American-Cassinese Congregation

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.

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." 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, O.S.B., founder of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, created the ''American-Cassinese'' congregation. 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.

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.

Former Presidents of the Congregation

These are the former presidents of the congregation in order of election and years served:
# Rt. Rev. Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B. (1855-1887)
# Rt. Rev. Alexius Edelbrock, O.S.B. (1888-1890)
# Rt. Rev. Leo Haid, O.S.B. (1890-1896)
# Rt. Rev. Innocent Wolf, O.S.B. (1896-1902)
# Rt. Rev. Peter Engel, O.S.B. (1902-1914)
# Rt. Rev. Ernest Helmstefter, O.S.B. (1914-1932)
# Rt. Rev. Alcuin Deutsch, O.S.B. (1932-1944)
# Rt. Rev. Mark Braun, O.S.B. (1944-1953)
# Rt. Rev. Denis Strittmatter, O.S.B. (1953-1965)
# Rt. Rev. Baldwin Dworschak, O.S.B. (1965-1971)
# Rt. Rev. Martin Burne, O.S.B. (1971-1983)
# Rt. Rev. John Eidenschink, O.S.B. (1983-1989)
# Rt. Rev. Melvin Valvano, O.S.B. (1989-2001)
# Rt. Rev. Timothy Kelly, O.S.B. (2001-2010)
# Rt. Rev. Hugh Anderson, O.S.B. (2010-2016)
# Rt. Rev. Elias R. Lorenzo, O.S.B. (2016-2020)
# Rt. Rev. John Klassen, O.S.B. (2020-2022)
# Rt. Rev. Jonathan Licari, OSB (2022-present)

Monasteries in the Congregation

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.

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.
* St. Vincent Archabbey (Latrobe, Pennsylvania): founded in 1846; became an abbey in 1855; raised to the rank of an Archabbey in 1892. Located in the Diocese of Greensburg.
**''Holy Spirit Priory (Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador)'': founded in 1888, suppressed in 1889.
** Benedictine Priory (Savannah, Georgia): founded in 1902; became a conventual priory in 1961; became dependent on St. Vincent Archabbey in 1967. Located in the Diocese of Savannah.
**Mosteiro de São Bento ( Vinhedo, Brazi l): founded in 1650, became a conventual priory of the Brazilian Congregation in 1925; became dependent on St. Vincent Archabbey in 1964. Located in the Archdiocese of Campinas.
**Wimmer Priory (New Taipei, Republic of China): founded in 1964. Located in the Archdiocese of Taipei.
* St. John's Abbey (Collegeville, Minnesota): founded in 1856; became an abbey in 1866. Originally named St. Louis on the Lake Abbey. Located in the Diocese of St. Cloud under the patronage of St. John the Baptist.
**''Saint Augustine Monastery ( Nassau, Bahamas)'': founded in 1947; suppressed in 2005.
**'' Trinity Benedictine Monastery'' ('' Fujimi, Japan)'': founded in 1999; closed in 2016.
* St. Benedict's Abbey (Atchison, Kansas): founded in 1857; became an abbey in 1876. Located in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
**Mosteiro São Jose ( Mineiros, Goias, Brazil): founded in 1962.
**''St. Malachy's Priory (Creston, Iowa)'': founded in 1871 as a parish and monastic community for Irish-Americans. Suppressed as an independent priory in 1893 due to lack of vocations.
*St. Mary's Abbey ( Morristown, New Jersey): founded in Newark, New Jersey

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases