“Never lose courage, always hope for the best, and do not fear opposition and obstacles. Rather, overcome courageously, place child-like trust in God, and never lose sight of the firm, certain goal. That is what a man, a priest, a monastic must be able to do.” —Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B. —From Read more
“When I came to America I had no other way to reach my goal than this: to buy land, take in brothers, and have them construct buildings. Teachers had to be educated little by little; and since I was poor, I did it in order to take care so that Read more
“The Lord, however, the Almighty One, the most active giver of all good things, who by his Holy Spirit brought about both the willing and the accomplishing in all who in some way participated in this endeavor, is the true builder; and to him alone belongs all honor for it, Read more
“This is all for my school. That is what is closest to my heart, and I do not spare any expense in order to offer my students every opportunity to learn, first what is necessary, but then also that which is useful and pleasant, to the extent that it contributes Read more
“Benedictine life is our first task”, Father Boniface wrote to a theology student, “the next is the education of the youth.”1 The first task is of the very essence of monastic life; the formation of good monastics is the sine qua non. The second task always follows the first, as Read more
“In addition to the novitiate there is the scholasticate. This is an institution for men aspiring to be monastics who have not yet completed their classical studies. They receive the habit with a shorter scapular and no cowl. They recite Prime and Compline from the Divine Office in the choir Read more
“A novitiate, that is, the institution for the formation of monks, [is] an institution upon which depends the future weal or woe of the monastery. For from the novitiate must arise the young strength and vigor of the Order, which is needed to continue and perfect the labors of the Read more
“We rise at a quarter to four in the morning and go to bed at nine o’clock in the evening, do not eat any breakfast, have a frugal meal at eleven o’clock, but enough to satisfy our hunger. On Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays we eat meat, the other days, Read more
Boniface Wimmer, in a letter to young theologian in Germany in 1849: “I have outlined the road you can travel one day in the land of your hopes. Our Order has the task of serving the German Church in America, that is, for the time being, but not exclusively. It Read more
Boniface Wimmer, in a letter to young theologian in Germany in 1849: “Our German youths who want to become priests do not have a single institution where they could study, where they could receive priestly formation, in order to keep their German brothers in their Catholic faith. But, no! They Read more