SAINT VINCENT SEMINARY - Key Persons
When Rupert Seidenbusch was appointed Vicar Apostolic of North Minnesota in 1875, the monks elected the prior of Saint Vincent, Innocent Wolf , as the new abbot. Bonifaz Wimmer , who did not want to give up ‘his' prior, did not agree with the choice , he appointed Edelbrock as abbot instead. Despite the ensuing protests, the appointment was confirmed by the Propaganda Congregation in Rome-albeit with reservations-and Edelbrock was ordained on October 24 by Bishop Seidenbusch in St. Cloud.
Edelbrock remained president of the university as abbot, but gave up his teaching position. During his tenure, the main university building and the church were built, and he often worked on the construction himself. He had churches, vicarages, schools and hospitals (including St. Cloud and Duluth) built in the parishes administered by the Benedictines. The number of staff at the convention also increased considerably during his tenure.
After his resignation at the end of 1889, Edelbrock took over as rector (pastor) of Saint Anselm's congregation in New York. He died in New York on May 18, 1908 and was buried in Saint John's Convent Cemetery.
Abbot, Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota (1875-1889) President of the American Cassinese Congregation Anton Edelbrock was born in Westphalia in 1843. The family emigrated to
Abbot Benedict Menges, O.S.B. was elected to be the first abbot. Twelve monks from Pennsylvania volunteered to become founding members of the abbey in Alabama, including six priests, four brothers and two monks preparing for ordination to the priesthood. Father Benedict was born on July 31, 1840 in Obermohr, Rhenish, Bavaria. He came to America in 1865, completed his studies at Saint Vincent, entered the novitiate in 1868 and was ordained a priest December 21, 1872. For a few weeks after his ordination he assisted at Saint Mary's Church, Erie, then was transferred to Chicago then to Allegheny, Pa., where he remained until 1877. From 1877 to 1887 he labored in the missions of northern Alabama, first at Saint Florian and then for nine years in Huntsville.
In 1887 he was recalled to the north and for a short time was prior of Saint Joseph's in Covington, Kentucky. Shortly after the election of Archabbot Andrew in 1888, Father Benedict was sent to the south as superior of the Alabama missions. He became prior in Carrolltown, Pennsylvania until July 1881.
At that time there was a growing demand to establish a monastery and college in Alabama. In the chapter assembled for the election of a superior in September of 1891 Father Benedict was elected abbot. Abbot Benedict died on July 11, 1904.
Abbot, Saint Bernard's Abbey, Cullman, Alabama (1891-1904) Just four years after German-speaking monks from Pennsylvania arrived in Cullman, Alabama, in 1887, Saint Bernard Abbey was
Abbot Bertrand Dolan, O.S.B., was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 9, 1886.
He professed vows as a monk of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey on October 18, 1907. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 17, 1911.
He served as a lieutenant in the Chaplain's Corps with the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. In 1927, Saint Anselm Priory was elevated to an abbey by Pope Pius XI.
Abbot Bertrand died on February 7, 1968 after reigning as abbot for more than 40 years. Bertrand Hall, a female residence hall, is named in his honor.
Abbot, Saint Anselm Abbey, Manchester, New Hampshire (1927-1968) Abbot Bertrand Dolan, O.S.B., was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 9, 1886. He professed vows as
For thirty years he was director of Saint Bernard College until he was appointed prior of the abbey in 1933. Upon the death of the late Abbot Ambrose, the monks elected him their fourt abbot in 1939.
During his administration plans were drawn for the abbey church, a library classroom building and a mortuary chapel erected in the abbey cemetery. He received the Cappa Magna in 1946. In 1947 Saint Vincent College awarded him an honorary degree of doctor of laws. He retired from active administration in 1952.
Abbot, Saint Bernard's Abbey, Cullman, Alabama (1939-1957) Boniface Seng, O.S.B., was a native of Chicago and received his early training at Saint Joseph's parochial school
On May 18, 1894, he was elected conventual prior by acclamation in the first chapter of the four other priest-monks eligible to vote (he himself was the fifth). On July 11, 1902, Prior Mohr was elected abbot and confirmed as such on September 25, 1902. The solemn Benedictine by Abbot-Bishop Leo Haid took place on November 27, 1902. Assistants were Archabbot Leander Schnerr of Saint Vincent (Latrobe) and Abbot President Innocent Wolf of Saint Benedict's (Atchison).
After more than ten years of asking to be allowed to resign, and having appealed directly to the Pope in Rome in 1925 and again in 1928, Abbot Mohr finally received approval in 1929 with Francis Sadlie ra coadjutor. Traveling to Cincinnati in September 1930 to attend the consecration of Franciscan Missionary Bishop Sylvester Espelage, he suffered a stroke there. After a hospital stay, he returned to Saint Leo a month later and resumed his teaching (moral theology) but died of pneumonia on Good Friday 1931. As he wished, he was buried at the foot of the altar in the Lourdes Grotto on the Abbey grounds. More than a thousand people attended his funeral. He was friends with President Theodore Roosevelt.
Abbot, Saint Leo Abbey, Florida (1902-1931) Charles Henry Mohr was born on January 24, 1863 in Chillicothe, Ohio, the son of Rhine-Prussian immigrants. His father
After Abbot Willibald Adam had resigned from his office for health reasons in 1929, the only 38-year-old Corbinian Hofmeister was elected his successor on July 15, 1929 under the chairmanship of Abbot Praeses Placidus Glogger (Saint Stephan, Augsburg) with 41 of 50 votes after Prior Maurus Dietl, who was elected in the first ballot, had rejected. Confirmation from Rome came on July 19th and Abbot President Glogger performed the ceremonial induction of the newly elected on August 5th. The Benedict was postponed to September 29 in view of the summer holidays.
Corbinian Hofmeister was abbot during the Nazi regime, which he opposed. From Rome he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the neighboring Benedictine Abbey of Niederaltaich in 1934 (Abbot Gislar Stieber) deployed to avert the impending financial collapse. He hired the so-called "Ochsensepp" lawyer Dr. Josef Müller, with whom he traveled through Europe to organize foreign loans until the Niederaltaich bankruptcy was successfully averted. The Nazis later accused Hofmeister of "currency offences", but could not prove anything. Instead, the Gestapo tried to attack him personally, accusing him of "moral offences." Since Hofmeister refused to make any statements, he was briefly imprisoned, but his friend Müller was able to secure his early release.
As in the whole of the German Reich, the schools in Metten and Niederalteich were increasingly targeted by the National Socialists. While the Niederalteich grammar school, which was still under construction, was simply closed, Metten was initially subjected to a number of harassments. On March 31, 1939, Hofmeister also had to close the abbey high school, the monastery seminary, the episcopal seminary, and the religious seminary.
Because of his participation (he was supposed to establish contact with the Vatican) in the resistance groups around the aforementioned Josef Müller, the evangelical theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with whom he was a very close friend, the later auxiliary bishop Johannes Neuhäusler, the Ettal abbot Willibald Wolfsteiner and the boss Admiral Canaris of the German counter-intelligence, Hofmeister was arrested by the Gestapo at Easter 1943, was first imprisoned in Berlin and was imprisoned from April 1944 to April 1945 with Martin Niemöller and Michael Hoeck (brother of the later Abbot Johannes Hoeck von Ettal and Scheyern). He was a "Special prisoner" in the commandant's arrest of the Dachau concentration camp. He later never spoke about this period and left no notes about it.
After the end of the war, Abbot Corbinian resumed teaching at the Abbey Grammar School (until 1960). Again and again he was used as an intermediary for the American occupying forces. In 1946 he took in the German Benedictines, who had been expelled from the Bohemian Abbey of Braunau, with their Abbot Dominik Prokop in Metten. On his initiative, they were given the former Augustinian monastery in Rohr in Lower Bavaria.
Corbinian Hofmeister died on October 24, 1966, the anniversary of his entry into Metten, in the hospital of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters in Tutzing and was buried on October 27 in the Metten Abbey Church, to the right of the Marienaltar.
Abbot, Saint Michael's Abbey, Metten, Germany (1929-1966) Corbinian Hofmeister, given the name Alexander, was born on February 26, 1891 as the youngest of the nine
Abbot Cuthbert was the third abbot of Saint Benedict's Abbey. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to Kansas City, Missouri, at the age of 12. He and his brother, John, and sister, Mary were raised by an aunt until Francis (later Cuthbert) came to Saint Benedict's for his further education. He completed his high school, college and theological studies here and was ordained June 27, 1921. He professed vows as a Benedictine July 2, 1915.
As a monk Abbot Cuthbert taught commercial subjects at Saint Benedict's High School, attended Gregg Normal School in Chicago to learn accounting, began studies in Greek at the University of Michigan and received a masters in 1932. Parallel to this teaching career he was treasurer of the college until being elected abbot in 1943. He was also Dean of Men from 1940 to 1943.
Abbot Cuthbert led the community in building the Abbey Church and Guesthouse, two student dormitories at the college, and at Maur Hill a new academic building and new gym. Under his leadership as well, the community began Saint Joseph's Priory, Mineiros, Goias, Brazil.
After retirement he served as assistant chaplain in various hospitals run by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, most recently at Saint Joseph's, Denver, Colorado. From 1971 to 1979 he was assistant chaplain at Mount Saint Scholastica Convent, Atchison. Beginning in January 1980 he lived at the Abbey where he was fully a part of the life of the community.
Abbot, Saint Benedict's Abbey, Atchison, Kansas (1943-1962) Abbot Cuthbert was the third abbot of Saint Benedict's Abbey. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came
Abbot Cyprian Bradley, O.S.B., was the first abbot of Holy Cross Abbey.
Holy Cross was a foundation of Saint Vincent Archabbey, created in 1886. It was raised to the status of an Abbey in 1925 and Cyprian Bradley was named its first abbot. He undertook a building program shortly after his election. A series of unforseen circumstances contributed to some hardships at the abbey, including issues with a building site, contractor and architect, followed by the financial crash of 1929. Abbot Cyprian was unable to overcome these issues and he submitted his resignation on February 4, 1931.
Abbot Holy Cross Abbey, Cañon City, Colorado (1926-1930) Abbot Cyprian Bradley, O.S.B., was the first abbot of Holy Cross Abbey. Holy Cross was a foundation
Job Titles:
- President of the American - Cassinese Congregation
Abbot James Zilliox installed him as a teacher at the high school in Wilmington. After the closure of that school Father Ernest was recalled to Newark and transferred to Saint Benedict's College, where he remained until his election as abbot in 1910. Abbot Hilary Pfrängle appointed him procurator in 1891 and put him in charge of the school twice. Elected to succeed him as Prior on Abbot Hilary's death on January 4, 1910, he was blessed and installed by Bishop O'Connor of Newark on April 5, 910.
With Helmstetter's assumption of office, a new era began, a heyday of the abbey. Academic capacity in Newark and Manchester (Saint Benedict's and Saint Anselm's) expanded, the number of students and monks multiplied rapidly, the parishes served by the Benedictines prospered and grew around Saint Elizabeth in Linden and Saint Joseph in Hilton, now Maplewood, New Jersey. In the summer of 1914, the general chapter of the American-Cassinensian Benedictine congregation elected Helmstetter president, an office that he held for 18 years, longer than anyone before or after him. In 1927 he granted independence to the Priory of Saint Anselm in Manchester, New Hampshire, and presided over the election of the first abbot, Bertrand Dolan. The Delbarton estate in Morristown was also acquired during his tenure.
Pope Pius IX awarded him the right to wear the cappa magna in 1929 and the violet pileolus in 1934. He died of a heart attack on July 9, 1937, aged 78, and was buried in the Abbey Cemetery. Patrick M. O'Brien was elected to succeed him .
Abbot, Saint Mary's Abbey, Newark, New Jersey (1910-1937) Abbot President of the American-Cassinensian Benedictine Congregation (1914-1929) Ernest Helmstetter, given the name Joseph, was born on
Innocent Wolf, baptized name Thomas Friedrich Wilhelm , was born on April 13, 1843 in Schmidtheim as the ninth and youngest child of the teacher Johann Peter Wolf († 1856) and his wife Anna Gertrud Molitor. He came to America with his family in 1851, where his older brother Johann, who had been sent ahead, had bought a farm in Brighton in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, on the west shore of Lake Michigan.
Like his brothers Peter and Ferdinand, he came to the Abbey of Saint Vincent in Pennsylvania, founded by Bonifaz Wimmer, in 1854 at the age of eleven. He entered the novitiate in 1860, made his profession in 1861 and then studied philosophy and theology for five years before being ordained a priest in May 1866. He celebrated his first communion at Saint Joseph's Church in Chicago, where his mother was living. On October 4, 1866, he received American citizenship.
Abbot Wimmer sent the talented new priest in October-together with Oswald Moosmüller , Adalbert Müller, and Hilarius Pfrängle-to found a study center and to continue his studies (in addition to theology, mathematics and physics) at the University of Sapienza in Rome, and he received his doctorate in theology.
Returning to Saint Vincent in the summer of 1870, Wolf taught for six years at Saint Vincent College, teaching moral theology, biblical studies, and liturgy at the seminary. He was also master of novices and was appointed prior and procurator in 1874. Elected in absentia in 1876 as first abbot of the subsidiary foundation of Saint Benedict's in Atchinson (Kansas) and on Saint Benedict's Day 1877 by Bishop Ludwig Fink, his predecessor in Atchison, was ceremonially installed in the abbey church, despite the striking lack of money he expanded Saint Benedict's in the following decades just as purposefully and with zeal as the associated college. He didn't shy away from helping out with the woodwork, gardening and repair work himself.
In addition to his duties as superior, he was procurator (temporarily) and director of the college, and continued to teach Moral theology. According to Beckman, Abbot Wolf was-in line with the paternalistic management style of the time-overconscious ("hyperconscious ") of his responsibility and had difficulties in delegating tasks. In 1880 he traveled with Abbot Wimmer and Alexius Edelbrock to the anniversary celebrations in Montecassino, also to raise money there for the construction of a new abbey church. To this end he also visited the Austrian Benedictine abbeys and cities of Salzburg, Lambach, Kremsmünster, Linz, Melk, Göttweig, Vienna and Raigern, but had little success. Emperor Franz Josef of Austria gave fifty dollars.
After Wimmer's death († December 8, 1887) on February 8, 1888, Wolf received the majority of votes in several ballots, but rejected the appointment as Archabbot of Saint Vincent. In 1896 he was elected Abbot President of the American-Cassinensian Benedictine Congregation as successor to Leo Haid and remained in this office until he handed it over in 1902 to Peter Engel, who also came from the Eifel. During this time he worked his way into canon law so deeply that the Benedictine monk Alexius Hoffman (1863-1940) of Collegeville Abbey stated that Abbot Wolf was the only one of the American Benedictine abbots before 1900 who had a sound knowledge of canon law.
In recognition of his services, Pope Benedict XV. (1914-1922) granted Abbot Wolf the right to wear the cappa magna on the occasion of his golden jubilee as a priest in 1916, but Wolf rejected it as ostentatious. In 1921, Abbot Wolf resigned after 45 years in office. He died on 14 April 1916 October 1922 after a long illness.
Abbot, Saint Benedict's Abbey, Atchison, Kansas (1876-1921)Abbot President of the American-Cassinensian Benedictine Congregation (1896-1902) Innocent Wolf, baptized name Thomas Friedrich Wilhelm , was born on
The Benedictine Monks of Saint Leo Abbey, Saint Leo, Florida, elected Father Isaac Camacho, O.S.B. as the Sixth Abbot of their monastic community on Saturday October 27, 2007.
Abbot Isaac has been a Benedictine monk since 1988, having previously served at Tepeyac Abbey, Mexico. He was ordained to the priesthood at Saint Leo Abbey, December 22, 2001. He has served as parochial vicar at Saint Mark's Catholic Church, North Tampa. He was born in Mexico City, Mexico, the son of Manuel and Teresa Camacho.
He is a 1980 graduate of Miguel Hidalgo High School, Mexico City. he earned a degree in religion from Saint Leo Univrsity in 1994. He studied theology at Saint Meinrad School of Theology from 1995 to 1996. He completed studies at Saint Vincent Seminary in 2001.
Abbot, Saint Leo Abbey, 2007-present The Benedictine Monks of Saint Leo Abbey, Saint Leo, Florida, elected Father Isaac Camacho, O.S.B. as the Sixth Abbot of
Abbot Bonifaz Wimmer sent the young cleric to Rome for further theological studies. There he received his doctorate in theology on August 6, 1875 and returned to Saint Vincent the same year. He taught theology at the seminary, became master of novices, and in 1881 prior.
In 1885 the elected the assembly of the 106 eligible capitulars of the Abbey of Saint Vincent chose Zilliox in the second ballot to be abbot of the newly built Abbey of Saint Mary's in Newark. After confirmation from Rome, it was consecrated in Saint Mary's Church ("Immaculate Conception" on the High-street) by Bishop Winand M. Wigger of Newark.
Abbot, Saint Mary's Abbey, Newark, New Jersey (1885-1886) James Zilliox was born in Newark in 1849 and baptized in St. Mary's Church. He attended Saint
The second abbot of Saint Bede Abbey was born in Bavaria, Germany, at Allersburg, on April 4, 1871. Educated at the Abbey of Igolstadt, he came to America at the age of fifteen with the intention of studying for the diocesan priesthood, but due to some confusion he arrived at Saint Vincent, where he completed his classical course, entered the novitiate, and then professed first vows July 11, 1890. Three years later he was assigned to Saint Bede, where he taught Latin and Greek and had to continue his theology courses largely by himself.
Father Justus was ordained to the priesthood in the student's chapel at Saint Bede by Bishop John Lancaster Spalding of Peoria on June 24, 1895. The archabbot at Saint Vincent renewed Justus' assignment to Saint Bede, and in 1909 he was appointed the prior of the monastic community and rector of the College.
Assigned in 1910 by Abbot Vincent as pastor of Saint Joseph's in Peru, Illinois, he built the parish hall and remained there in the assignment until he was appointed as pastor of Saint Joseph's in Chicago in 1915. He was still pastor in Chicago when, on June 10, 1926, he was elected as the second abbot of the abbey. He was blessed two months later on August 10, 1926.
Abbot Justus suffered a heart attack and died on March 26, 1942, while sitting at his type writer composing letters concerning the furnishings of the new monastery building. He was in the 70th year of age, the 51st year of his profession, the 47th year of his priesthood, and had served the community for 16 years as its abbot.
Abbot, Saint Bede's Abbey, Peru, Illinois (1926-1942) Saint Bede Abbey was a foundation of Saint Vincent in Illinois that resulted from Saint Vincent's efforts to
The third abbot of Saint Bede Abbey was born in LaSalle, Illinois, on September 10, 1900, and was baptized with the name of Andrew in Saint Patrick's Church, LaSalle. After attending Saint Patrick's parochial school, he entered the Vincentian Minor Seminary in Perryville, Missouri, and there completed his classical studies. He entered Saint Bede College in 1921. He was accepted into the novitiate and on July 2, 1923, professed his first vows. His ordination to the priesthood took place on December 8, 1928.
On the college faculty he taught mathematics and attended summer sessions at the University of Notre Dame for advanced courses in math and physics. In 1933 he was with the first group assigned to Spalding Institute in Peoria, where he continued to teach math and physics.
Upon the death of Abbot Justus, Father Lawrence was elected to succeed him as abbot and was blessed on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 1942.
Abbot, Saint Bede Abbey, Peru, Illinois (1942-1968) The third abbot of Saint Bede Abbey was born in LaSalle, Illinois, on September 10, 1900, and was
Abbot Leonard Schwinn was nominated as second abbot of Holy Cross Abbey in 1937 and blessed on August 10, 1937.
He had become the second apostolic administrator of the community there following a construction debt accumulated by the first abbot, Cyprian Bradley, O.S.B., and circumstances of the Great Depression. Two priests were sent from Saint Vincent to help the community recover from the issues.
Father Leonard faced a total debt of over $700,000 and a loan to be repaid of $427,000. He had the assignment of meeting these obligations, saving the parishes from foreclosure, while continuing to perate the school and the abbey. By February of 1952 all creditors had been paid, the parishes saved and the community at Holy Cross stabilized.
Abbot, Holy Cross Abbey, Cañon City, Colorado (1937-1976) Abbot Leonard Schwinn was nominated as second abbot of Holy Cross Abbey in 1937 and blessed on
John Nepomucene Jaeger was born in Bohemia and immigrated to the United States of America with his family in 1853. He earned his first living as a violinist with the New York Italian Orchestra, with whom he toured the United States.
At the age of 21 he came to Saint Vincent, Latrobe. Ordained a priest in 1875, he served as a missionary to the Pennsylvania coal mines until he was sent in 1885 to found a monastery in Chicago. The Saint Procopius Monastery became an independent priory in 1888 and Prior Jaeger was consecrated as the first abbot in 1894.
Abbot Jaeger had the monastery moved from Chicago to Lisle and founded Saint Procopius College. In 1919 he handed over the management of the abbey to coadjutor Valentine Kohlbeck and he died in 1924. His grave is in the monastery cemetery.
Abbot, Saint Procopius Abbey, Lisle, Illinois (1894-1924) John Nepomucene Jaeger was born in Bohemia and immigrated to the United States of America with his family
As did his predecessors Alexius Edelbrock and Bernard Locnikar Peter Engel held the title of college president, but left the administrative work to a vice president. Despite this, he attached great importance, even more than his predecessors, to the further development and equipment of educational institutions, especially in the natural sciences. Among other things, he expanded the physics laboratory, built an observatory (torn down in 1961), a wireless telegraph station and numerous new university buildings, which were electrified in 1898. With Anselm Ortmann, who studied physics at Johns Hopkins University, he sent the first of the monks of Collegeville to study at a university. The number of students in high school, college, and seminary doubled during his tenure. In July 1920 the abbey had over 100 priests,
In addition to his duties in the abbey, Peter Engel was also president of the American-Cassinensian Benedictine congregation from 1902 to 1914. The founding of Saint Martin Abbey in the state of Washington also goes back to his initiative.
Fifteen months after his 25th anniversary as Abbot, Abbot Peter fell seriously ill and died in Rochester Hospital on the eve of the anniversary of his abbot election, in the presence of his Prior and successor Alcuin Deutsch. He was buried in the monastery cemetery.
Although born and raised in America, Peter Engel spoke German fluently and without an accent. He had also learned the Eifel dialect in his parents' house. He remained connected to the homeland of his ancestors throughout his life and repeatedly visited his German relatives on the return journey from the Montecassino monastery, which he visited every four years.
Abbot of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota (1895-1901) Peter Engel was the son of German immigrants from Bausendorf in the Eifel. He was born in
The Neuzil family emigrated from southern Bohemia to the United States and settled in northeastern Iowa and began farming. The Czech community in that region was strongly Roman Catholic, which was appealing to the family.
Charles Neuzil wanted to enter the seminary but was rejected due to his poor background. He worked as a field hand in Wisconsin to study in Iowa and began to teach at a school near Spillville after graduating in 1880. He saw an article on Boniface Wimmer and Saint Vincent inviting Czech men to join the order and he immediately applied and was accepted. In 1881 at age 20 he began studies at Saint Vincent, taking the name Procopius.
In 1886 he was sent to Chicago and assigned to stay at Saint Procopius Church, where missionary priests from Saint Vincent had a priory. In 1888 the Saint Procopius Priory became an independing priory with eight founding members and he professed vows there in 1888. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 22, 1888.
He helped establish a school to educate poor Czech-American boys and began teaching in 1887, continuing in that position until 1894. He established a weekly magazine for children of Czech culture, and after several years he created a publication for adults. These became part of the Bohemian Benedictine Press, which later published newspapers and educational literature for Catholic Czech-language schools.
In 1894 the priory was raised to the status of an abbey. In 1897 he became pastor of Saint Procopius Parish, and remained there until 1914. He was named prior of the abbey in 1899, serving for 20 years. He played a role in planning to move the high school he had founded at the parish to Lisle, Illinois. The school was later known as Saint Procopius College. He also established an orphanage.
Abbot, Saint Procopius Abbey, Lisle, Illinois (1937-1946) The Neuzil family emigrated from southern Bohemia to the United States and settled in northeastern Iowa and began
Born in Friedrichsthal, Bohemia, on February 17, 1864, Andrew Kohlbeck had his earliest education in German, at the local public school. In 1877, at the age of thirteen, he came to America and Saint Vincent Archabbey, where Archabbot Boniface Wimmer was recruiting students from Bohemia as future members of a Czech monastery. Following novitiate, he professed his monastic vows on July 28, 1883.
After serving as a prefect while a cleric, Father Valentine was sent as a subdeacon in the summer of 1887 to teach in the newly-established school of Saint Procopius Priory in Chicago. On November 6 of that year, he was ordained to the priesthood at Saint Procopius Church by Archbishop Patrick Feehan, and the following year he became a founding member of the newly-independent monastery of Saint Procopius.
At the end of 1885, Father Valentine was named pastor of a new Bohemian parish, Saint Vitus, six blocks west of Saint Procopius. When Prior Nepomucene Jaeger was named the community's first abbot, he selected Father Valentine to succeed him as pastor of Saint Procopius Parish. In 1898, he was named manager of the Abbey's Press in Chicago and editor-in-chief of its publications and he developed into a talented journalist. In 1905, he became a member of the Catholic Writers' Guild of America.
Father Valentine was elected coadjutor abbot by his confreres on March 25, 1919. Upon the death of the community's founding abbot on February 27, 1924, Abbot Valentine assumed the full responsibilities of the office. In this capacity, he presided over a gradual shift in the focus of the monastery's apostolic works, as the Press began to decline in relative importance and the Abbey accepted several missionary endeavors in addition to its educational and parochial work.
He supported the efforts of Father Cosmas Vesely, long-time rector of the College, to improve the academic standing of the institution by sending numerous young monks away for advanced degrees, and he later worked with Father Cosmas' successor, Father John Cherf, in bringing the school safely through the hard times of the Great Depression. In 1922, Abbot Valentine accepted the administration of Saint Andrew Parish in Cleveland as a first step towards fulfilling the desire of some of the Abbey's Slovak members to found a monastery for their own nationality. Though the new foundation meant a loss of much-needed manpower for Saint Procopius, Saint Andrew's Priory was assisted in becoming canonically independent in 1929.
Abbot, Saint Procopius Abbey, Lisle, Illinois (1919-1937) Born in Friedrichsthal, Bohemia, on February 17, 1864, Andrew Kohlbeck had his earliest education in German, at the
The first abbot of St. Bede Abbey was born on May 10, 1855, in Carrolltown, Pennsylvania, the first place where Boniface Wimmer thought of establishing the first Benedictine monastery in America. After taking his classical studies at Saint Vincent, he entered the monastic community there and professed his first vows on July 11, 1875. Five years later he was ordained by Bishop Tuigg of the Pittsburgh Diocese on July 15, 1880. Because of his exemplary conduct as a religious and his application to his studies, Father Vincent was sent to Rome that fall to continue his studies in dogmatic theology at the Gregorian University.
Upon receiving his licentiate maxima cum laude, in 1883, he was recalled to Saint Vincent, where he began teaching in the seminary. In the following years he held such positions as rector of the college, prefect of the seminary, and prior of the monastery. In 1897 he was appointed prior at Saint Bede and rector of the Saint Bede College, where he taught courses in religion. In 1903, because of ill health, he spent a year at the Benedictine monastery in Colorado. Returning to Saint Bede in 1904, he once again served as prior of the monastery and rector of the college. In 1908 he was recalled to Saint Vincent where he served as the rector of the seminary there. In 1910, when Saint Bede was granted its independence, Father Vincent was unanimously elected the first abbot and was blessed by Bishop Edmund Dunne of Peoria on June 29, 1910.
During his sixteen year tenure as abbot considerable building projects were inaugurated and completed. With some careful financial management, he was able to retire the community's debt of $22,000. With the financial flexibility, the monastic community approved the construction of the north addition of the academy building which began on April 14, 1904. By Christmas of the same year the new wing was ready for use.
Abbot Vincent was in great demand as a speaker. He edified a Congress of Abbots meeting by giving a talk in perfect Ciceronian Latin. Interested in vocations and the religious life, he gave conferences to those students who giving consideration to entering the monastic life. He also worked on the Tyrocinium Religiosum translating the document which was used for many years in various novitiates throughout the country.
When Abbot Vincent looked over the labors of all of his men, he saw them farming about 200 acres of land, running a small print shop, conducting the school and assisting or staffing local parishes. The traditional Benedictine values were being given expression in the monks' praying of the Psalms and offering Mass together, in their family life of shared work and recreation, and in their desire to help their neighbors by educational and pastoral assistance.
On his way to Rome to attend the Congress of Abbots in 1925, Abbot Vincent suffered a stroke while visiting the Abbey of Beuron. He was accompanied back to Saint Bede by Father Bernard Zimmer, but by the following year he realized that his condition was permanent; he resigned the office of abbot and spent the next fifteen years in a wheelchair.
Abbot, Saint Bede's Abbey, Peru, Illinois (1910-1941) The first abbot of St. Bede Abbey was born on May 10, 1855, in Carrolltown, Pennsylvania, the first
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to the Archabbot
Job Titles:
- Assistant Program Manager, Institute for Ministry Formation
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Business Administration at Saint Vincent College
He served as the 14th president of Saint Vincent College from 2000 to 2005. Archabbot Martin earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1989 and a master of business administration degree from Bowling Green State University in 1984 where he concentrated his studies on management information systems. A 1984 graduate of Saint Vincent Seminary, where he earned a master of divinity degree with highest honors, he also earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Temple University in 1978 with a major in accounting and a minor in computer science. He has also taken graduate courses in finance at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1981), Latin and philosophy courses at Saint Vincent College (1980-1981); and undergraduate courses at the University of Akron (1975-1977). He is a 1974 graduate of Barberton High School, Barberton, Ohio. He attended the Institute for Educational Management sponsored by the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University in 1992.
Job Titles:
- Assistant at Saint Benedict Church
Job Titles:
- Bishop
- Bishop of Kalamazoo ( 2023 - Present )
- Bishop of Kalamazoo ( 2023 - Present ) Pope Francis Has Accepted the Resignation of Bishop Paul J. Bradley, 77, and Appointed Monsignor Edward M. Lohse, 61, As the
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Paul J. Bradley, 77, and appointed Monsignor Edward M. Lohse, 61, as the fifth Bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo.
Bishop Lohse was previously the vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Erie. Ordination of the new bishop was held on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at Saint Augustine Cathedral, Kalamazoo.
As required by Church law, Bishop Bradley submitted his resignation to the Holy Father when he turned 75, on October 18, 2020. Bishop Bradley, who has served the diocese since his installation on June 5, 2009, will continue as apostolic administrator until Bishop-elect Lohse's ordination.
Bishop Lohse is the sixth of seven children born to his parents, the late Edward and Ida Lohse, who raised their family in their hometown of McKean. He graduated from Cathedral Preparatory School and continued his education at Gannon University, Erie, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He continued his seminary studies at Saint Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, graduating with a Master of Divinity, with highest honors, in 1987 and completing his requirements for ordination in 1988. More recently, Bishop-elect Lohse furthered his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University earning both a License (2002) and Doctorate in Canon Law (2016).
He was ordained a priest by the late Bishop Michael J. Murphy on April 21, 1989, at Saint Peter Cathedral, Erie. His first pastoral appointment was as a parochial vicar for Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish, Corry. He was recognized by Pope Francis in 2015 as a Chaplain to his Holiness with the title Monsignor.
Throughout his thirty-four years as a priest, Bishop Lohse has served in a number of pastoral, educational and diocesan assignments both for the Diocese of Erie as well as the Vatican. He has held administrative roles including director of the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, chancellor and vocation director for the Diocese. Additionally, he served as an official of the Congregation for the Clergy (a dicastery within the Vatican curia) from 2010-2015 and was an adjunct member of the faculty (from 2011-2015) for the Pontifical North American College, Vatican City.
Bishop Lohse received the Alumnus of Distinction Award from Saint Vincent Seminary in 2016. He served as a member of the Saint Vincent Seminary Board of Regents from 2003 to 2010 and received an honorary degree from Saint Vincent Seminary in 2010.
He is the son of Francis and Clarissa Eckman (both deceased) and brother to Peggy Mannella (Bethel Park), Mary Haugen (deceased) and Francis, Jr. (deceased).
He entered priestly formation at Saint Paul Seminary in East Carnegie, is a graduate of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and received a Master of Divinity degree from Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe.
Since his priestly ordination on May 11, 1985, Bishop Eckman has served primarily in South Hills parishes: as parochial vicar at five parishes, high school chaplain at Seton LaSalle and DePaul School for Hearing and Speech, pastor at three parishes, and administrator of two parishes. From July 15, 2013 until July 1, 2020, he was episcopal vicar for clergy personnel. He was assigned administrator of the parishes of Saint Thomas More and Saint John Capistran that merged to become Resurrection Parish, where he remains as pastor (appointed January 4, 2021).
He has also been a member of several boards including priest council, USCCB National Advisory Board, Permanent Diaconate Formation board, the seminary admissions board and priest candidates admissions board.
Aside from his priestly duties, Bishop Eckman is devoted to his extended family and also enjoys photography, especially of mountains where he goes hiking and skiing.
(2022-present) Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh Bishop Mark A. Eckman, M. Div., was born in Pittsburgh and graduated from Saint Valentine Elementary School in Bethel Park
Boniface Krug, formerly of Saint Vincent Archabbey, Beatty, Pa., and Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino, province of Caserta, Italy, lived in Baltimore as a boy. Abbot Krug was a native of Huinfeld, Germany, where he was born September 9, 1838. When he was a boy of 6 years his parents started to emigrate to America, but his father died at Bremen and was buried there. The mother continued the journey, and settled with her children in Baltimore.
When the boy was 10 years old Rev. Boniface Wimmer, who had shortly before introduced the Benedictines into the United States and founded Saint Vincent Archabbey near what is now Latrobe, Pa., paid a visit to Baltimore. Young Krug was pointed out to him as a boy of great promise, and Abbot Wimmer, after a talk with the lad, obtained permission for him to go to Saint Vincent Abbey and study to be a monk.
At Saint Vincent young Krug showed much aptitude for study. After a course of about 10 years he took his vows in the Order in September, 1861. A few years later he was drafted to serve in the Union army, and in order to escape military service he secured permission from Abbot Wimmer to go to Europe. After a few months in Rome he met a Benedictine from Monte Cassino, who induced him to go to that famous abbey. In 1864 he took his final vows.
Not long after a letter came from Abbot Wimmer asking him to return to America, but he preferred to remain in Italy. Some years later he became the Prior of Monte Cassino, and during his occupancy of this post restored the chapel in which were buried the bones of Saint Benedict and his sister, Saint Scholastica.
Six years later he was made Abbot of the Benedictine monastery at Cesena, an old abbey famous as the residence for many years of Pius VII. Seven years ago he was made President of the Cassinese Congregation, which includes the associated Benedictine abbeys of Italy.
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Mark W. McGinnis, author of the book The Wisdom of the Benedictine Elders, described Archabbot Paul as a "very intelligent, highly experienced abbot who has the demeanor, gentleness, and openness of an ideal priest." His brother monks would agree with this and add that he was an ideal monk: humble, generous, thoughtful of others, and devoted to the Benedictine life of prayer and work.
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Most Reverend Rembert George Weakland, O.S.B., retired Archbishop of Milwaukee, died on August 22, 2022, at the age of 95.
He was born in Patton, Pennsylvania, on April 2, 1927, one of the six children of Basil and Mary Kane Weakland. His siblings are Marion Weber and Leora Forney. He was predeceased by his sisters, Betty and Barbara, and his brother, William. Also surviving are numerous nieces and nephews.
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He was ordained to the priesthood on June 24, 1951, at Subiaco, Italy, by Bishop Lorenzo S. Salvi, O.S.B., Abbot Nullius of Subiaco Abbey. He pursued studies in music in Italy, France, and Germany, as well as at the Juilliard School of Music, New York, and Columbia University. From 1957 to 1963 he taught Music at Saint Vincent College. On December 21, 1999, he defended his research and received a Ph.D. in Musicology, "with distinction," from Columbia University, New York, for his research and dissertation on "The Office Antiphons of the Ambrosian Chant."
He was elected Coadjutor Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey on June 26, 1963, and received the solemn blessing of an Archabbot from Bishop William G. Connare of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on August 29, 1963. Following this installation, he became the Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saint Vincent College. On May 8, 1964, he received a papal appointment as Consultor to the Commission for Implementing the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council and was appointed a member of that commission in 1968.
He was elected Abbot Primate of the International Benedictine Confederation on September 29, 1967. At that time he also became Chancellor of the International Benedictine College of Sant' Anselmo, Rome, Italy. He was re-elected to a second term as Abbot Primate in September 1973. He served as a member of the Council of Superiors General from 1968 until 1977.
He was appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee by Pope Paul VI on September 20, 1977. He was ordained to the episcopacy on November 8, 1977, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, and on the same occasion was installed as Milwaukee's ninth Archbishop by Archbishop Jean Jadot, Apostolic Delegate to the United States.
Archbishop Weakland reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 on April 2, 2002. His retirement was accepted on May 24, 2002.
Archabbot, Saint Vincent Archabbey (1963-1967); Abbot Primate (1967-1977); Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1977-2002) Most Reverend Rembert George Weakland, O.S.B., retired Archbishop of Milwaukee, died on
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Sebastian Wimmer had been a priest of the Diocese of Regensburg, Bavaria, before discerning a calling to monastic life. Upon entering the Benedictine abbey of Saint Michael in Metten, Bavaria, Sebastian received the religious name Boniface. This bears some significance as Wimmer felt an affinity with Saint Boniface, the eighth-century English Benedictine who converted the pagan Germans to Christianity. As a monk, Wimmer was concerned for the pastoral care of German Catholics in America. From reports he had read, German Catholics in the U.S. lacked priests to minister to them in their native language; in many cases, they lacked any priest at all. Father Boniface sought and received permission from his abbot to go to America to serve those German Catholics whose spiritual plight had so moved him.
In 1846, Wimmer, with a company of eighteen young postulants, arrived in western Pennsylvania in response to an invitation the bishop of Pittsburgh had extended to him to work in that diocese. Father Boniface and his confreres settled at the parish of Saint Vincent de Paul, which was founded in 1790 and is near what is now the City of Latrobe. On that site, he established a monastic community, the center of his vision as a missionary.
To prepare monks for ordination, Wimmer planned for a seminary and a college. The college would provide the monks with their requisite seminary courses in theology, specifically studies in Latin and philosophy.
The college would provide the monks with requisite basics for their seminary courses in theology, specifically studies in Latin and philosophy. From almost the first year, however, Father Boniface found he needed to modify his plan, which continues to be the case to this day; that is, the need for flexibility on the part of today's "missionaries."
Wimmer faced three main challenges. First, while he encountered many Catholics, there were fewer German Catholic immigrants than he had believed. Secondly, some local men had hoped to study in the college but not pursue holy orders or enter into monastic life. Thirdly, the bishop of Pittsburgh asked to send his diocesan candidates for priesthood to Saint Vincent to study theology. Although these needs challenged the scarce resources of the new arrivals, Father Boniface adapted his plan to meet the needs of English-speaking Catholics (mostly Irish). He further developed a college curriculum broad enough for secular students without compromising the dynamics of a major seminary composed of diocesan and monastic seminarians. Throughout his decades as superior and then Abbot (later Archabbot) of the monastic community at Saint Vincent, Wimmer saw this pattern repeat itself. Other bishops began sending their seminarians to Saint Vincent, and more men seeking a liberal arts education without the obligations of monastic vows or priestly ordination applied to the college.
Seminary adaptations after Archabbot Boniface were in line with the trajectory he had set. Throughout its history Saint Vincent Seminary has had to address the changing cultural and pastoral needs of the lay faithful served by priests ordained from the Seminary. When Boniface Wimmer arrived in western Pennsylvania, he found more Catholics who spoke English than German. He therefore directed that seminarians studying at Saint Vincent should be proficient in both English and German. As such, they could preach and minister to parishioners of both languages. This pastoral adaptation echoed in the early twentieth century when waves of immigration from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire brought Catholics who spoke Slavic languages. Since the majority of ethnic parishes staffed by men who had studied at Saint Vincent were Slovak, the Seminary began to offer classes in that language. As Slovak-speaking Catholics assimilated into American culture and began to use English as their first language, the need for Slovak classes in the Seminary declined and in time disappeared.
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