California missions as part of an exhibition, “An Uncommon Mission.” photo by Terry Ruscin, from An Uncommon Mission, published by Welcome Enterprises, Inc.
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FEATURE
From Our Mail: Voices of Hope and Concern Over the past several months, Saint John’s Abbey and Abbot John Klassen have heard from friends, colleagues and strangers regarding allegations of past sexual abuse by members of the abbey referred to in Abbot John’s “A Letter of Apology” (see page 3). Here is a sampling of the voices of disappointment, advice, concern—but more importantly of hope that we have heard in these e-mails and letters. Editor
I am grateful for the truthful yet wise and gentle way in which Saint John's is working with the human frailty and struggle in its midst, for its faithful hope in healing and transformation, and its perseverance in all this. Lucie Johnson, OblSB
Better to accept the shame of the cross than to let the burden pass. This disclosure is not only embarrassing for the involved monks, but it affects your entire community. I suspect there are some monks, particularly the younger monks, who question their vocation. It is important that they remember that the feelings they are now experiencing, perhaps embarrassment and shame due to their association, are not something they will escape in the world. People suffer these same feelings and circumstances outside the monastery as well. This is a hard time at Saint John's. It is also a hard time outside Saint John's. But the monasteries, in all their imperfection, show the world that there is another way. Sam Watters
Being an eight-year Johnnie (Prep School ’52, University ’56), I still look upon Saint John’s as my home away from home and look upon this fine institution to be a leader in Church reform and educational perfection of the whole man, spiritual, mental and body. Thank you again, Father Abbot, for being so open with a difficult problem and making me proud to be a Johnnie. Pat Mingo
I want to thank you for the Christ-like, wonderful way you are dealing with these issues, the victims and the perpetrators. I have been proud to be associated with the Benedictines (as an Oblate candidate) in these times and am humbled to watch your faithfulness and humility in responding to this crisis . . . I am so grateful that we are a Resurrection people and believe that somehow God can bring healing and reconciliation for all of us in the midst of so much pain.
I graduated from Saint John's University in 1979 with a major in psychology. I eventually landed in the field of corrections, where I have remained for over 20 years. . . I worked as a probation officer and for the last 12 plus years I have been a manager in the same field. I tell you my background, as I want you to know that my comments are not made lightly. I am proud to see Saint John's take a proactive stance in dealing with the issue of sexual abuse. Opening the doors on this secret is the first step. I am not surprised to see Saint John's take a compassionate stance towards victims and would encourage you to continue in that direction. There is so much more we know today about treatment and reasonable precautions following treatment. Tom Adkins
What makes Saint John's unusual is that the monks there are not in denial. The abbots have apologized to victims. The abbey has sponsored four national conferences on clergy sexual misconduct. The Liturgical Press has published a number of titles on the issue, and the School of Theology offers courses in professional boundaries and healthy sexual and spiritual development. The recent round of media attention began . . . because the abbot voluntarily disclosed the history and the current status of the offending monks. He knew he was risking exactly the kind of negative attention the abbey has received, and he made the disclosure anyway, because he understands that secrecy is harmful to victims. I know of no other religious institution that has been so forthright, proactive, and humble in coming to terms with its own failure. Making mistakes is common. Owning your part and taking appropriate action takes courage. Elisabeth A. Horst
It is a sad realization for me to learn that fourteen monks of Saint John’s Abbey have been guilty of sexual abuse of one kind or another. I have no answer about how to deal with the perpetrators, but I do know that these revelations have made me no less fond of the place. Boy and man, I spent thirty-three semesters as a student and professor at its university, and I am encouraged to think that Saint John’s is still home to nearly two hundred monks, including several friends of mine, who continue to live the monastic life as set forth by St. Benedict over 1,500 years ago. They work and pray for the rest of us. In my latest book, Good People, published in 2001, I concluded that Saint John’s was one of three geographical locations that “have become sacred for me because of the good people I have known there.” That still holds true today.
Anita L. Bradshaw Jon Hassler page 8 The Abbey Banner Fall 2002
FEATURE The 1892 charcoal drawing of the abbey church and quadrangle high above Lake Sagatagan is attributed to B. Locnikar, OSB. from Abbey Archives
Still More Monastic Terms by Patrick McDarby, OSB
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n the preceding two installments of this dictionary digest of abbey items, we have looked at words that members of Saint John’s Abbey use to designate the various kinds and degrees of men among us. In this issue we define monk-talk for abbey places and spaces.
the present abbey church was completed forty years ago. The former church was then renovated to provide meeting space for visitors, banquets, concerts and the abbey’s and schools’ chief information center. Monastery: The buildings in which the monks live. At Saint John’s this includes parts of the quadrangle and the entire Breuer wing that stands directly behind the abbey church.
Refectory: The monks’ dining room, sometimes called the monastic dining room, since the university and prep school students’ dining room is also called the refectory—the student refectory. Student slang prefers a shortened term, “The Reefer.” Refectory comes from the Latin for “do again” or “make over.”
Abbey: The word has several related Saint Raphael’s Hall: The monks’ meanings: Saint John’s with all its buildassisted-living, constant-care and conings and contiguous property; the cluster New Monastery: Also called the Breuer valescent center, sometimes called of buildings in which the monks live and wing, named after architect Marcel Breuer the Retirement Center. It is a part of pursue their the monastery, but it is not specifically within the cloister so that old monastic and infirm monks may have activities; men and women visitors. the monks’ living quarNovitiate and Juniorate: ters, synThat part of the cloister onymous where the novices and with monks not yet in final vows monastery; live. all the preIn one of his “Frank & Ernest” presentations, cartoonist Bob Thaves makes his creative ceding plus Quadrangle: The fourcontribution to the abbey’s glossary of terms. (Used with permission) the monks, sided, five-story building as in “The constructed between 1869who designed this first of the dozen buildabbey runs schools”; the ecclesiastical cor1883 from the abbey’s own brick ings—abbey church, library, science center, poration, as in “We became an abbey in kilns and now housing monastic student residences, etc.—that grace the 1866.” According to church and monastic rooms and university classrooms, Collegeville campus. The building, almost law, the status of “abbey” is given a offices and various academic fifty years old, looks relatively new comBenedictine community when it attains a facilities, e.g., admission offices, pared to the older brick buildings. certain number of monks (about twenty) duplicating center, student accounts and its financial stability is assured. Cloister: Those parts of the monastery office. Please note the spelling of the word— that are private and therefore open only abbEy—so as not to confuse it with “Dear to monks and their male clerical and reli- Patrick McDarby, OSB, is professor emeritus of English at Saint John’s Abby.” gious guests. At Saint John’s, the University and editor of Confrere, the monastery and the cloister are not coter- abbey’s in-house monthly newsletter. Old Church: The former, twin-towered minous. For instance, the monks’ dining abbey church, re-christened “The Great room is outside the cloister. Hall” or “The Information Center” when The Abbey Banner Fall 2002 page 9
FEATURE St. Augustine’’s Church photo by Daniel Durken, OSB
St. Augustine’’s Parish and Pastor by Alberic Culhane, OSB
F
or all but seventeen years since its founding in 1919, St. Augustine’s Parish, St. Cloud, Minnesota, has been served by Benedictine priests of Saint John’s Abbey. Simon Bischof, OSB, 75, pastor for the last decade, has now retired. He is succeeded by Geoffrey Fecht, OSB, formerly the prior of the abbey and the pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Freeport, Minnesota. Father Simon has spent two separate decades at St. Augustine’s, “a combination of déjà vu and always something new,” he said. Upon his ordination in 1955 he served ten years as the first fulltime assistant to the storied pastors, Louis Traufler, OSB, and Berthold Ricker, OSB. The Parish Benedictine leadership of the parish began in 1937. Bishop Joseph Busch of the St. Cloud Diocese chose to name the imposing St. Mary’s Church, built and staffed by Benedictines, as his cathedral in downtown St. Cloud. In exchange, the
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diocese’s first parish on the east side of the city and just across the Mississippi River was given to the Benedictines. Kilian Heid, OSB, was St. Augustine’s first Benedictine pastor. A working class parish at the outset, St. Augustine’s consisted of a cramped basement church and a rectory. Named after its diocesan founder, Father August Preusser, the parish grew slowly from fifty-six original families in the 1920s. The realities of the Great Depression and the start of World War II precluded any physical plant expansion. Plans for a parish school began to be realized when classrooms for grades seven and eight were built in 1943. A full K-8 grade school was completed in 1951 and staffed by the Benedictines of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph. Additions to the school that soon doubled in size took precedence over the building of a new church. Finally in the early 1960s a new, airy and welcoming church with a soaring,
FEATURE The 34-stop organ designed and built by K.C. Marrin is an outstanding feature of St. Augustine’’s Church. photo by Simon Bischof, OSB
110-foot bell tower was constructed to seat 800 people in its contemporary worship space. The open design foretold the changes in church architecture that would soon flow from the Second Vatican Council. The Pastor In his first assignment to St. Augustine’s, Father Simon became an integral part of the parish family. His energy, inspirational preaching and teaching and love of music were his personal hallmarks. He founded and directed a children’s choir, promoted congregational singing as well as the school athletic programs. Describing his pastoral work at St. Augustine’s, Simon commented, “From the mid-1950s to the 1970s, this parish was the largest in the St. Cloud Diocese. Now Alexandria and Cold Spring have more parishioners. But the current St. Augustine’s—with 1,450 families, a thriving school and many highly developed family and educational activities—can truly tax one person. I needed to retire. “I have worked intentionally to give the people ownership of the parish through
the various councils, boards and liturgical initiatives. “It’s curious but not one material thing is left from when I first came to St. Augustine’s almost fifty years ago: the old basement church is gone; the old rectory was razed this past summer; the school has expanded its classrooms and offices; the church has new stained glass windows; the very ample parish center was added; the K.C. Marrin organ is newly expanded; everything has been updated and repainted. “The Marrin organ was originally built in 1978. When the church was renovated in 1998 the organ was moved behind the altar and expanded from its initial fifteen
stops into thirty-four stops to increase its tonal spectrum. Last May we were privileged to host the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in a concert that highlighted the Marrin organ. “The people and the physical plant have made real gains. We are now more liturgically mature and have a growing social justice consciousness. The concept of ‘family’ is much greater as is the awareness of individual responsibility for a vigorous parish life.” Simon sees his priestly life coming full circle. He began and completed his pastoral ministry at St. Augustine’s between two decades of dedicated service. Another full circle is apparent this fall when the grade school students of St. Mary’s Cathedral School (where Benedictines first served) joined the students at St. Augustine’s School to begin a coordinate program between the two schools. Simon would agree that his life has been a productive and enjoyable merry-go-round. Alberic Culhane, OSB, is executive assistant to the president for university relations.
Father Simon holds the newly baptized Molly Niedzielski surrounded by her happy parents and brother.
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FEATURE photos of the abbey’s reliquaries by Andra Van Kempen
The Relics of Collegeville: Souvenirs of the Saints by Michael Kwatera, OSB
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n his Rule for monks, St. Benedict encourages them to “keep death daily before one’s eyes.” He wasn’t being morbid. The “man of God” knew that our passing-over with Jesus Christ to eternal life is the fulfillment of our earthly life. One way that the Church has reverenced the mystery of death leading to life is its practice of venerating the relics or bodily remains of saints. St. Augustine (354-430) observed that “the bodies of our deceased must not be treated lightly or disregarded, particularly the bodies of the faithful or of the virtuous; for these bodies were used by their souls in a holy manner as instruments of all their good works.” After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, careful search for human remains in the rubble of the World Trade Center was followed
by especially reverent treatment of them when found. Here, separated by sixteen centuries, we find the same wholesome, human instinct: a desire to venerate the memory of the deceased by honoring their remains. From earliest times the Christian community showed special honor for martyrs. The bones of the mid-second century martyred bishop, St. Polycarp, were considered more precious than jewels and more valuable than gold. They were laid away in a suitable place where Christians celebrated his martyrdom. The burial places of the martyrs became the sites of Christian churches. Eventually every altar became a kind of tomb for the saints, for the altar was required to contain at least one relic of a saint (usually a particle of bone). The Middle Ages witnessed a lively traffic in relics, many of which lacked authenticity. The sixteenth-century reformer Martin Luther rightly condemned such abuses. Today, relics “may be placed beneath the altar, as long as the relics are of a size sufficient for them to be recognizable as parts of the human body and that they are of undoubted authenticity” (Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture and
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Worship, United States Catholic Conference, 2000, no. 60). Such was the provision made for the body of St. Peregrine in Saint John’s Abbey Church. This second-century boy martyr was tortured and burned to death in Rome. His body found a resting place in the Benedictine abbey church in Neustadt-am-Main. When fire destroyed the church in 1854, his relics were saved and later passed into the possession of the noble Lowenstein family in Bavaria. In 1895, Gerard Spielmann, OSB, a monk of Saint John’s Abbey, petitioned Prince KarlHeinz for possession of the relics which were then transferred to St. Anselm’s Church, Bronx, New York, a parish staffed by
FEATURE The full skeleton of St. Peregrine lies beneath the altar at the front of the relic shrine in the lower level of the abbey church. photo from Abbey Archives
Collegeville Benedictines. The relics were moved and solemnly enshrined in the former Saint John’s Abbey Church on May 6, 1928, and were later placed with other relics in the relic shrine in the lower abbey church. St. Peregrine’s remains are covered in gold and silver-embroidered silk and ornamented with jewels. He is preserved in a glass reliquary beneath an altar of bush-hammered concrete. The surrounding relic niches with their vigil lights suggest the burial places carved into the walls of the Roman catacombs. These relics represent saints from antiquity to the twentieth century. Among them are saints associated with the history and work of Saint John’s, for example, St. Benedict, the order’s founder, and St. John the Baptist, the abbey’s patron. Saint John’s also has several relics of the true cross on which Jesus died. There are three classes of relics: 1. the body or part of the body of a saint; 2. a piece of clothing worn by a saint or an article used by a saint; 3. something that has decorated or touched a saint’s tomb.
Relics are displayed in reliquaries, that is, vessels, cases, containers or repositories made of precious metals, gilded wood or glass. The reliquaries invite us to examine their contents, decipher the Latin inscription of the saint’s name and remember the saint. All the reliquaries in the Collegeville relic shrine make it a kind of “Saint John’s catacombs.” Keeping relics is much like our human instinct of retaining keepsakes from people who are dear to us in this life. The Church honors the relics of the saints because through their bodies they brought the Lord’s salvation to others, just as Jesus did. The relics at Saint John’s bear witness to this truth.
Michael Kwatera, OSB, teaches liturgy courses at Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary and serves on the abbey’s liturgy committee.
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FEATURE
Prior Raymond Pedrizetti presides at the Eucharist for Saint Raphael’’s Hall residents. photos by Dolores Schuh, CHM
Longevity and Community in the Abbey Retirement Center by Dolores Schuh, CHM
E Lisa Lemke helps Father Philip Kaufman to his place in the dining room.
ach morning, noon and evening the monks of Saint John’s gather in the abbey church for prayer. At least twice a month they pray Psalm 90. One line of this psalm reads, “Our span is seventy years, or eighty for those who are strong.” The psalmist didn’t know the monks of Saint John’s Abbey or he would surely have written, “Our span is eighty or ninety years, or one hundred for those who are strong.” Longevity is the key for both staff and monks in Saint Raphael’s Hall, the retirement center of the monastic community at Collegeville. Unlike many religious communities that provide a separate building, either adjacent to the monastery or convent, or at some distance, Saint Raphael’s is part of the monastery. Many of the active monks walk through the main corridor of the center on their way to university classrooms and offices. Six of the nine full-time staff members have given a total of well over one hundred years of service to the monks. John Dockendorf, the director, began work at Saint John’s in 1976. Shortly
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thereafter, Ann Sand, Ruth Ann Lucken and Lorraine (Lou) Reiter joined the staff, followed later by Nancy Mitchell, Diane Rademacher, Joyce Rau and Lisa Lemke. Several part-time employees, including Theresa Berg, Gail Fonken, Linda Rhode, Xavier Schermerhorn, OSB, Lois Warnert and Peg GwaneMark, along with student workers complete the staff. During John’s tenure at Saint John’s he has seen the retirement center grow from fifteen rooms in 1976 to twenty-eight today. John has a list of 109 monks who have died in Saint Raphael’s since he started work twenty-six years ago. Each monk in Saint Raphael’s Hall has a private room with half-bath, furnished with his own books, plants, TV, radio, craft tools, recliner and family pictures. Visitors are welcome to call on a monk in his room or join him in a lounge area. Each morning there is a buzz of activity as the monks gather in their dining room for a hearty breakfast, some using a walker, others helped by staff members, while a few wheel themselves or are pushed in their wheelchairs. There is no dallying in the dining room. Most are back in their
FEATURE The Anderl brothers,, Brother John (l.) and Father Henry (r.),, enjoy visiting in each other’s room.
rooms in thirty minutes or less, there to say their morning prayers privately, do some spiritual reading, watch a favorite TV program, continue a good mystery book, or snooze for a spell. Another morning ritual for many is to make their way to the reading alcove across from the nurses’ station to peruse the daily newspapers. Some want the comics first; others check the sports page, and still others are more interested in local news and obituaries. Most remember the people they served in a parish or
John Dockendorf and Nancy Mitchell review medications to be given to residents.
school and pray for the deceased. The monks gather in their own chapel each day for midday prayer and again at five o’clock each afternoon for Eucharist. Staff members and residents could fill an archive room with anecdotes. John Dockendorf recalls stories told in the ’70s and ’80s by the monks who served as chaplains in World War II; by those who worked on the Indian reservations; by those who studied abroad and
recounted humorous and harrowing experiences. Because several of the residents have hearing problems, staff and confreres often overhear their conversations in the hallways or dining room. At lunch one day a monk was heard asking his tablemate, “What kind of soup is this?” The response: “Thursday.” When John and staff were asked to prioritize a “wish list,” two items were immediately mentioned. They would like to have an activities director for the residents, and they definitely need more bedrooms and a larger dining area. They also said it would be nice for the residents if more of their active confreres popped in for quick visits more frequently. Monks now residing in Saint Raphael’s have lived a total of 2,226 years and have devoted more than 1,650 years to monastic life. Another dozen octogenarian and two nonagenarian monks of Saint John’s do not live in Saint Raphael’s. What a wealth of history, stories and quips these men are able and anxious to share with the rest of us! What I most heard when leaving the residents’ rooms after a recent visit to Saint Raphael’s was, “Thanks for coming and come again.”
Current residents of Saint Raphael’s Hall: Henry Anderl John Anderl Burkard Arnheiter Andre Bennett William Borgerding Silvan Bromenshenkel Alto Butkowski Cosmas Dahlheimer Richard Eckroth John Eidenschink Melchior Freund Philip Kaufman Frank Kacmarcik Omer Maus Vernon Miller Virgil O’Neill Berthold Ricker Gunther Rolfson Mark Schneider Gregory Sebastian Gervase Soukup
Dolores Schuh, CHM, is the executive associate of the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research in Collegeville and proofreader of The Abbey Banner.
Gregory Soukup Edwin Stueber Angelo Zankl
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ABBEY JUBILARIANS
Monastic Professions Thirteen monks of Saint John’s Abbey celebrated significant anniversaries of their initial commitment to Benedictine monastic life by renewing their vows on July 11, the Feast of Saint Benedict.
60 YEARS Paul Marx, OSB “What Mozart is to music, Father Paul Marx is to the pro-life movement.” That statement summarizes Paul’s thirty-year spirited ministry that began with his founding the Human Life Center at Saint John’s in 1972. Earlier he had established the sociology department of Saint John’s University.
Mathias Spier, OSB Devoting his priestly life as pastor and chaplain, Father Mathias has served parishes in Albany, St. Paul, Medina, Richmond, St. Joseph and Minneapolis as well as the retirement facility of St. Theresa Home in New Hope. He is now chaplain of Assumption Home in Cold Spring.
Virgil O’Neill, OSB
Julian Schmiesing, OSB
Father Virgil’s ministry includes teaching history and theology and serving as chaplain at Saint John’s University, preaching missions and retreats throughout the country, directing the Newman Center at colleges in Moorhead and Bemidji, and serving as pastor of churches in New York and Minnesota.
Father Julian taught German and Spanish, founded the Prep School’s Study Abroad Program, was principal and prior of the school and monastery in Puerto Rico, director of abbey vocations and candidates, subprior and prior, pastor and chaplain. He is pastor of parishes in St. Martin and Farming.
Stanley Roche, OSB
Meinrad Dindorf, OSB
Father Stanley’s first assignment was to Saint John’s Preparatory School where he taught English and later became dean of the school. He then spent twenty-two years as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. After his military service he took up pastoral duties at several parishes and a retirement community.
Father Meinrad taught Russian and theology, served as associate pastor in New York City, St. Cloud, St. Joseph and Shakopee and as pastor of Jacobs Prairie, Nebish and the Native American mission of Red Lake, and as chaplain of Minneapolis hospitals. He is the chaplain of St. Benedict’s Center, St. Cloud.
Silvan Bromenshenkel, OSB For almost half a century Father Silvan served the educational, administrative and pastoral needs of the people of the Bahamas. He taught at St. Augustine’s College, served as pastor of several Bahamian churches and held administrative positions in St. Augustine’s Monastery and the Archdiocese of Nassau.
50 YEARS
Thomas Wahl, OSB After serving as associate pastor in St. Paul and Minneapolis and completing studies in Scripture, Father Thomas taught Scripture, founded the Saint John’s Jerusalem Studies Program and has written and translated for The Liturgical Press. He is a member of the abbey’s affiliate community in Fujimi, Japan.
Gregory Eibensteiner, OSB Urban Pieper, OSB The “green thumb” is the symbol of Brother Urban’s service as gardener, landscaper and maintenance person at Saint John’s Abbey, St. Augustine’s Monastery, Bahamas, and Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, St. Louis Park. He also supervises the greenhouse for the university’s biology department.
Thomas Thole, OSB Father Thomas spent four decades teaching sociology, chairing that department for several years, serving as faculty resident in student housing and advising foreign students. He founded and maintains the World Wide OSB Computer Bulletin Board and is chaplain of Mother of Mercy Nursing Home in Albany.
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Brother Gregory has been a repair and maintenance worker at the Native American missions of Red Lake and White Earth and in a New York parish. He is the director and designer of the abbey’s Woodworking Shop that specializes in furniture and coffins. He also collects stamps and cares for purple martins.
ABBEY JUBILARIANS
25 YEARS Nathanael Hauser, OSB
Robin Pierzina, OSB
Since his transfer to Saint John’s from Prince of Peace Abbey, Oceanside, California, Father Nathanael has taught Spanish and theology in the Prep School and served as Assistant Director of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library. He is completing the doctoral program in art history at the University of Minnesota.
For the past twenty-three years Brother Robin has been managing editor of the award-winning journal, The Bible Today, a publication of The Liturgical Press. He is also a faculty resident in student housing, chairs the influential Design Committee and serves as secretary of the Saint John’s Corporation.
Ordinations Seven members of Saint John’s Abbey celebrated important anniversaries of their ordination to the priesthood this past summer. They were recognized during the annual community retreat in early June.
50 YEARS Landelin Robling, OSB
Don Talafous, OSB
For more than twenty years Father Landelin served as teacher, pastor and prior at a Benedictine abbey and school in Puerto Rico. His pastoral assignments in Minnesota include Albany, St. Cloud, Richmond, St. Martin, New Munich and Hastings. He is the abbey’s newly appointed guest master.
After first teaching in the Bahamas and serving in a parish in the Bronx, Father Don taught theology at Saint John’s University and served as college chaplain and faculty resident in student housing. He is chaplain of SJU alumni and the author of three books, a quarterly alumni letter and spiritual reflections.
Richard Eckroth, OSB Father Richard taught philosophy at Saint John’s and was director of Benedictine Brothers and chaplain at Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph. He served parishes in St. Cloud, Albany and in the Bahamas where he built a new church on the island of Bimini.
Arnold Weber, OSB Father Arnold has been teacher, coach, the abbey’s first vocation director, founder of the popular Prep leadership camps, president of Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, retreat director, and pastor of Holy Name Church, Medina. His latter assignment was highlighted in the spring 2002 issue of The Abbey Banner.
Barnabas Laubach, OSB Father Barnabas taught at a Benedictine school in Mexico, served churches in Minneapolis, St. Paul, the Bronx, New York, Lake Park and Frazee and was chaplain of the correctional facility in St. Cloud. He is the director of the pastoral care department of St. Bernadine Hospital, San Bernadino, California.
25 YEARS Abbot John Klassen, OSB Before his election in 2000 as the tenth abbot of Saint John’s, Abbot John taught chemistry, was a faculty resident in student housing and director of the Peace Studies Program. He served as director of monastic formation and has been a leader in the discussion of Benedictine values in higher education.
Michael Kwatera, OSB Father Michael was pastor of churches in Jacobs Prairie, St. Martin and Farming. He teaches liturgy at Saint John’s, edits the annual directory for liturgical celebrations, is co-founder of the Monastic Liturgy Forum, author of sample sermons and member of the abbey’s liturgy committee. He is also the acting director of Oblates.
photos by David Manahan, OSB
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FEATURE In these autumn days the birch and maple trees in the monastery garden radiate with splendor. photos by Fran Hoefgen, OSB
“Then the LORD God planted a garden…”” (Genesis 2:8) by Fran Hoefgen, OSB
“I
n a way, nobody sees a flower, really. It is so small, we haven’t time, and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time,” writes Georgia O’Keeffe. Gardens provide peaceful moments for the monks of Saint John’s Abbey who take care of flower plots on the monastery grounds. We grow gardens in our backyards, on balconies, rooftops and windowsills. We continue the tradition that God began with the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2). Gardens help to nourish our senses and deepen our connection to the earth, provided we take time to see the flowers all around us. David Rothstein, who tends three gardens around Greg House, a student residence, comments, “I was surprised this year at the joy I felt in planting these gardens, helping these little sprouts take root to delight us all through the summer. A few plants were raised from seed in my room. Seeing those tiny heads break through the soil was a joy that I hadn’t experienced since working in our family garden as a child.”
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Finian McDonald adds that his garden “gives me great pleasure, both to watch it grow, taking care of it and to know that other people enjoy its changing beauty.” Jerome Coller also contributes a bit of color to the backyard with his perennial garden by the back door of the monastery. Alberic Culhane diligently attends an array of geraniums in the raised garden at the entrance to Mary Hall.
Finian’’s poppies remind us of one of Georgia O’’Keeffe’’s paintings.
For many monks their gardens provide a respite from teaching classes or other work. Columba Stewart has one of those quiet places where he tends his alpine garden on the hillside that overlooks Lake Sagatagan. Aelred Tegels nurtures his “candle shop garden” that brings color and delight near the plumbing department and woodworking shop. Years ago Edward Zwak used to harvest strawberries and horseradish in that very spot before he passed this garden on to other monks. Gardens do get handed on from one gen-
eration of caretakers to the next. For example, the Grotto Garden has been handed on through its over ninetyyear history. Currently I tend this choice property that over-
These delicate fall asters are a welcome flash of color in September.
FEATURE These prairie cone flowers are a beautiful addition to the garden at the abbey beach.
looks Lake Sagatagan. I also enjoy photographing individual flowers in various gardens so others can enjoy these “sacraments of nature.” Gregory Eibensteiner grows gourds that become purple martin birdhouse clusters on the shore of our lake near the cemetery. Simon-Hoa Phan and Roman Paur have nurtured herb gardens in various locations.
Klassen enjoys a respite from his work as he tends the garden across from the entrance of Emmaus Hall. Young men spending time at Saint John’s and who are considering joining the monastery have enjoyed planting and weeding gardens, for example, the “Quadrangle Inner Court Garden” tended by Joseph Feders with help from Zachary Wilberding, Doug Mullin and Thomas Thole. Urban Pieper grows beautiful lilies among the vegetables he produces. David Manahan maintains a rose garden at The Liturgical Press.
Yes, gardens are a part of our family history. They are sacred places that we speak kindly about, walk softly through, prune and weed gently, and tell more stories.
Many monks are involved in gardening because of Paul Schwietz, our land manager of happy memory who was responsible for restoring our wetlands and creating an arboretum along the entrance road to the campus. He always encouraged monks to get involved in garden plots to help beautify our home.
Fran Hoefgen, OSB, is an abbey photographer who has put together awesome albums of pictures of colorful flowers, trees, butterflies and other wonders of God’s world.
Wherever your garden is, nurture it and enjoy it as you do your friendships and “your life shall become like a watered garden, and you shall never languish again” (Jeremiah 31:12).
This brave tulip in Hilary’’s garden is ready to proclaim the glory of God.
Hilary Thimmesh regularly contends with rabbits and deer in his gardens on the east end of the monastery and the “Prairie Plant Border Garden” along the lakeshore below the monastery bathhouse. Because his garden is just above underground heating pipes it is often the first one to bloom. Francis Peters has helped to beautify our monastery grounds with quiet and tender care. His special domain is the monastery garden south of the quadrangle. Geoffrey Fecht began working in the “Scary Mary/Fish Pond/Rock/Sunken Garden” twenty years ago. Abbot John This corona in the Grotto Garden is an early sign of hope in spring.
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FEATURE The Loaf That Became a Legend photo by William Schipper, OSB
An Unforgettable Slice of Saint John’’s by Kenneth Jones
“J
Bread and beard go together in this photo of Brother William Baldus,, OSB,, the abbey’’s baker who first blended the unique flour of Saint John’’s Bread. photo from Abbey Archives
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ohnnie Bread Goes Nationwide” announced a 1958 headline of The Record, the student newspaper of Saint John’s University. Soon thirty companies were producing 56,000 loaves of piping hot Johnnie Bread every day for the discerning buyers from Baltimore to Seattle. The local loaf had become famous!
This symbol of Benedictine hospitality began in the late nineteenth century when William Baldus, OSB, melded the rye flour common in Europe with the lighter wheat flour abundantly available in the United States. By the middle of the twentieth century, Brother William’s blend, with its rough texture and distinctive crust, had become a central part of the Saint John’s tradition, prized by residents and visitors alike.
Indeed, after he had become a television star in the 1950s with “Dragnet,” Jack Webb still remembered his World War II military training at Saint John’s fondly because “there’s no doubt in my mind that Saint John’s Bread is the world’s greatest.” Although the bread had achieved Benedictine stability, things were changing in Collegeville in the 1950s. Growth in the monastery and a doubling of the student population necessitated a major new building program that would ultimately include the magnificent Breuerdesigned abbey church. Walter Reger, OSB, historian, academic administrator, alumni director and perpetual schemer for new resources, decided to help fund the changes by franchising Johnnie Bread. With the help of Graham McGuire, a local bakery owner, and Betty Sullivan, a food chemist, by July 1958 Father Walter had a mix that commercial bakers every-
FEATURE
Baker Rich Ruprecht wrestles another batch of dough to the cutting table. photo by Kenneth Jones
where could use to make the famous loaf. The product took off quickly, temporarily fulfilling Walter’s hope that it provide a “living endowment” for Saint John’s. For a brief period in 1959 royalties ran close to $20,000 per month, not a small sum when tuition was only $500 per year. Walter’s foray into capitalism was naturally affected by his Benedictine values. He was, after all, not only a member of a communal economy, but also a long time friend of social critic, Virgil Michel, OSB. Father Virgil had argued in the 1930s that people “should be cooperating as brothers” rather than engaging in the “free-for-all-struggle” of capitalism. This outlook was most evident when Walter turned down a lucrative contract with a national bakery chain because it
involved revoking the franchise of a few small bakers. Even though such action was common in the industry and stipulated in the franchise agreement, Walter refused, arguing that “morally we have no choice” but to continue the existing franchises. Much to Walter’s chagrin, the local bakers did not show similar loyalty. Thus the larger opportunity disappeared and Johnnie Bread sales dwindled to virtually nothing by the end of the 1960s. Though it passed from the national scene, Johnnie Bread has remained a staple in Collegeville. Current baker, Rich Ruprecht produces about two hundred loaves each day for hungry Johnnies and Bennies who eat their daily bread in the Saint John’s student refectory. At least
2,000 more loaves are baked at Homecoming so nostalgic alumni can carry off a warm memory. While Walter’s larger vision failed, he would no doubt be pleased that loyal alums in distant places now can purchase Johnnie Bread Mix for their bread machines. Whether it is carried home to some distant town or eaten in thick slices in the campus dining room, the taste and texture of the famous loaf still beckons people to share in the humanity and inclusiveness of the Benedictine tradition.
Kenneth Jones is professor of history at Saint John’s University. He and his wife Diane are the authors of The Loaf that Became a Legend, the definitive history of Johnnie Bread, published by North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc., in 1997. The book is available from the Saint John’s Bookstore at 1-800-4204509 or www.csbsju.edu/bookstore. Marketing Saint John’’s Bread was the brainchild of Walter Reger,, OSB,, professor of history and dean of the college. photo from Abbey Archives
The Abbey Banner Fall 2002 page 21
VOCATION NEWS 2002 Summer Monastic Experience,, June 16 to July 13,, participants (left to right): Randy Bustamante,, Brighton,, MA;; Brian Reusch,, New York Mills,, MN;; Mark Schneider,, San Dimas,, CA;; Daniel Pierson,, Rosemount,, MN;; Brian Dever,, Casper,, WY;; Jake Thibault,, Swansea,, MA;; John Almeida,, Colrain,, MA;; and Isaac Lopez,, San Antonio,, TX. photo by Robin Pierzina, OSB
God Is Still Calling by Joseph Feders, OSB
T
hese days when people learn that I am a vocation director for a religious community, they tend to give me a look that says, “I’m so sorry.” And those closest to me often check in to see how I am doing with my “impossible task.” Yes, it is difficult to be a vocation director in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church since the beginning of this year. It is especially saddening when I think of all the positive gains that have been made in vocation ministry in recent years. When I entered the monastery ten years ago, a vocation to the religious life or priesthood was still considered an oddity by most folks. But in the past decade, people have begun to learn again about the existence and important place of these vocations in the Church.
peace I have found in my deepening relationship with God through prayer, Scripture and the sacraments while being supported by a loving and caring community. My monastic life has not been without struggles. But whose life isn’t a challenge? One day this spring when our community was again in the front-page news, the demons were especially strong. I asked myself, “Would I do this all over again?” The response was quick and in the affirmative—“YES!” What also keeps me going is my deep conviction that God continues to call others to religious life and the priesthood. In the words of Jesus, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38). God is still calling. Finally, I am encouraged by the men and women I meet who are truly seeking to know God’s will for their lives. I cannot think of a better job than to help others discover their deepest desire that is also God’s deepest desire for them.
What has kept me going is my own positive experience of monasIn early May I received an e-mail from tic life and priesthood—the joy and a 25-year-old man who had been discernpage 22 The Abbey Banner Fall 2002
ing with me for nearly five months. From the beginning he made it clear that he was leaning toward diocesan life, but since he graduated from a Benedictine college on the east coast, he wanted to leave his options open. He wrote: “This scandal has been a difficult cross to carry these days (for all parties involved) but I have hope and faith that the Church will survive. Days like this, one truly has to believe that Jesus will carry us through this.” He continues, “I have decided to apply to the archdiocese as a diocesan priest. The sexual abuse crisis actually strengthened me to apply to the diocese. It is my hope that perhaps through my ministry I can in a small way restore the faith people have in the Church.” Jesus continues to call each of us in a special way. Jesus still calls the young to religious life and the priesthood. With our support and prayers, may they hear his call—“Follow me.” Joseph Feders, OSB, is the vocation director of Saint John’s Abbey.
STRENGTHENING FOUNDATIONS photo by Pam Rolfes
The Key to Quality Retirement by Shaun Sommerer
M
ore people than ever before in human history will live an increasing number of years in retirement. Both government and employers are trying to reduce their commitment to provide income during retirement due to the rapid increase in life expectancy. Because the cost of providing retirement income has risen astronomically, most employers now only match employee contributions to pension plans and make no commitments beyond this. The institutions that prior generations relied on for much of their income in retirement are cutting back drastically with the consequence that financial responsibility for retirement is being shifted back to the individual. The quality of retirement will depend upon how successful the individual is in building an adequate retirement account. The key to a quality retirement is to begin planning NOW, no matter how far away from retirement you are. Learn about IRAs and other financial vehicles that can be utilized to fund retirement. One should also consider planned giving strategies such as charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts
(CRTs) that can increase retirement income while leaving a gift to a charitable organization. Planned giving coupled with other long-term financial vehicles can leverage the maximum effect from one’s financial resources.
After you have established your current financial status it is time to define your goals, which is really a way to define priorities. This step will take some time and it will need periodic revision.
This may sound great but where does one begin? You cannot create a financial plan in isolation. In order for your plan to be efficient in all respects, it is essential that you consult financial planning professionals who are conversant in taxes, securities, insurance, etc.
It is important at this juncture to take time to reflect fully on how God is working in your life and design your retirement plan in response to the generosity you have been shown. Planning for retirement is not a burden. It is an opportunity to renew one’s priorities in life.
With that said, there are some things you can do on your own such as determining your present financial situation by calculating your net worth. Simply add up the value of everything you own. Be honest, list everything. Too many people approach this step with preconceived ideas about what the total will be and underestimate their net worth by sixty percent or more! This is also a good time to calculate how much you spend each month maintaining your current lifestyle. Planning for the future without an estimate of one’s net worth and monthly living expenses could result in a significant misjudgment of retirement income needs.
If you would like information on charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts (CRTs), I can be reached at 320-363-2369 or by e-mail at ssommerer@csbsju.edu. Shaun Sommerer is the director of development and external relations for Saint John’s Abbey.
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ABBEY MISSIONS
Brother Edward Vebelun,, OSB,, r.,, and Father Kieran Nolan,, OSB,, stand in the Fujimi monastery’’s refectory beside artist Sadao Watanabe’’s rendition of the three visitors to Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 18). photo by Neal Lawrence, OSB
Learning,, Serving and Building in Japan dward Vebelun, OSB, 34, is studying theology at a Catholic seminary in Tokyo in preparation for his ordination to the priesthood. He gives the following account of his experience:
E
at Fujimi in the Japanese Alps. I also had a strong urge to learn to read Japanese from the first time I laid eyes on a prayer book written in the traditional Chinese characters. I came to see my being here as part of my vocational calling.
As I sit in class listening to my Trinity professor speak in Japanese about the intricacies of the Holy Three in One, I ask myself, “How did a Benedictine monk from Collegeville, Minnesota, get here?”
With the Japan community’s blessing I began to study theology and the Japanese language, beginning with two years at Saint John’s Abbey. I continued as a fulltime student in a Japanese language school in Tokyo for a year and a half.
Five years ago when I spent the summer at Saint Anselm’s Priory in Tokyo, I was attracted to the idea of giving long term service to the Catholic Church of Japan as a member of our Benedictine community here. The initial lure was somewhere in the culture and the personality of the people of this Land of the Rising Sun. I wanted to be part of a Church that represents less than one per cent of the total population yet has its own vibrancy.
I am in the second year of a four-year program at St. Anthony Seminary, a small Franciscan school with twenty seminarians and fifteen one-year students from about eight religious orders. The students and faculty are all Japanese with the exception of four Koreans and myself.
I was attracted by the companionship of my confreres praying and working here as well as my being part of a new monastic foundation
Along the way I discovered that those fascinating Chinese characters tend to be really hard to memorize and use. So studying theology in Japanese is a challenge. My saving grace is that all my professors did theological studies in Europe, so they know the challenges of moving between a European-based language and an Asian one.
I am amazed at the progress I have made. Although I still have far to go, I believe that I will better be able to serve the community here and the larger Church of Japan. Besides, this journey itself has been a good one.
N
eal Lawrence, OSB, member of Holy Trinity Monastery, Fujimi, Japan, is the first recipient of the new “Patron’s Award for Distinguished Scholarship and Service” to the Asiatic Society of Japan on the occasion of its 130th anniversary. The citation, given to Father Neal on the eve of his 94th birthday reads as follows:
Neal Lawrence,, OSB,, holds his award plaque. photo by Nicholas Thelen, OSB
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ABBEY MISSIONS
In this photo of Holy Trinity Monastery the bell in the left foreground was one of the bells in the Twin Towers of Saint John’’s Abbey. photos from the Takagaki office
The Rev. Dr. Neal H. Lawrence, O.S.B., is hereby recognized for his distinguished contributions in his scholarship and service to the Asiatic Society of Japan. His long career of service to the Japanese society in public and diplomatic roles as well as a member of the Order of Saint Benedict has been outstanding. In particular, his leadership in the regeneration of Okinawa after World War II and his significant research in Japanese diplomatic history have been highly important. He has also been recognized as a pioneer of original “tanka” poetry in English. In the Asiatic Society of Japan he has served as VicePresident from 1978-99 and since then as a member of the advisory board.
O
n May 31, in the presence of two hundred members and guests, the Association of Tokyo Architect Offices awarded Mr. Ken Takagaki this year’s Architecture Grand Prize for his design of Holy Trinity Monastery, Fujimi, Japan. The citation reads in part as follows:
The monastic architecture, here cited, stands among the larch trees at the foot of the Yatsugatake and the Southern Japan Alps. In preparing for their move three years ago [from Tokyo] to Fujimi, the Benedictine community requested the architect Takagaki to design their new monastery. What the community and the architect wanted was space for a life separated from the modern way of life, devoted to prayer and labor and in communion with God, a very simple space for living in union with nature.
But once we pass through the modest entrance, the light-filled interior leads to a corridor open to nature and then to the quiet space for the living quarters of individual monks. The intention of the architect to emphasize a timelessness in the architecture was well achieved and faithfully delivered to the monks. This architectural work is surely worthy of the first prize in the twenty-eighth architecture competition sponsored by the Association of Tokyo Architect Offices.
The result, however, was what we of the ordinary modern society also have long desired. The exterior of the building is all English brick and slate, giving at first the impression of a rather closed world. Mr. Ken Takagaki,, winner of the Grand Prize in Japanese architecture for his design of Holy Trinity Monastery,, Fujimi
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OBITUARIES
Obituaries Cyprian Jerome Seitz, OSB 1910 – 2002
B
aptized in the Benedictine church of Freeport, Minnesota, and taught by Benedictine Sisters in the parish grade school, this firstborn son of Michael and Mary (Welle) Seitz made an easy transition to Saint John’s Preparatory School and University. Here he studied, participated in sports from baseball to boxing and played violin in the university orchestra. His next steps along Benedictine byways were his profession as a monk in 1931 and his ordination in 1937. For over five decades Father Cyprian served churches in St. Paul, Richmond, Albany, St. Joseph, Minneapolis, Calaway and Detroit Lakes. The last five years of his ministry before his 1988 retirement were spent as the chaplain of Divine Redeemer Hospital. During and shortly after World War II he served as an army chaplain with assignments in the European theatre of operation.
Cyprian Seitz,, OSB,, visits a patient during his rounds as chaplain of Divine Redeemer Hospital,, South St. Paul. photo from Abbey Archives
His post-war ministry included German prisoners of war. His travels allowed him to witness the massive destruction of war zones that included the ruins of Monte Cassino. Among his memorable moments were an audience with Pope Pius XII, a visit with the alleged German stigmatist, Theresa Neumann, and a retreat at the Lourdes shrine.
The white granite altar,, the presider’’s chair and the tabernacle are the focus of the sanctuary of Holy Rosary Church,, Detroit Lakes,, built during the pastorate of Father Cyprian. photo from Holy Rosary Church
page 26 The Abbey Banner Fall 2002
Continuing his pastoral ministry after his discharge from the army, Cyprian made a significant contribution as pastor of Holy Rosary Church in Detroit Lakes. There he initiated the planning of a new church to meet the needs of this growing parish. Upon its completion in 1968 this contem-
porary building, which owes a portion of its design to features of Saint John’s Abbey Church, received a Minnesota State Architectural Award. The first project of Cyprian’s retirement was to read the Bible from cover to cover. He wanted to become more familiar with its contents before he met the Original Author. He was a daily walker and a spirited talker who had a hard time keeping quiet during a serious game of cards. Poker games with family visitors were characterized by everyone talking and no one listening. This good and faithful monk with a genuine and generous pastoral heart had a special devotion to the rosary. He prayed all fifteen decades daily, adding five special mysteries for meditation on other gospel highlights such as Jesus’ transfiguration. It is appropriate that he was called to glory on April 7, the eve of the transferred feast of the Annunciation, the first of the joyful mysteries. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for him on April 11. May he rest in peace!
OBITUARIES Stephen Melvin Wagman, OSB 1921 – 2002
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eople born in that part of northern Minnesota called “Da Range” seem to have a toughness that may be attributed to their photo by David Manahan, OSB absorbing some of the iron ore that once was in such abundance there. Melvin, the oldest son of the Wagman family of Virginia, which is at the heart of the Iron Range, proved his toughness mixed with tenderness during the more than fifty years of his ministry as associate pastor, U.S. Army chaplain and pastor. Following his ordination in 1948, Father Stephen served briefly in Nassau, Bahamas, Saint John’s Preparatory School and Callaway, Minnesota. He then spent a decade (1949-59) as associate pastor of St. Anselm’s Church, a former Benedictine parish in the Bronx, New York. There he worked with the athletic club and the award-winning Fife and Drum Corps in an effort to channel youthful energy from waging gang fights to more productive and peaceful projects.
Stephen entered the U.S. Army as a chaplain in 1959. For the next twenty-two years he served in stateside posts and in Korea, Germany, Okinawa, Vietnam and the Panama Canal. His military honors included the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
lengthy treatments he became chaplain of St. Mary’s Health Center, Detroit Lakes, for a year.
The ravages of this disease necessitated his return to the abbey in 1998. With remarkable patience, hopefulness and good humor he endured the amputation of a leg and numerous bouts of chemotherapy. Evidence of the esteem with which he was held by his many milThe 1975 citation he received at the itary and parish friends came in the end of his three-year assignment as form of a deluge of birthday and chaplain at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, get-well greeting cards and a steady concludes: Chaplain Wagman’s innovation, cooperation with all faith groups and stream of visitors. Thanks to e-mail, unusual skills as an organizer, administra- he maintained contact with several hundred correspondents. tor and leader of Chaplains as well as parish personnel, have served to better When told earlier this year that his relations with the adjacent religious comcancer allowed him hardly more munities. The outstanding manner in than six months to live, Stephen which he performed his duties reflects great hoped he would die during the sumcredit upon himself, his organization and mer so “the ground will be warm.” the military service. He died June 20, the day before the summer solstice. His funeral and burial took place on June 25. May he rest in peace!
Remember our loved ones who have gone to their rest: Dorothy McCabe, Oblate, March 8 Father William Wenninger, brother of Father Magnus, OSB, May 16 Chaplain Stephen Wagman offers field Masses for the soldiers of his unit. photos from Abbey Archives
Leaving the Army in 1981 with the reserve rank of colonel, Stephen brought his pastoral spirit and skills to Sacred Heart Parish, Frazee, Minnesota. He completed extensive renovations to the church and rectory that included an enlarged narthex with an elevator for the handicapped. Fifteen years later the onset of cancer forced his resignation. After
Ken Wasnie, brother of Father Blane, OSB, May 22 Richard Miller, brother of Father Vernon, OSB, May 28 Louise Brix, sister of Brother William Borgerding, OSB, June 11 Bernard Kieffer, father of Brother Walter, OSB, June 24 Henry Wenninger, brother of Father Magnus, OSB, July 3 Tony Taylor, brother of Father Mel, OSB, August 3
Bring them and all the departed into the light of your presence, O Lord. The Abbey Banner Fall 2002 page 27
BANNER BITS The color,, texture and warmth of the original bricks are revealed in a corridor of the first floor quadrangle.
Summer Construction Projects by Daniel Durken, OSB
The Quadrangle
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major construction project of the university was completed in August with the total restoration of the west wing of the first floor quadrangle. Begun in January 2001, this area now features the exposure of the original brick walls, renovated offices for admissions, administrative and student services personnel, central air conditioning, a new fire alarm system, new carpeting and new lighting. The last leg of the quadrangle restoration project will involve the so-called “cold corridor” that runs adjacent to the Great Hall and the Alumni Lounge. With the original brick walls already exposed in this area, there yet remains the work of installing new lighting, ceiling and windowsills.
That one that put these caseing on was a boy that learned his carpenter trade in this college 16 1/2 old his name was Albert Franz Jablunske from Stillwater, Minn. 1886, July 6. On the reverse side of this board is this message: Hallow my friend learned it by Brother Ambrose Clement March 16, 1886
This is a photocopy of the 1886 board discovered in the quadrangle.
Records in the Abbey Archives reveal that Albert Jablunske was on the payroll of Saint John’s 116 years ago.
A New Roof for the Old Church
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Construction work in the quadrangle has been supervised by the Breitbach Company of Elrosa, Minnesota.
ince late April new copper roofing is being installed on the Great Hall (a.k.a. The Old Church) and its truncated Twin Towers. New lightning protection rods have been added.
An Historical Discovery!
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This project of sheet metal workers from Sentra-Sota Company, St. Cloud, will be completed in October.
n the process of tearing down and building up the quadrangle, an historical discovery was made. Behind the upper façade of one of the office doors was a 5 1/2 by 13 inch board with writing on it. The penciled script reads as follows:
photos by Andra Van Kempen
page 28 The Abbey Banner Fall 2002
The Great Hall is encased in scaffolding for the re-roofing work.
photo from Abbey Archives
BANNER BITS
Don LeMay,, OSB,, Retires From Stewardship Office fter serving Saint John’s University for almost fifty years, Father Don announced his retirement last spring from the position of senior stewardship officer in SJU’s Institutional Advancement Office.
tant registrar, then as the director of the Prep School choir and also as a prefect of students. In 1961, Father Lanfranc, as he was known at the time by his first monastic name, became the first director of admissions for the university, a position he held for the next thirteen years.
A native of Cloquet, Minnesota, Don graduated from Saint John’s University in 1949, made his monastic profession in 1953 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1957. Since then he has served Saint John’s in many capacities, first as the assis-
In 1974 Don became the director of planned giving for Saint John’s University and Abbey. Over the years he has helped hundreds of individuals, couples and families with their estate planning as well as their personal and pastoral needs.
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New Director of Hill Monastic Manuscript Library Named
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r. Katherine Gill is the newly appointed executive director of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library (HMML). She succeeds Father Eric Hollas, OSB, who retired June 30. Dr. Gill, an internationally recognized scholar and historian, received her doctorate in history from Princeton University. She has taught at Yale University and Boston College. For seven years she was project historian for the Vatican Archives Project that introduced a new Guide to the Archives of the Holy See. Her research has included the study of women’s religious communities in medieval Italy. Dr. Gill is particularly interested in using electronic resources to advance scholarship and ease of access to historical documents.
He is widely recognized as the “Grandfather of Planned Giving” in the state of Minnesota. Don, who turns 80 this year, is the 1999 recipient of the Walter Reger, OSB, Distinguished Alumnus Award. This honor is given annually by the Alumni Association Board of Directors to an alumnus who has exemplified the dedication to Saint John’s for which Father Walter was known and loved.
Thomas Thole,, OSB,, and Don Talafous,, OSB photo by William Schipper, OSB
Two Faculty Residents Retire
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fter decades of service as faculty residents in student housing, Thomas Thole, OSB, and Don Talafous, OSB, have retired and returned to the quiet of the abbey cloister. Reflecting on his forty years of living among students, Father Thomas stated, “The most satisfaction I gained was from directing Ground Benet International, a floor of residents about fifty percent Americans and fifty percent foreign students. Observing and helping these students to live, study and socialize with each other was a wonderful and intellectually rewarding experience.”
As college chaplain, theology teacher and faculty resident, Father Don looked back at his time among students and said, “Despite a very few unpleasant disciplinary matters, the years are memorable for how respectfully irreverent the students have been toward me.” He maintains contact with over a thousand former students through his quarterly newsletter and his work as alumni chaplain.
The Abbey Banner Fall 2002 page 29
BANNER BITS photo by David Manahan, OSB “Grand”” Father Gordon surrounded by Prep students photo by Michael Mullin
Prep School Honors Gordon Tavis,, OSB
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n June 29 Father Gordon was recognized as one of the outstanding individuals to have been a part of the Prep School’s 145-year history when he received the Armor of Light Award given by the Saint John’s Preparatory School Alumni/ae Association. Gordon has led the school as its seventeenth headmaster/president for the past four years. In that time his leadership and vision have resulted in an 82 percent enrollment growth, balanced budgets, improved programs, the renovation of St. Michael Hall, and the construction of the Meyers Center. The following comments are taken from a citation read the
night he received the Armor of Light Award. Father Gordon has sometimes referred to his presidency as a “grandfatherly retirement” job. He even mentioned early in 1998—when he first applied for the job— that he thought the Prep School could benefit from a “grandfatherly president.” What he didn’t know at the time is that he would become exactly as he predicted—a great friend and mentor to students, a man filled with wisdom and measured decisions, a person of experience, knowing every single part of the whole Saint John’s —a leader of integrity and charity, compassion and insight.
Awards for The Liturgical Press
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t its annual national convention in late May the Catholic Press Association honored The Liturgical Press with awards for seventeen of its publications.
The Bible Today received the firstplace General Excellence Award, and two third-place awards for best cover and best article. The bi-monthly magazine was recognized for its “serious and weighty approach to Bible study without being overly academic, . . . an excellent source for discussion of faith issues.” Robin Pierzina, OSB, has been the managing editor of the journal for the past twenty-three years. page 30 The Abbey Banner Fall 2002
Other first place awards were given to such titles as Biblical Fundamentalism: What Every Catholic Should Know; Living Liturgy; Gifted Origins to Graced Fulfillment; The Word of God—The Word of Peace; Dictionary of Christian Biography; and an Advent direct mail promotion piece.
Michael Naughton,, OSB,, Named Administrator
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bbot Timothy Kelly, OSB, Abbot President of the American Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine Men, has appointed Father Michael the Administrator of Mary Mother of the Church Abbey, Richmond, Virginia, for a three-year term. Benedictine monks arrived in 1860 to serve St. Mary’s Church in Richmond. In 1911, a monastic community was established west of Richmond on fortyone acres overlooking the James River. It was raised to the status of an abbey in 1989. Now numbering sixteen members, the community owns and operates Benedictine High School in Richmond and welcomes guests to a retreat center at the abbey. Michael was the director of The Liturgical Press for thirteen years. This past year he lived in Vienna and Rome studying German and Italian.
Peter Dwyer, director of The Liturgical Press, and Robin Pierzina, OSB, managing editor of photo by William Schipper, OSB
SPIRITUAL LIFE Don Tauscher, OSB,, director of Spiritual Life Program photo by David Manahan, OSB
The Holy Spirit and the Price of Disunity by Don Tauscher, OSB
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fter three chapters (14-16) in John’s Gospel where Jesus promises the Spirit, he prays for unity. “I pray that they may all be one, as you, Father, and I are one” (17:11). Yet all of us have a long way to go to understand both Jesus and his prayer. Jaroslav Pelikan’s book Jesus through the Centuries clearly demonstrates how differently Jesus Christ has been imaged and explained over the years. With certain provisos, I don’t have a huge problem with struggle, disagreement and debate within the Roman Catholic Church. Nor with conflict, unless conflict means angry fighting and broken relationships. Has there been a single day since the first Pentecost when there was perfect unity by everyone who claimed Christ as Lord?
What is truly divisive in the church community is the polarization of adamant positions where humble and hospitable respect and charity are seriously subordinated to “truth” as the representative of one cohort understands and/or interprets it, even when it is not formally defined as an essential dogma. Name-calling, sarcasm, accusation of heterodoxy in non-essential matters: these divide and wound persons. Everyone suffers. The Body of Christ suffers. The Holy Spirit is saddened (Ephesians 4:30). And the world looking in from outside suffers the loss of fellowship in the church of Jesus Christ. What a horrible price to pay for disunity!
transform all of us into what God intends for us. The Spirit’s gift of enlightenment is necessary for moving from disunity to unity. However, the Holy Spirit won’t force us; we must be receptive. Saint Benedict has the monastic community pray the Lord’s Prayer aloud twice daily because “thorns of contention are inevitable,” but brothers need to seek and offer forgiveness just as often. Broken relationships and the conflicts that cause them must be mended, and to every marvelous means to good human relations and diplomacy must be added sincere prayer. Reconciliation is ultimately the result of God’s grace—the work of the Holy Spirit— and our willing participation.
What will God’s intended unity look like, sound like, act like? Like The level of self-confidence something the world has never required to say that I have full How can known and still cannot imagine. possession of God’s truth and Christians Because disunity is a fruit of sin— you do not is something I bridge the gap might wish I had but I don’t. some would say it is sin—unity will between relatake a miracle of God, but a miraOr would that be arrogance? I tivism and dogcle that occurs incarnationally, like find it difficult, if not impossible, matism? Not easthe Paschal Mystery. Unity will to hold that I have even a fuller ily. But we must cost a lot of loving and a lot of measure of God’s immutable learn to stand for and dying, as it did for Jesus, Martin truth than “they” have. art by Gertrud Mueller Nelson act according to Luther King and Oscar Romero. A blazing irony for me is that relsomething upon which we stake our eterBut ecumenical dialog and theoloativists, like some talk-show hosts, sitcom nal destiny without imposing condemnagizing must happen within and outcharacters and other voices that are wide- tion on “the other.” We need to learn side the Church. ly broadcast, fight, accuse, condemn and how to agree to disagree on conflicting exclude people less than some people issues we hold dear. We also need to Perhaps today we could correctly who decide that their personal views and agree to keep searching, praying and say that one of the gifts of the Holy practices really should be adopted by meeting on the ground we can call comSpirit to us is the gift to cut one everyone else. mon, in the confidence that the Holy another a bit of slack as we “walk in Spirit can and will stretch all of us and the Spirit” to seek the way of God. The Abbey Banner Fall 2002 page 31
Calendar of Events September 14
Profession of First Vows of Benedictine Novices, 10:00 a.m. during Community Eucharist, Abbey Church
September 14
SJU’s First 2002 Home Football Game vs. Hamline, 1:00 p.m.
September 20
Interfaith Dialogue for Ordinary People, a Multicultural Conference, sponsored by Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary. For details and registration contact Linda Schreiber, events coordinator, 320-3633154 or lschreiber@csbsju.edu
September 28
SJU’s Homecoming vs. St. Olaf, 1:00 p.m.
October-December Weekly Thursday evening lectures by resident scholars of the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research. For list of topics and speakers contact Dolores Schuh, CHM, executive associate, 320-363-3366 or dschuh@iecr.org October 4
October 4
October 4-5
Benedictine Day of Prayer, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., “Benedict, Francis and the Beauty of God’s Creation.” For information/registration contact Don Tauscher, OSB, director of Spiritual Life Program, 320-363-3929 or dtauscher@csbsju.edu Theology and Arts Conference on “A Sense-Able God: The Prophetic Word” sponsored by Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary. For details contact Linda Schreiber as above. Saint John’s Preparatory School’s Annual Oktoberfest Gasthaus. For reservations contact Mary Ritter, coordinator, 320-3633317 or mritter@csbsju.edu
October 10
Fr. Jerome Tupa’s “Road to Rome” opening, Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.jp2cc.org
October 24
Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking, receives the Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary Dignitas Humana Award, 8 p.m., abbey church. For details contact Linda Schreiber as above.
November 1
Benedictine Day of Prayer, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., “Holiness: God’s Will for You.” For registration contact Don Tauscher, OSB, as above.
November 21-24
“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, presented by Saint John’s Preparatory School. For information contact PaulVincent Niebauer, OSB, 320-363-3341 or pniebauer@csbsju.edu
December 6
Benedictine Day of Prayer, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., “Advent: Waiting with Mary.” For registration contact Don Tauscher, OSB, as above.
December 15
Oblate Advent Day of Recollection. For information contact Michael Kwatera, OSB, 320-363-3568.
Abbey Prayer Time Visitors are welcome to join the monks for daily prayers and Eucharist. Seating: choir stalls west of altar. Seating for Sunday Eucharist is in the main body of the church. 7 a.m. 12 p.m. 5 p.m. 7 p.m.
Morning Prayer Noon Prayer Daily Eucharist* Evening Prayer
* Saturday Eucharist, 11:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist, 10:30 a.m.
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