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"We, the monks of Saint John's Abbey, a community of Catholic Benedictine men, seek God through a common life of prayer, study, and work, giving witness to Christ and the Gospel, in service to the church and the world"

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Saint John's Abbey

Abbey News and Notes

Nine Monks Celebrate Anniversaries
of Monastic Profession in 2009

July 7, 2009

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- In 2009 nine monks of Saint John's Abbey mark the 60th, 50th and 25th anniversaries of their profession of vows as Benedictine monks. News release.

In Japan, a Minnesota Monastic Community Thrives

June 25, 2009

FUJIMI, Japan -- Adam Minter writes about his experience of a long weekend at Trinity Benedictine Monastery for MinnPost (Full text).

Five Monks Celebrate Anniversaries
of Priestly Ordination in 2009

May 31, 2009

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- In 2009 five monks of Saint John's Abbey mark significant anniversaries of their ordination to the priesthood. On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, the monastery will formally acknowledge their jubilees at Mass during the Abbey's annual retreat, 11:15 a.m. News release.

Fr. Robert Koopmann OSB
Named 12th President at Collegeville

May 18, 2009

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- On 18 May 2009, the Board of Regents of Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, nominated Father Robert Koopmann OSB to become the 12th president of the university. Abbot John Klassen OSB appointed him president to take office 1 July 2009. News Release

Cardinal Walter Kasper Receives Pax Christi Award and Delivers Diekmann Lecture

March 21, 2009

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- His Eminence Walter Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, will deliver the Godfrey Diekmann, OSB, Lecture and receive the Pax Christi Award from Saint John's Abbey and University at 8 p.m. Monday, March 23, in the Abbey Church. The presentation and lecture are free and open to the public. News release.

+ Brother Dietrich Reinhart OSB, 1949-2008

January 7, 2009

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Brother Dietrich Reinhart OSB, 59, monk and Catholic educator, died peacefully in St. Raphael Hall, the retirement center at Saint John's Abbey, on Monday, December 29, 2008. Abbot John Klassen OSB presided at the Mass of Christian Burial, Tuesday, January 6, in the Abbey Church. Interment followed in Saint John's Abbey Cemetery. Read the obituary or media coverage.

Old Tools and Fresh Sawdust
at the Wood Shop at Saint John's

October 20, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Ora et Labora -- or “Prayer and Work” — has always been a mainstay of the Benedictine ethic. At Saint John's University and Abbey, in north-central Minnesota, the woodworking shop brings together monks, craftsmen, and students to labor (and probably pray) over very beautiful and complex works in wood. Read the complete entry by Scott Carlson in the "Buildings & Grounds" blog of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Novice Aelred Professes First Vows, September 14

September 6, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Brother Aelred Senna OSB, a novice of Saint John's Abbey, will make his first profession of monastic vows during a Eucharist and Rite of First Monastic Profession at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, September 14, at Saint John's Abbey Church in Collegeville. News Release.

Hilly Forests, Distinctive Architecture
Await Saint John's Visitors

August 13, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Jim Umhoefer, freelance writer from Sauk Centre, writes about the natural beauty of Saint John's campus in the Sunday edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Read the article.

10 Recent SJU graduates
Join Benedictine Volunteer Corps

July 25, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Ten recent graduates of Saint John's University have joined the Saint John's Benedictine Volunteer Corps (SJBVC).

The monks of Saint John's Abbey initiated the SJBVC in 2003. The mission of the SJBVC is to provide a SJU student or alumnus with nine to 12 months of volunteer service at a Benedictine monastery while he participates in the monastic life of that community. The volunteer corps supports the life and the apostolic work of the host monastery. Full SJU release.

Six Monks Celebrate Anniversaries
of Monastic Profession in 2008

July 7, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- In 2008 six monks of Saint John's Abbey mark mark the 70th, 60th, and 50th anniversaries of their profession of vows as Benedictine monks. News release.

Eleven Monks Celebrate Anniversaries
of Priestly Ordination in 2008

May 29, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- In 2008 eleven monks of Saint John's Abbey mark significant anniversaries of their ordination to the priesthood. The monastery will formally acknowledge their jubilees at Mass during the Abbey's annual retreat on Thursday, June 5, 2008, 7:45 a.m. News release.

Monastic Celibacy East and West

April 14, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Liturgical Press recently published Demythologizing Celibacy: Practical Wisdom from Christian and Buddhist Monasticism by Father William Skudlarek OSB. In September 2007 the Abbot Primate appointed Father William, a monk of Saint John's Abbey, General Secretary of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue. News Release.

Pope Accepts the Saint John's Bible

April 4, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- In Rome, on Friday morning, 4 April, Abbot John Klassen OSB, Brother Dietrich Reinhart OSB, and others presented the St. Peter Apostles Edition of The Saint John's Bible to Pope Benedict XVI. While perusing a deluxe facsimile of the handwritten and illuminated book commissioned by Saint John's Abbey and University, the Holy Father said, "This is a great work of art. A work for eternity." (AP) "The 'Wisdom Books,' a limited edition reproduction of one of the Old Testament volumes of the 1,150 page-Bible -- measuring 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide when open -- was presented to the pope during a private audience. He will receive the remaining six volumes over the next four years" (BBC). The gift to Pope Benedict from the abbey and university was made possible through the generosity of the Gerald and Henrietta Rauenhorst Foundation of Philadelphia. View a brief video of the presentation or read a comprehensive news release.

Father Doug Mullin OSB named SJU Vice President for Student Development

March 5, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Br. Dietrich Reinhart OSB, president of Saint John's University, announced the appointment of Father Doug Mullin OSB as SJU vice president for student development. Father Doug is currently associate professor of education at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, and a faculty resident in the SJU campus residence halls. SJU Press Release.

Marcel Breuer at Saint John's
The architect used Gothic inspiration to create a Modernist campus

March 4, 2008

"A visitor to Saint John's University and Saint John's Abbey, in north-central Minnesota, sees something of that Gothic heritage while standing in front of the abbey church, designed and built around 1960. The church's 112-foot campanile — a trapezoidal slab made of 2,500 tons of steel and concrete — stands boldly in front of a huge concrete honeycomb wall, with stained glass set in each of the perfect hexagonal cells." So begins an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education by senior reporter Scott Carlson.

Saint John's Abbey Cemetery Featured in Commonweal Magazine

February 28, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. -- Commonweal featured a meditation on death and the saints by a frequent visitor to the Abbey. Gilbert Friend Jones OblSB penned "A Cloud of Witnesses: Thoughts on an Abbey Cemetery." Friend Jones is an Oblate of Saint John's Abbey and a UCC minister in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Saint John's Abbey Church featured in The New York Times

January 10, 2008

COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. -- The New York Times featured Saint John's Abbey Church in a January 6, 2008, article about the Historic Campus Architecture Project that documents significant buildings throughout the U.S. SJU News Release.

The architecture of Saint John's was also featured in Architecture Minnesota (Jan/Feb 2008) 25-38.

"Dear Abbey" - Review of Abbey Guesthouse

Published: 14 October 2007

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. -- Julio Ojeda-Zapata is an alumnus of Saint John's University. He and his wife have visited campus frequently. On 14 October 2007, Julio published "dear abbey," in the Sunday Travel Section of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. It is an enthusiastic review of the Abbey Guesthouse. Illustrated PDF version: Part 1 and Part 2.

Series to Feature Report on
Mennonite-Catholic Talks

Release Date: September 21, 2007

COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. -- Ivan Kauffman, an independent writer who was born and educated in the Mennonite community and has been a Catholic since 1968, will summarize an ongoing dialogue between Mennonites and Catholics, October 14, as part of Saint John's Abbey's Second Sunday series. The 7 p.m. presentation in the Chapter House (adjacent to the Abbey Church in the Petters Pavilion) is free and open to the public. News release.

What our leaders could learn from the Benedictines

September 19, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. -- An age-old guide would teach them to act collaboratively but decisively for the common good. Full Article by Eric Shubert, Minneapolis Tribune.

Two Novices Profess First Monastic Vows

Release Date: September 3, 2007

COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. -- Novices Nickolas Becker OSB and Daniel Morgan OSB will profess first monastic vows in Saint John's Abbey Church on Friday, September 14, 2007. News Release.

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