Saint Leo Abbey

Last updated

Saint Leo Abbey
Saint Leo Abbey Church seen from Saint Leo University.JPG
USA Florida location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Florida
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Saint Leo Abbey (the United States)
Monastery information
Order Benedictines
EstablishedJune 1889
Mother house St. Vincent Archabbey
Diocese Saint Petersburg
Controlled churchesChurch of the Holy Cross
People
AbbotRt. Rev. Isaac Camacho, O.S.B.
PriorVery Rev. Lucius Amarillas, O.S.B.
Bishop Most Rev. Gregory Parkes
Architecture
Statusactive
Heritage designation National Register of Historic Places
Designated dateJanuary 7, 1998
ArchitectFrank Parziole
StyleItalian Romanesque
GroundbreakingSeptember 19, 1936
Site
Location Pasco County, Florida; St. Leo, Florida
Coordinates 28°20′14″N82°15′36″W / 28.33722°N 82.26000°W / 28.33722; -82.26000
Website www.saintleoabbey.org
Saint Leo Abbey
Area100 acres (0.40 km2)
NRHP reference No. 97001637
Added to NRHPJanuary 7, 1998

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

Contents

History

Saint Leo Abbey, located in Pasco County, Florida, traces its beginnings to 1882 when Judge Edmund F. Dunne founded the Catholic Colony of San Antonio. Sent by Archabbot Boniface Wimmer of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Father Gerard Pilz, O.S.B., arrived in 1886 as the first Benedictine in Florida. He was dispatched to Florida in response to a request by Bishop John Moore of St. Augustine for a German-speaking priest to minister to the growing German-immigrant population of the colony. [1]

In 1888, Saint Vincent Archabbey transferred ministry to the colony to Mary Help of Christians Abbey in Belmont, North Carolina. In February 1889, Benedictine nuns arrived from Allegheny, Pennsylvania and founded Holy Name Monastery. [2]

Abbot Leo Haid of Belmont Abbey made the arrangements to establish Saint Leo College, now Saint Leo University. On June 4, 1889 both Saint Leo College and the Benedictine mission that would later become Saint Leo Abbey were founded on lands conveyed to the Order of Saint Benedict by Judge Dunne. Saint Leo became an independent priory in 1894 and was elevated to an abbey on September 25, 1902 by Pope Leo XIII. [2]

In addition to providing priests for the churches of the Catholic Colony, the monks went on to establish Catholic parishes in not only nearby Dade City, but also Zephyrhills, New Port Richey, Brooksville, Crystal River, and Ocala. They even established parishes as far away as Farmingdale, NY and Cuba. In the early part of the 20th century, St. Leo's Benedictines monks could be found in churches and missions throughout the northern half of peninsular Florida. Saint Leo Abbey also sent missionaries to Argentina in the second half of the 20th century. St. Leo continued to supply priests for Catholic congregations throughout Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties until the last decade of the 20th century. [3]

The sixth and current Abbot of Saint Leo is Right Rev. Isaac Camacho.

Saint Leo University

On June 4, 1889, the Florida Legislature approved the charter that allowed the Catholic religious order to build and operate a school that later became Saint Leo University. The Benedictines transferred title of the University to an independent board in 1969. [4]

Church of the Holy Cross

Abbot Francis Sadlier commissioned an abbey church to be built in 1935. The Church was designed by Tampa architect Frank Parziole in the Romanesque style. The Church of the Holy Cross was consecrated on January 29, 1948 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as part of the St Leo Abbey Historic District. [5]

St. Leo Abbey Historic District

On January 7, 1998, the St. Leo Abbey Historic District was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The district is in St. Leo, Florida on the campus of Saint Leo University, located at 33701 SR 52. It encompasses 100 acres (0.40 km2), and contains three historic buildings.

Abbots of Saint Leo

The following individuals have served as Abbots of Saint Leo Abbey:

Charles Mohr, O.S.B.1902 1931
Francis Sadlier, O.S.B.1929 1954 (Coadjutor Abbot, 1929 – 1931)
Marion Bowman, O.S.B.1954 1969
Fidelis Dunlap, O.S.B.1970 1985
Patrick Shelton, O.S.B.1985 1996
several administrators1996 2007
Isaac Camacho, O.S.B.2007 present

Present day

As of 2019, the monks, from all over the U.S., range in age from twenty-three to seventy-four.

Further reading

Horgan, James J. (1990). Pioneer College: The Centennial History of Saint Leo College, Saint Leo Abbey, and Holy Name Priory. Saint Leo College Press. FL. ISBN   9780945759010

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Antonio, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

San Antonio, or unofficially San Ann or San An' as the locals call it, is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, much more commonly known as the Tampa Bay Area. It lies within Florida's 12th congressional district. The population was 1,297 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Leo, Florida</span> Town in Florida, United States

St. Leo is a town in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The town is a suburb included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is more commonly known as the Tampa Bay area. It is best known as the home of St. Leo University, Holy Name Monastery and St. Leo Abbey. The population was 2,362 at the 2020 census. Vincent D'Ambrosio currently serves as the commission-elected mayor of the town, elected in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Leo University</span> Private Catholic university in St. Leo, Florida, U.S.

Saint Leo University is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts university in St. Leo, Florida. It was established in 1889. The university is associated with the Holy Name Monastery, a Benedictine convent, and Saint Leo Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. The university and the abbey are both named for Pope Leo the Great, bishop of Rome from 440 to 461. The name also honors Leo XIII, who was Pope at the time the university was founded, and Leo Haid, then abbot of Maryhelp Abbey in North Carolina, now Belmont Abbey, who participated in founding the university and served as its first president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont Abbey, North Carolina</span> United States historic place

The Abbey Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, informally known as the Belmont Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and a Minor Basilica in Belmont, North Carolina, United States of America. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The monastery is administered by the American-Cassinese Benedictine Congregation.

<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">Holy Name Monastery</span> Benedictine monaster in Saint Leo, Florida

Holy Name Monastery is a Roman Catholic Benedictine women's monastery located in Saint Leo, Florida, owned and operated by the Benedictine Sisters of Florida. It was known first as Holy Name Convent and then as Holy Name Priory before taking its current name in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Vincent Archabbey</span> Benedictine monastery in 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">Subiaco Abbey (Arkansas)</span> United States historic place

Subiaco Abbey is an American Benedictine monastery located in the Arkansas River valley of Logan County, Arkansas, part of the Swiss-American Congregation of Benedictine monasteries. It is home to thirty-nine Benedictine monks. The abbey and the preparatory school it operates, Subiaco Academy, are major features of the town of Subiaco, Arkansas. It is named after the original Subiaco, Italy, where the first monastery founded by Saint Benedict was located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beuronese Congregation</span> Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation

The Beuronese Congregation, or Beuron Congregation, is a union of mostly German or German-speaking monasteries of both monks and nuns within the Benedictine Confederation. The congregation stands under the patronage of Martin of Tours, who is the patron saint of the Archabbey of Beuron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Marty (bishop)</span> Swiss-born Benedictine missionary and bishop

Martin Marty was a Swiss-born Benedictine missionary and Catholic bishop in the United States.

<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">American-Cassinese Benedictine Congregation</span> Association of Benedictine monasteries

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.

<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.

Count Edmund Francis Dunne, born Edmund Francis O'Dunne, was an American politician and jurist who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Arizona Territory. During his early career he served in the California State Legislature and as a member of the Nevada constitutional convention. His later life was spent building the town of San Antonio, Florida.

James J. Horgan was an American historian, academic and author. He was a history professor at Saint Leo University in St. Leo, Florida for 35 years, a historical society president, a Florida Historical Society board member, a prolific author and an NAACP chapter founder. He is listed as a Great Floridian.

Charcila Cecilia Moore was a pioneer of Catholic education in Florida and a citrus farmer. She was born in Anahuac, Texas and educated in Baltimore. She was married to attorney Charles Nathan Morse for 16 years until his death in 1881. She was the foundress of St. Anthony Catholic School, the oldest parochial school in what is now the Diocese of St. Petersburg, the oldest school of any kind in Pasco County, and one of the oldest Catholic schools in Florida.

Saint Joseph, commonly referred to as St. Joe, is an unincorporated community in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It was originally settled as a German Catholic community. It is located in the northeastern part of Pasco County in Central Florida a few miles north of San Antonio and Saint Leo University. Saint Joseph also claims to be the "kumquat capital of the world" for its production of the citrus fruit. Because of this, nearby Dade City hosts the annual Kumquat Festival. The community is also home to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the third oldest parish in the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

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.

<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">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.

References

  1. Herrmann, Eddie (March 25, 2011). "The Letters of Gerard Pilz, O. S. B." www.fivay.org. Jeff Miller. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Horgan, James J. (1990). Pioneer College: The Centennial History of Saint Leo College, Saint Leo Abbey, and Holy Name Priory. Saint Leo, FL: Saint Leo College Press. p. 570. ISBN   9780945759010.
  3. Miller, Jeff (September 10, 2021). "History of Pasco County: San Antonio". www.fivay.org. Jeff Miller. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  4. "Saint Leo Abbey Marks 120 years of Monks' Work". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, FL. June 13, 2009. p. 3B. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  5. "About Us". www.saintleoabbey.org. Saint Leo Abbey. June 24, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.