The Benedictine Sisters were a beloved part of the Saint Vincent community and were responsible for food service from 1931 to 1987. The first group of sisters arrived at Latrobe on February 25, 1931, under the leadership of Mother Leonardo Fritz. By 1939 forty sisters had come to Saint Vincent Read more…
No longer able to work, The old sister Sits praying for us all And dozing. In her sleep, She drops her beads; But her gnarled old hands Still move in two familiar patterns: They pull the missing beads And then they move Back and forth, Still peeling potatoes, Her work Read more…
He planted trees. Told he had had but six months or so to live, he planted trees. I wondered why he didn’t plant flowers he’d get to see them bloom. Or why not spend time in prayer and study, steeling his spirit for death? Now, over twenty years later, Read more…
Brother Cancer came to live with me in the monastery about five years ago. He arrived with an unexpected impact to tell me how important life is, my life, where I am and as I am. Eventually I got the message. He stays around to serve me in my making Read more…
Those of us who rejoice in the Benedictine tradition see a great parallel between the age of Benedict and our own. His and ours are turning points in civilization. We, as he, are witnessing a change from one system and cultural context of life to another. Whether we name our Read more…
The theme of the 1983 Orientation Program “A New Beginning to an Old Tradition” began a new era in the history of the college. That fall marked the beginning of coeducation at Saint Vincent. A freshman class of 240 students, whom 33 percent were women, enrolled. Within ten years the Read more…
Historians studying Catholicism in the United States will note how often our generation used words like “evangelization” and “inculturation.” We were fascinated, they will say, by what happened when the values found in the Catholic tradition came into contact with other ways of understanding this world and with other traditions. Read more…
On the occasion of the inauguration of the bicentennial celebration Of Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B. “Forward, always forward… “, “We need to expand…” When you read or hear these words you think to be in front of a conqueror running on a horse on top of his army. This impression Read more…
Anniversaries have a way of nurturing nostalgia, but they are far more important as reminders of an original vision that can be a guide for the future. And when the monks of Saint Vincent reflect on the history and future of their institution, they must come to terms with the Read more…
It took Benedictine Father Boniface Wimmer three years and four attempts to gain permission from his superiors to sail from Bavaria to the United States, where he envisioned spreading the Order of St. Benedict and evangelizing immigrants, especially ones from his native Germany. Finally, in 1846, he led a group Read more…