The Beuronese Congregation, or Beuron Congregation, is a union of mostly
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
or
German-speaking
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is a ...
religious houses of both monks and nuns within the
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Confœderatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti) is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Origin
The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monasti ...
. The congregation stands under the protection of Saint
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as th ...
.
History
The origin of the Beuron Congregation begins with the
Archabbey of St. Martin, Beuron, founded in 1863, the first declarations of which in 1866 already had in view an expansion to a congregation. After a further foundation, that of
Maredsous Abbey
Maredsous Abbey is a Benedictine monastery at Maredsous, in the municipality of Anhée, Wallonia, Belgium. It is a founding member of the Annunciation Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation.
The abbey was founded as a priory on 15 No ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, the first constitutions of the Beuronese Congregation were ratified in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 1873.

Further foundations outside Germany followed during the period of "cultural struggle" (''"
Kulturkampf
(, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiasti ...
"''), when the community was driven out of Beuron. Most relocated to an old
Servite monastery in
Volders in the Austrian Tyrol.
[Alston, George Cyprian. "The Benedictine Order." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 19 October 2022 In 1876, some of the monks were given refuge in
Erdington Abbey, Birmingham, England until after the First World War. After their return it was possible to found more monasteries inside Germany:
Maria Laach Abbey
Maria Laach Abbey (in German: ''Abtei Maria Laach'', in Latin: ''Abbatia Maria Lacensis'' or ''Abbatia Maria ad Lacum'') is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel r ...
(1893);
Gerleve Abbey (1904);
Neresheim Abbey (1920);
Weingarten Abbey (1922);
Neuburg Abbey
Neuburg Abbey (German: Abtei Neuburg or Kloster Neuburg, but most commonly Stift Neuburg) near Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, and part of the Beuronese Congregation.
History
First found ...
(1926); and others. The last foundations were
Tholey Abbey, resettled in 1949, and
Nütschau Priory
Nütschau Priory (in German Kloster Nütschau or Priorat Sankt Ansgar) is a house of the Benedictine Order located at Travenbrück near Bad Oldesloe, Stormarn, Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.
History
Nütschau is the northernmost Benedictine mon ...
, a new foundation established by Gerleve Abbey in 1951.
["Maurus (Rudolf) Wolter", Portal Rheinische Geschichte]
/ref>
The congregation also continued to be active outside Germany, in among other places Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal:
:* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and Japan; in 1906 the Abbey of the Dormition
The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...
(or Assumption) (now Hagia Maria Sion Abbey
Abbey of the Dormition is a Catholic abbey belonging to the Benedictine Order in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion just outside the walls of the Old City near the Zion Gate. The Abbey is said to mark the spot where Mary, mother of Jesus, died.
Between ...
) in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
was founded.
The congregation's first nunnery was St. Gabriel's Priory, later elevated to St. Gabriel's Abbey
St. Gabriel's Priory, formerly St. Gabriel's Abbey (german: Priorat Sankt Gabriel, Abtei Sankt Gabriel, Kloster Sankt Gabriel), is a Benedictine nunnery in Sankt Johann bei Herberstein, Styria, Austria.
History
The community was founded as a pri ...
, established at Smíchov
Smíchov () is (since 1909) a district of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and is part of Prague 5. It is on the west bank of the Vltava river.
History
Between 1945 and 1989, the district contained a monument dedicated to Soviet tan ...
in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
in 1889, which relocated in 1919–20 to Schloss Bertholdstein in Pertlstein in Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
. This was followed in 1893 by Maredret Abbey in Belgium, then in 1904 by St. Hildegard's Abbey, Eibingen and in 1924 St. Erentraud's Abbey, Kellenried. More recent foundations are Engelthal Abbey Engelthal Abbey or St. Mary's Abbey, Engelthal, is a Benedictine nunnery in the Wetterau region, Hesse, Germany.
Engelthal Abbey was a Cistercian nunnery from its foundation in 1268, until the secularisation of 1803. It was ruled by Imperial Counts ...
(1965) and Marienrode Priory (1988). Other nunneries were taken into the congregation as already existing communities.
The Congregation generously help fund the College of Sant'Anselmo, founded in 1887, and the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm
The Anselmianum, also known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm ( it, Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo; ) is a pontifical university in Rome associated with the Benedictines. It offers courses in philosophy, theology, liturgy, monastic s ...
, established in 1888, both located at Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino
Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino ( en, Saint Anselm on the Aventine) is a complex located on the Piazza Cavalieri di Malta Square on the Aventine Hill in Rome's Ripa rione and overseen by the Benedictine Confederation and the Abbot Primate. The ''San ...
in Rome. At the request of Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
in 1895, they also assisted in the revival of the Brazilian Congregation
The Brazilian Congregation is a monastic congregation of the order of Saint Benedict.''Ann. Pont. 2010'', p. 1426. Founded in 1827, it is a member of the Benedictine Confederation.
History
The first Benedictines came from Portugal to Brazil ...
.[Belsole O.S.B., Kurt. "Beuron" Germany, ''Encyclopedia of Monasticism'', (William M. Johnston, ed.) Routledge, 2013, p. 149]
During World War II, a number of refugee monks of the Beuronese Congregation, established a temporary priory in Keyport, New Jersey with the help of St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown. It was closed in 1948.
Organization
Initially, the congregation was under the management of the Abbot of Beuron, who acted as its Archabbot. The General Chapter, which took place at lengthy intervals and was attended by the congregation's officiating abbots, served the purpose of promoting general agreement among the communities and the regulation of outstanding questions. It was a strongly centralised system: all houses of the congregation were obliged to follow the customs, daily routine, service times and forms prescribed by Beuron.
In 1936 the Archabbot system was replaced by that of the Presiding Abbot; the General Chapter, which as a rule assembles every six years, elects one of the officiating abbots of the congregation as Presiding Abbot until the time of the next chapter meeting. This makes the congregation more federalistic, and individual monasteries and nunneries are better able to develop an individual profile.
In 1984, in accordance with the Codex Iuris Canonici of 1983, the revised statutes of the congregation and the declarations for monasteries and nunneries were approved. The statutes identify as tasks of the congregation the furtherance of the observation of the rule in the member houses, mutual help and joint solutions to tasks and problems, as well as exchanges between monasteries and nunneries. The General Chapter, consisting of the heads of each religious house, as well as elected representatives, is to meet every six years. Since 2003 the representatives of women's communities have had full voting rights.
The foundations outside Germany and Austria later separated from the Beuronese Congregation, often for political reasons. In 1920, Maredsous Abbey became a founding member of the Congregation of the Annunciation. Maredret Abbey is also affiliated with the Congregation of the Annunciation. After the monks returned from Erdington Abbey, they founded in 1922 St. Martin's Abbey, in Weingarten.[ The Birmingham parish was turned over to the ]Redemptorists
The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothe ...
; the former abbey is now Highclare School. After repeated wartime internments of the monks, in 1951, Dormition Abbey was separated from the Beuron Congregation and placed under the direct supervision of the Abbot-Primate of the Benedictines in Rome. In 2007 the nuns of St. Gabriel's Priory left the Beuronese Congregation and joined the Federation of Sisters of St. Lioba.Orden-online.de: St. Gabriel, Benediktinerinnen
/ref>
Archabbots
* Maurus Wolter (18731890)
* Placidus Wolter (18901908)
* Idelfons Schober (19081914)
* Raphael Walzer (19181922)
Presidents
* Raphael Molitor (1922
* Albert Schmidt (20082021)
* Franziskus Berzdorf (2021present)
Monasteries
# St. Martin's Archabbey, Beuron
# Abbey of Our Dear Lady, Seckau, Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
#Maria Laach Abbey
Maria Laach Abbey (in German: ''Abtei Maria Laach'', in Latin: ''Abbatia Maria Lacensis'' or ''Abbatia Maria ad Lacum'') is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel r ...
# St. Martin's Abbey, Weingarten
# St. Joseph's Abbey, Gerleve
# Abbey of Saints Ulrich and Afra, Neresheim
# Abbey of the "House of Grace of Maria at Grüssau", Wimpfen
# St. Bartholomew's Abbey, Neuburg
# St. Maurice's Abbey, Tholey
# St. Ansgar's Priory, Nütschau
Nunneries
# St. Hildegard's Abbey, Eibingen
# Abbey of the Holy Cross, Herstelle
# St. Erentraud's Abbey, Kellenried
# St. Mary's Abbey, Engelthal
# Abbey of the Holy Cross, Säben, South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous province
, image_skyline =
, image_alt ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
# Abbey of Our Dear Lady, Varensell
# St. Mary's Abbey, Fulda
# Marienrode Priory
# Priory of Our Lady, Åsebakken, Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establishe ...
File:Benediktinerabtei Tholey.JPG, Abtei Tholey
File:Kloster marienrode.jpg, Kloster marienrode
File:Benediktinerstift Seckau.JPG, Benediktinerstift Seckau
File:Kloster Säben 1.jpg, Kloster Säben
See also
*Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Confœderatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti) is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.
Origin
The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monasti ...
References
External links
Website of the Beuron Congregation
{{Authority control
Benedictine congregations
Religious organizations established in 1863
1863 establishments in Germany