The Austrian Congregation is a congregation of

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 ...

monasteries situated in

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 ...

, within 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 ...

History

The Congregation was founded on 3 August 1625 by

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

, and consisted of eleven Benedictine monasteries in Austria: * Altenburg Abbey * Garsten Abbey * Gleink Abbey * Göttweig Abbey * Kleinmariazell Abbey * Kremsmünster Abbey * Lambach Abbey *

Melk Abbey Melk Abbey () is a Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several member ...

* Mondsee Abbey *

Schottenstift, Vienna The (), formally called (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic monastery founded in Vienna in 1155 when Henry II, Duke of Austria, Henry II of Austria brought Irish monks to Vienna. The monks did not come directly from Ireland, but came instead f ...

* Seitenstetten Abbey

Salzburg Congregation

These were however not all the Benedictine monasteries of present-day Austria. Those in the Diocese of Salzburg were formed in 1641 into the Salzburg Congregation, consisting of: * Admont Abbey * Michaelbeuern Abbey * Ossiach Abbey * St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal * St. Peter's Abbey, Salzburg The diocese also then included two further monasteries, the locations of which are now in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

: * St. Vitus' Abbey on the Rott * Seeon Abbey Salzburg was secularised and became part of Austria in 1816.

Later history

Several of these abbeys ceased to exist as a result of the dissolution of monasteries enforced by Emperor Joseph II in the 1780s. Some survived, however, and the 19th century brought a revival in the monastic movement. The two congregations were renewed 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 A ...

on 23 August 1889 as the Congregations of Mary and Joseph respectively, and were combined as the present Austrian Congregation by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

on 8 December 1930.

Present Congregation

The Austrian Congregation (as of 2006) consists of the following monasteries in Austria: * Admont Abbey * Altenburg Abbey * Göttweig Abbey * Gut Aich Priory * Kremsmünster Abbey * Lambach Abbey *

* Michaelbeuern Abbey *

* Seitenstetten Abbey * St. Joseph's Priory, Maria Roggendorf * St. Lambrecht's Abbey * St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal * St. Peter's Archabbey, Salzburg *Kolleg St. Benedikt (student house)

External links

Website of the Austrian Benedictines

Benedictine congregations Religious organizations established in 1625 Catholic religious institutes established in the 17th century 1625 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 17th-century establishments in Austria {{Austria-org-stub