Mauritius Wilde (born 27 October 1965) is a German

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 ...

priest, monk, professor, podcaster, spiritual director, and author. He has served 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 ...

of the Primatial Abbey of the Sant'Anselmo in

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, ...

since 2016. He is a member of Münsterschwarzach Abbey 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 ...

, which is part of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien.

Biography

Early life

Wilde was born in

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

, Germany, to Werner and Dr. Elfriede (née Brunbauer) Wilde, and he has one older brother. He attended "'' Gymnasium Josephinum Hildesheim''" from 1976 to 1985 before entering the

life.

Monastic Life

Wilde joined Münsterschwarzach Abbey at 19 years of age and was given at his monastic profession in 1990 the name "Mauritius" in honor of

Saint Maurice Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, Maurits, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favourite and most widely venerated saints of tha ...

. He would later study

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 ...

and

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 ...

at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg receiving a diploma in 1992. He continued his theological studies at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

where he specialized in the German Dominican mystic ''

Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart (), Master Eckhart or Eckehart, claimed original name Johannes Eckhart,

'' and in 2000 received his Ph.D. with a dissertation entitled "''Das Neue Bild vom Gottesbild. Bild und Theologie bei Meister Eckhart''". His first assignment was as a Prefect in the monastery's boarding school of '' St. Egbert-Gymnasium,'' but he also worked in youth ministry and vocations. He would later be appointed as director of the Abbey's publishing house known as "'' Vier-Türme-Verlag''" serving from 1999 to 2010. In keeping with the missionary tradition of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien, he would be assigned in 2011 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 ...

of Christ the King Priory located in Schuyler,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, United States. During his time there he expanded his own missionary work through offering spiritual retreats, blogging, social media, and podcasting. On 23 September 2016 Abbot Primate Gregory Polan 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 ...

, appointed Wilde as the new Prior of the Primatial Abbey of Sant'Anselmo located in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. This appointment also made him the Rector of the

College of Sant'Anselmo The College of Sant'Anselmo () is an international Benedictine college founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1887 and located in Rome, Italy. Situated on the Aventine Hill, it is one of four Benedictine institutions that occupy the complex known as "Sant'Ans ...

, which is an ecclesiastical residential college in the Roman tradition. The "''Collegio Sant'Anselmo''" serves as both a house of formation for Benedictines, but also as a residence for over one hundred monks from around forty countries,

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

diocesan priests In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...

, and lay people. It offers a monastic environment for those who study at the onsite

Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm The Anselmianum, also known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm (; ) or simply ''Sant'Anselmo'', is a pontifical university in Rome associated with the Benedictines. It offers courses in philosophy, theology, liturgy, monastic studies, lan ...

or at other Roman pontifical universities. Wilde would later be appointed to additionally serve as a lecturer and professor at the

, specializing in Spiritual Theology and the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...

. Given his proficiency in German, Italian, and English, along with his expertise in spiritual theology and the use of digital media technology, he has also been called upon to offer spiritual commentaries through the international "

Vatican News ''Vatican News'' is the official news portal of the Holy See, serving as a source of information about the activities, pronouncements, and events related to the global Catholic Church and the operations of the Holy See. As a part of the Dicaster ...

". On 24 November 2021, Wilde was elected as the new President of the ''Association of the Rectors of Ecclesiastical Colleges of Rome''.

Bibliography

Publications

Wilde has a number of publications in German, English, Italian, Croatian, and Spanish. Some of his publications include: * ''Ich verstehe dich nicht: Die Herzensreise des kleinen Prinzen,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (1994) () * ''Das neue Bild vom Gottesbild: Bild und Theologie bei Meister Eckhart,'' Freiburger Universitätsverlag (2000) () * ''Der spirituelle Weg: Die Entwicklung des Benedikt von Nursia,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (2001) () * ''Petrus und Paulus. Wer in Gruppen entscheidet: die Unternehmer-Verwalter-Typologie,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (2003) () * ''Respekt, Die Kunst der gegenseitigen Wertschätzung,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (2009; Revised edition 2020) () * ''Nüchternheit. Die Kunst, sich ein achtsames Herz zu bewahren,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (2018) () * ''Be yourself!: the call of a Christian,'' Paulist Press (2019) () * ''Der Mönch in dir: Ein Weg zu Gelassenheit und Loslassen'', Vier Türme (2024) () (in German)

Articles in journals

* ''Der sie bei Tag und Nacht verklagte...'', Erbe und Auftrag (2019, vol. 4, pp. 375–386) * ''Formation– Ideen, Institutionen, Erfahrungen (with David Forster, Bruno Rieder, Justina Metzdorf, Paulus Koci)'', Erbe und Auftrag (2020, vol. 2, pp. 164–178)

References

Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canadian actress * Brian Wilde (1927–2008), British actor * ...

German Roman Catholic theologians