The Anselmianum, also known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm (; ) or simply ''Sant'Anselmo'', is a

pontifical university A pontifical university or athenaeum is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and canon law (Catholic Church), Canon Law) and at least o ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

associated with the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

. It offers courses in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

studies,

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

s, sacramental theology, and the history of theology.Engelbert, Pius. ''Sant'Anselmo in Rome : College and University : From the Beginnings to the Present Day'' (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2015)

History

The university was founded in its present form by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

in 1887, created in honor of St.

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...

. An additional Pontifical Institute of Sacred Liturgy was canonically established by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

as a faculty of Sacred Liturgy in order to promote liturgical science through research and teaching. As such it is empowered to grant, in the name of the Pope, the unique academic degrees of License (SL.L.) and Doctorate (SL.D.) in Sacred Liturgy.

Leadership

The chancellor (''gran cancelliere'') of the Anselmianum is Jeremias Schröder, OSB, the Abbot Primate of the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...

. Abbot Primate Jeremias was elected on Sept. 14, 2024. Since 5 December 2019, the rector (''rettore magnifico'') of the Anselmianum is Bernhard A. Eckerstorfer, OSB, a Benedictine monk of

Kremsmünster Abbey Kremsmünster Abbey () is a Benedictine monastery located in Kremsmünster, Upper Austria. History Founded in 777 AD by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria, Kremsmünster Abbey is steeped in legend. It is said that Tassilo established the abbey on t ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Since 4 February 2021, the vice rector is Fernando Rivas, OSB, a Benedictine monk of the Abadía de San Benito in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Rivas also serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Theology. The president of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Liturgy (''Preside del Pontificio Istituto Liturgico'') is Jordi-Agustí Piqué i Collado, OSB, a Benedictine monk of

Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey Santa Maria de Montserrat () is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat (mountain), Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat ...

Activities

The University's library was established with gifts from various Benedictine congregations and the personal collections of

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Dusmet Gaetano Bernardino, and has since grown to become a substantial source of theological research material. The librarian is Brother Joseph Schneeweis, O.S.B., a Benedictine monk of

Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville 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 Arc ...

Notable graduates

Anscar Chupungco Dom Anscar Javier Chupungco, , (10 November 1939 - 9 January 2013) was a Filipino Benedictine monk, who was a noted liturgist, theologian and a mentor to all Filipino liturgists and countless students of the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm in R ...

–

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk *

Stanley Jaki Stanley L. Jaki (Jáki Szaniszló László) (17 August 1924 – 7 April 2009) was a Hungarian-born priest of the Benedictine order. From 1975 to his death, he was Distinguished University Professor at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, Ne ...

–

monk * Brian V. Johnstone –

Redemptorist The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

priest *

Wilton Daniel Gregory Wilton Daniel Gregory Jr. (born December 7, 1947) is an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, archbishop of Washington from 2019 to 2025. Pope Francis made him a ...

–

Archbishop of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church for the District of Columbia and several Maryland counties in the United States. The Archdiocese of Washington is home to the Ca ...

Erik Varden Erik Varden (born 13 May 1974) is a Norwegian Catholic prelate, spiritual writer, and Trappist monk. He has served as Bishop of Trondheim since 2020. Early life and education Varden was born in a non-practising Lutheran family in South Norway ...

–

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monk and

Bishop-Prelate In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the c ...

of the

Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Trondheim The Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Trondheim is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, located in Norway. Before March 1979, it was known as the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Norway. Erik Varden was appoin ...

* Christopher J. Coyne – Bishop of Burlington *

Charles John Brown Charles John Brown (born 13 October 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as an apostolic nuncio since 2012. He is currently the apostolic nuncio to the Philippines. Before entering the diplomatic service of ...

– Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines * Paul Augustin Mayer -

Prefect Emeritus of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

Piero Marini Piero Marini (born 13 January 1942) is a Roman Catholic archbishop who is president emeritus of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. For twenty years he served as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, in ch ...

- President of the

Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses The Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses is part of the Roman Curia of the Roman Catholic Church. It was erected in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII. Its statutes were last updated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Aims The purpose of ...

* - Bishop of Bonfim * -

monk * -

monk * Jean Leclercq -

monk * Anselm Stolz -

monk * -

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the East ...

Bishop of Canada * Diego Giovanni Ravelli, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations

References

External links

* {{coord, 41, 52, 59, N, 12, 28, 44, E, region:IT-RM_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Catholic universities and colleges in Italy Universities and colleges in Rome Benedictine colleges and universities Rome R. XII Ripa Educational institutions established in 1887 1887 establishments in Italy Atheneum