Frowin Conrad OSB (baptismal name: ''Plazidus''; 2 November 1833 – 24 March 1923) was a

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

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 ...

and first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Conception Abbey.

Biography

Frowin Conrad was born in Auw, Aargau, Switzerland, one of a family of fifteen. His family were farmers, and devoutly religious. He completed his

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

in Engelberg and became a member of Engelberg Abbey in 1852. After he took his

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

in 1856, he became a priest like his four brothers. After holding various offices in Engelberg Abbey, he became leader of the Engelberg Parish. He moved to the United States with an associate, P. Adelhelm Odermatt, in April 1873; there he founded Conception Abbey (also called "Neu-Engelburg"). From the simplest beginnings, monastic life and seminars were developed. After his appointment as

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

in 1876, Father Frowin became the first abbot of the abbey in 1881. In the beginning, he focused on supporting children's education and achieved an agricultural sample operation. From later construction work, multiple monasteries, institutes and hospitals were developed. Father Frowin received multiple awards for the effects of his work. He died in Conception, Missouri, aged 89.

Sources

* ''Biographisches Lexikon des Aargaus 1803–1957.'' Sauerländer, Aarau 1958

External links

Interest Presence of the Abbey
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Frowin American abbots Benedictine abbots German Benedictines 1833 births 1923 deaths German emigrants to the United States 19th-century Christian abbots