Anscar Vonier, O.S.B. (11 November 1875 – 26 December 1938), was abbot of

Buckfast Abbey Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Congregation of Savigny, Savignac, later ...

from 1906 until his death in 1938.

Life

Born Martin Vonier in Ringschnait near

Biberach an der Riss Biberach may refer to: *Biberach an der Riß, a town in Upper Swabia, Germany *Biberach (district), which has Biberach an der Riß as its capital * Biberach, Baden, a municipality in the ''Ortenaukreis'', Germany *Biberach is a part of Roggenburg, ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

on 11 November 1875 (the feast of

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

). He came from a large family that had emigrated to Württemberg from the

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

. His father was a farmer, who also ran a brickworks. After a few years, the family moved to Rissegg, where Martin attended the local school and became an altar boy.Clark, Augustine. "Vonier, Martin", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''
In 1882, monks from , who had been exiled from France, purchased the site of a former monastery near

Buckfastleigh Buckfastleigh is a market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway ( A38) at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge and, for ecclesiastical purposes, lies within the Totnes Deanery. ...

in Devon. In 1888, Vonier was one of the youths recruited for the new abbey at Buckfast. The boys were first sent to a school in

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

run by the

Holy Ghost Fathers The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

in order to learn French. They arrived at Buckfast in the summer of 1889. After four years in the alumnate, Vonier entered the novitiate in 1893, and was given the name "Anscar". He was professed the following year, and ordained in 1898 by bishop

Charles Maurice Graham Charles Maurice Graham (1834–1912) was a British clergyman who held high office in the Roman Catholic Church. Life Graham was born 5 April 1834 at Mhow, India. He was educated at Sacred Heart College at Prior Park and the English College, ...

. In 1900, he was sent to study at St. Anselmo's in Rome, where he received a doctorate in philosophy. In November 1905, Vonier was sent back to St. Anselmo's to teach philosophy. He was returning the following summer in the company of Buckfast's abbot, Boniface Natter, when their ship, the SS Sirio, was shipwrecked off the Spanish coast. Natter and Vonier ministered to the steerage passengers in the ensuing chaos. Dom Natter was among the many who drowned. When news of the sinking reached the Community at Buckfast it was believed that both Abbot and Vonier had perished and Requiem Masses were said for the repose of their souls. However, Vonier was saved by a fishing vessel. On 14 September 1906 Vonier was elected by the community to succeed Boniface as the second abbot of Buckfast. He was thirty-one years old. Dom Vonier decided to rebuild the abbey church on the site of the original Cistercian church. The foundation stone was laid in January 1907.Smith, Leo. "The Life and Work of Abbot Anscar Vonier", English Benedictine Congregation History Commission, 1996
/ref> He died on 26 December 1938 at Buckfast Abbey, and was buried there four days later.

Work

* ''The Christian Mind'' * ''The Personality of Christ'' * ''The Victory of Christ'' * ''The Divine Motherhood'' * ''The Spirit and the Bride'' * ''The People of God'' * ''A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist'' * ''The Human Soul and Its Relations with Other Spirits'' * ''Christianus'' * ''The Life of the World to Come'' * ''The Angels''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vonier, Ansgar 1875 births 1938 deaths People from Biberach an der Riss People from the Kingdom of Württemberg German Benedictines Benedictine abbots 20th-century Christian abbots