Saint Vincent Archabbey is 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 ...

monastery in

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the state of Pennsylvania, United States, in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 354,663. The county seat is Greensburg and the most populous community is ...

in the city of Latrobe. A member of the American-Cassinese Congregation, it is the oldest Benedictine monastery in the United States and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The shrine is dedicated to Saint Vincent de Paul.

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

raised the monastery church to the status of a

Minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

via his decree ''Quasi fons lucis'' on 25 August 1955.

Activities

The Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent operate and teach at Saint Vincent Basilica Parish, Saint Vincent College, and Saint Vincent Seminary. The monks also provide pastoral care for Catholics in the dioceses of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Greensburg,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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, Altoona-Johnstown, and Richmond. The monks also run a military school from the Savannah Priory in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

( Benedictine Military School). The archabbey also oversees Wimmer Priory in Taiwan, and Saint Benedict Priory in Brazil. The original abbey structures, including the present church, were designed by the German-American architect J. William Schickel and built between 1891 and 1905. The archabbey church was dedicated by bishop Regis Canevin of Pittsburgh on August 24, 1905 and declared a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

on the same date in 1955. The monks operate St. Vincent Archabbey Gristmill, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978. Monks from the abbey founded Holy Cross Abbey (Cañon City, Colorado), Newark Abbey (Newark, New Jersey) (founded as St Mary's), Saint John's Abbey (Collegeville, Minnesota), Saint Bernard Abbey (Cullman, Alabama), Saint Benedict Abbey (Atchison, Kansas), Saint Mary's Abbey (Morristown, New Jersey), Saint Bede Abbey (Peru, Illinois), Saint Procopius Abbey (Lisle, Illinois), and Mary Help of Christians Abbey (Belmont, North Carolina).

Leadership

The current archabbot of St. Vincent Archabbey is Martin de Porres Bartel, who was elected by the monastic community on June 23, 2020. He is the twelfth archabbot of Saint Vincent. Bartel succeeded the Rt. Rev. Douglas R. Nowicki. Over its almost 200 years of existence, the archabbey has had twelve archabbots: * Boniface Wimmer (1855 to 1887) * Andrew Hintenach (1888 to 1892) * Leander Schnerr (1892 to 1918) * Aurelius Stehle (1918 to 1930) * Alfred Koch (1930 to 1949) * Denis Strittmatter (1949 to 1963) * Rembert Weakland (1963 to 1967) * Egbert Donovan (1967 to 1979) * Leopold Krul (1979 to 1983) * Paul Maher (1983 to 1991) * Douglas R. Nowicki (1991 to 2020) * Martin Bartel (2020 to present)

References

;Additional sources * *

External links

Saint Vincent Archabbey

Saint Vincent Oblates
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Benedictine monasteries in the United States Religious organizations established in 1846 Saint Vincent College Tourist attractions in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 1846 establishments in Pennsylvania Latrobe, Pennsylvania Basilica churches in Pennsylvania