Mount Angel Abbey is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

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 A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s located in

Saint Benedict, Oregon Saint Benedict is the name of the post office at Mount Angel Abbey in Marion County, Oregon, United States. When it moved from Gervais to the town of Mt. Angel in 1884, the postal service would not allow the abbey to establish its own post o ...

, northeast of Salem, it was established in 1882 from

Engelberg Abbey Engelberg Abbey () is a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg, Canton of Obwalden, Switzerland. It was formerly in the Diocese of Constance, but is now in the Diocese of Chur. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels and occupies a commanding ...

, in Switzerland. The abbey, located on the top of Mount Angel, a , has its own post office separate from the city of Mt. Angel. As of 2021, the abbey is home to approximately 51 monks.

History

1882–1903: Establishment

Mount Angel Abbey was founded on October 30, 1882, by

monks who immigrated to the United States from

Engelberg Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It was conceived by Father Adelhelm Odermatt, a monk of

who was working in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Five years after the abbey's foundation, the monks opened their school in 1887 under the name of ''Mount Angel College''. In 1889, at the request of Archbishop William Gross of

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

, the monks established a seminary in conjunction with their college.

1904–Present: Expansion

In 1904, the community was officially declared an abbey, which meant that it became independent from its motherhouse in Switzerland. Thomas Meienhofer, also a native of Switzerland, was elected the first abbot. In 1926, a second fire destroyed the monastery, forcing the community into private homes and the nearby parish school and rectory. The monks began rebuilding, and in 1930 erected Aquinas Hall. A gymnasium followed in 1936. In 1939, the abbey's first daughterhouse,

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, was established in

Mission, British Columbia Mission is a city in the Lower Mainland of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was originally incorporated as a district municipality in 1892, growing to include additional villages and rural areas over the years, adding the original T ...

. In 1946, the college was shut down and the community focussed on its seminary and boys' preparatory school. In 1959, a retreat house was constructed to serve the spiritual needs of laypeople. In the early 1950s, the monastery became one of approximately 900 locations that would serve as emergency hospitals in the event of a

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

. In 1965, two new monasteries were started from Mount Angel Abbey: Ascension Priory in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, and Our Lady of the Angels Abbey in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In 1980, Father Bonaventure Zerr was elected as the seventh abbot, establishing a new library for not only seminarians, but for the use of

scholarly research The scholarly method or scholarship is the body of principles and practices used by scholars and academics to make their claims about their subjects of expertise as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly publ ...

. The library at the abbey was designed by Finnish architect

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

. Though the seminary has historically been the central focus of the abbey, it has also become open to non-seminarians seeking degrees 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 ...

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 ...

. In the 1970s, the abbey community had a total of 125 monks living on the grounds, making it one of the largest Benedictine male communities in the United States.

Abbots

The abbey's abbots since 1904 are as follows. *1904-1910 Thomas Aquinas Meienhofer *1910-1921 Placidus Fuerst *1921-1934 Bernard Murphy *1934-1950 Thomas Aquinas Meier *1950-1974 Damian Jentges *1974-1980 Anselm Galvin *1980-1988 Bonaventure Zerr *1988-1997 Peter Eberle *1997-2001 Joseph Wood *2001-2009 Nathan Zodrow *2009-2016 Gregory Duerr *2016–present Jeremy Driscoll

Seminary and School of Theology

''Mount Angel Seminary'', which was originally part of the now closed ''Mount Angel College'', serves numerous western

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s and has approximately 170 students. The college was originally composed of seven schools, but as the college turned its focus toward the seminary, the two remaining schools are the

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

and the Graduate School of Theology. The seminary's main church has a tower that contains the largest free-swinging bells on the west coast. In 2006, a new seminary building received a Best Sustainable Award for Oregon and Washington. The following year, to commemorate the abbey's 125th anniversary, a new bell tower was erected. The seminary has undergraduate and graduate programs. The undergraduate program is devoted towards a bachelor's degree in philosophy. The four-year liberal arts curriculum, leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, may be completed with a major in philosophy, a double major in Philosophy and Literature, or a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies. The seminary offers degrees to both lay students and those studying for the priesthood. The Graduate School of Theology offers MDiv, MA (Theology), STB, and DMin degree programs.

Library

The ''Mount Angel Library'' was designed by Finnish architect

, built in 1970, and renovated in 1980. The library is used by both seminary students and theology students and contains 240,000 physical volumes and 100,000 electronic volumes (30% religion, 10% philosophy, and 60% history, art, music, and more), offering the largest theology collection in the Northwest United States. In addition to a wide range of books, the library also has an

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

of medieval

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s dating back to the

12th century The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the ...

. The library has

digitized Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english ...

multiple manuscripts, many from England, France, and Italy, through the Ethiopic Manuscripts Digitization Project.

Museum

The Mount Angel Abbey Museum is a collection of assorted artifacts, including mounted animal dioramas, rocks and minerals, serendipitous objects, antique

liturgical 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 ...

vestment Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...

s, religious items, and

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

memorabilia.

Benedictine Brewery

In 2018, the third monastic brewery in the United States opened at the abbey.

Brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

is common among

Trappists 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 ...

, but is also part of the Benedictine tradition—which is the order that occupies the Mount Angel Abbey, a monastery secluded on a wooded butte above the small farming town of Mount Angel. Abbey monks now brew beer.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1882 establishments in Oregon Alvar Aalto buildings Benedictine monasteries in the United States Buildings and structures in Marion County, Oregon Catholic universities and colleges in Oregon Education in Marion County, Oregon Modernist architecture in Oregon Mt. Angel, Oregon Museums in Marion County, Oregon Natural history museums in Oregon Religious museums in the United States Benedictine colleges and universities Catholic seminaries in the United States Swiss-American history Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities