American-Cassinese Benedictine Congregation

Last updated

American-Cassinese Congregation
AbbreviationPost-nominal letters:O.S.B.
Nickname Benedictines
Formation24 August 1855;168 years ago (1855-08-24)
Founders Abbot Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B.
Founded at Saint Vincent Archabbey
TypeBenedictine Congregation
Region served
United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Taiwan
Members
608 monks as of 2020
Abbot President
Abbot Jonathan Licari, O.S.B.
Affiliations Roman Catholic Church Benedictine Confederation
Website Official website

The American-Cassinese Congregation is a Catholic association of Benedictine monasteries founded in 1855. The monasteries of the congregation follow the monastic way of life as outlined by St. Benedict of Nursia in his early 6th century Rule of Saint Benedict . The congregation is one of 19 congregations in the Benedictine Confederation and includes 25 monasteries: 19 autonomous abbeys and 6 dependent priories, located across 15 states and Puerto Rico, as well as Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and Taiwan. [1] [2]

Contents

History

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries there was a general secularization and suppression of monasteries throughout Europe: "by 1810 fewer than thirty of the estimated 1500 European Benedictine monasteries that existed in the previous century remained." [3] Slowly, there arose a Benedictine revival that saw old monasteries re-founded, new monasteries founded, and a missionary impulse that began to spread monasticism across the world. Autonomous monasteries began to join together in collaborative efforts that would see the creation of "congregations" such as the French Solesmes Congregation in 1837, the Beuronese Congregation in 1868, the Subiaco Congregation in 1872, and the Swiss-American Congregation in 1881. It was in the midst of this revival that Abbot Boniface Wimmer , founder of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, created the American-Cassinese congregation. [4] Pope Pius IX erected the congregation with the decree Inter ceteras on 24 August 1855, placing the congregation under the patronage of the Holy Guardian Angels. [1]

The American-Cassinese Congregation was the first Benedictine congregation to be established in North America, and after only a quarter-century of existence, had become the largest Benedictine congregation in the world. [5]

Former Presidents of the Congregation

These are the former presidents of the congregation in order of election and years served: [6]

  1. Boniface Wimmer (1855-1887)
  2. Alexius Edelbrock (1888-1890)
  3. Leo Haid (1890-1896)
  4. Innocent Wolf (1896-1902)
  5. Peter Engel (1902-1914)
  6. Ernest Helmstefter (1914-1932)
  7. Alcuin Deutsch (1932-1944)
  8. Mark Braun (1944-1953)
  9. Denis Strittmatter (1953-1965)
  10. Baldwin Dworschak (1965-1971)
  11. Martin Burne (1971-1983)
  12. John Eidenschink (1983-1989)
  13. Melvin Valvano (1989-2001)
  14. Timothy Kelly (2001-2010)
  15. Hugh Anderson (2010-2016)
  16. Elias R. Lorenzo (2016-2020)
  17. John Klassen (2020-2022)
  18. Jonathan Licari, OSB (2022–present)

Monasteries in the Congregation

[7] Monks from Metten Abbey in Bavaria founded St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1846. Most, but not all, of the other monasteries in the American-Cassinese Congregation can trace their lineage back to Metten Abbey. [8] [9]

There are currently twenty-five monasteries in the American-Cassinese Congregation. In the list below, monasteries in bold are current monasteries, while monasteries in italics are houses which were once part of the congregation but are not longer in existence.

Schools Affiliated with the American-Cassinese Congregation

From the inception of the American-Cassinese Congregation, educational and parochial apostolates directed to the needs of Catholic immigrants in the United States formed the main works of American-Cassinese monks. [5] Twenty educational apostolates founded by monasteries of the American-Cassinese Congregation continue to exist in 2022.

Colleges and Universities

[13]

Secondary Schools

Notes

  1. 1 2 "American-Cassinese Constitution". www.amcass.org. American-Cassinese Congregation. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  2. Catalogus Monasteriorum O.S.B. (SS. Patriarchae Benedicti Familiae Confoederatae: Curia dell'Abate Primate, Editio MMXX 2020).
  3. Oetgen 2005, p. 237.
  4. Oetgen 2005, p. 236-237.
  5. 1 2 Oetgen 2005, p. 235.
  6. "Past Presidents of the Congregation". www.amcass.org. American-Cassinese Congregation. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  7. "Catalogue of the Monastic Congregation American-Cassinese 2022". Ordo for the Liturgy of the Hours and Mass in Churches and Oratories of the American-Cassinese Congregation O.S.B. for 2022. Collegeville, Minnesota: St. John's Abbey. 2022. pp. 235–327.
  8. "Foundations | The American-Cassinese Congregation". amcass.org. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  9. Oetgen 2005, p. 236.
  10. Oetgen 2005, p. 249-250.
  11. Oetgen 2005, p. 246.
  12. Oetgen 2005, p. 247.
  13. "MEMBER INSTITUTIONS". ABCU. Retrieved 27 June 2022.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedictines</span> Catholic monastic order

The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict, are a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedict. They are also sometimes called the Black Monks, in reference to the colour of their religious habits. They were founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Meinrad Archabbey</span> Benedictine monastery in Ferdinand, Indiana

Saint Meinrad Archabbey is a Catholic monastery in Spencer County, Indiana, US, was founded by monks from Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland on March 21, 1854, and is home to approximately 79 monks. The Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology is also located on the premises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Leo Abbey</span> United States historic place

Saint Leo Abbey is an American-Cassinese monastery of Benedictine monks located in Saint Leo, Florida, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Vincent Archabbey</span> Benedictine monastery in Latrobe, Pennsylvania

Saint Vincent Archabbey is a Benedictine monastery in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the city of Latrobe. A member of the American-Cassinese Congregation, it is the oldest Benedictine monastery in the United States and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The shrine is dedicated to Saint Vincent de Paul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Vincent Seminary</span> Fourth-oldest Catholic seminary in the United States

Saint Vincent Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Father Boniface Wimmer in 1846, who came from Saint Michael's Abbey in Metten, Bavaria, to establish Saint Vincent Archabbey as the first Benedictine monastery in North America. It is the fourth oldest Catholic seminary in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boniface Wimmer</span> Founder of first American Benedictine monastery (1809–1887)

Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, (1809–1887) was a German monk who in 1846 founded the first Benedictine monastery in the United States, Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, forty miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville</span> Benedictine monastery in Collegeville Township, Minnesota

Saint John's Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Collegeville Township, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with the American-Cassinese Congregation. The abbey was established following the arrival in the area of monks from Saint Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania in 1856. Saint John's is one of the largest Benedictine abbeys in the Western Hemisphere, with 110 professed monks. The Right Reverend Fr. John Klassen, OSB, serves as the tenth abbot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Peter's Abbey, Saskatchewan</span> Benedictine monastery in Canada

St. Peter's Abbey is in Muenster, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the oldest Benedictine monastery in Canada. It was founded in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Haid</span> American Benedictine abbot and Catholic bishop

Leo Haid was an American Benedictine abbot and Catholic bishop, who served as the abbot of the Abbey of Mary Help of Christians, in Belmont, North Carolina, from 1885 to 1924. He also served as vicar apostolic of North Carolina from 1888 to 1910 and territorial abbot from 1910 to 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Anselm Abbey (New Hampshire)</span> Benedictine monastery in Goffstown, New Hampshire

Saint Anselm Abbey, located in Goffstown, New Hampshire, United States, is a Benedictine abbey composed of men living under the Rule of Saint Benedict within the Catholic Church. The abbey was founded in 1889 under the patronage of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, a Benedictine monk of Bec and former archbishop of Canterbury in England. The monks are involved in the operation of Saint Anselm College. The abbey is a member of the American-Cassinese Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assumption Abbey (North Dakota)</span> Religious house in North Dakota

Assumption Abbey, located in Richardton, North Dakota, is a Benedictine abbey of the American-Cassinese Congregation, founded in 1893 by a monk from the Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland.

The Benedictine Priory of Savannah is a Catholic monastery of Benedictine monks located in Savannah, Georgia. The priory was founded in 1877, and is a dependency of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and thereby belongs to the American-Cassinese Congregation. It currently operates the Benedictine Military School for boys.

St. Benedict's Abbey is an American community of monks of the Order of St. Benedict located in Atchison, Kansas. It was founded in 1857 to provide education to the sons of German settlers in the Kansas Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newark Abbey</span> Benedictine monastery in Newark, New Jersey

Newark Abbey, also known as The Benedictine Abbey of Newark, is a Benedictine monastery located in Newark, New Jersey. It is one of only several urban Catholic monasteries in the country. The monks serve the community through Saint Benedict's Preparatory School and St. Mary's Abbey Church, which are situated on the Abbey grounds. As of 2022, the community is composed of seventeen monks, including eleven priests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elias R. Lorenzo</span> American Benedictine monk and bishop

Elias RIchard Lorenzo, OSB is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Martin's Abbey, Washington</span> Church in WA , United States

Saint Martin's Abbey is a community of Roman Catholic Benedictine monks who follow the Rule of St Benedict in Lacey, Washington, United States. First founded as a priory in 1895, the abbey is part of the American-Cassinese Benedictine Congregation and the Benedictine Confederation. As of 2020, the monastic community had 20 monks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leander Schnerr</span> German-American Catholic priest and Benedictine monk (1836–1920)

Leander Schnerr was a German-American Catholic priest and Benedictine monk who served as the archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey and president of Saint Vincent College from 1892 to 1920. Before being elected archabbot, he had a career as a priest serving German-speaking parishes in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Vincent Beer</span> Beer brewed by monks in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Saint Vincent Beer was a dark lager brewed by monks at Saint Vincent Archabbey in Unity Township, Pennsylvania, United States, between 1856 and 1918. Pope Pius IX granted the monks permission to brew in 1852, ending a dispute with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. The brewery was located in a log cabin near the Saint Vincent Archabbey Gristmill and a brick building supplemented the cabin in 1868. After production ceased, the monastery used the buildings for storage until they burned down in 1926. The walls were removed from the site in 1995 during the restoration of the gristmill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Hintenach</span> Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey

Andrew Hintenach, OSB was a German-born Catholic monk who served as the second archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania from 1888 to 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurelius Stehle</span> American Catholic Benedictine priest

Aurelius Aloysius Stehle, OSB was an American Catholic Benedictine priest and fourth archabbot of St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

References