“Everything is dependent upon the blessing of God who can give both the inspiration and the fulfillment. Anyone who considers the meager means with which the start had to be made, may be somewhat concerned, and, as for me, my friends and acquaintances cannot be more so than I. However, Read more…
The passions, the temptations, the dangers with which humans have to struggle, always remain the same. However, the high ideals for which we must strive also remain the same. Whoever questions whether monastic life is still relevant, needs to understand that the purpose of monastic life is nothing other than Read more…
The most memorable day in the history of St. Vincent is October 24, 1846, for on this day the cornerstone of the spiritual foundation of the monastery was laid, by Father Boniface giving the habit to his companions. On this day also, common prayer in choir was begun, which since Read more…
Our Wimmer Wednesday quotes of late have been taken from the book, Boniface Wimmer: Abbot of Saint Vincent in Pennsylvania, translated from the original German only recently. This translates makes the first biographical portrait of this key figure in American Benedictine history more accessible to interested readers. . Written by Read more…
Wimmer Wednesday. Boniface Wimmer is invited to Saint Vincent. “St. Vincent, Pennsylvania“October 11, 1846“Reverend Boniface Wimmer: “Having learned that it is your intention to establish a monastery of the Benedictine Order in this country, the members of which devote themselves to the care of souls and to the education of Read more…
Wimmer Wednesday. Boniface Wimmer meets with Bishop Michael O’Connor of Pittsburgh. “Father Boniface then set out for Pittsburgh to pay his respects to the Most Reverend Bishop and to present his references to him. While the bishop expressed his appreciation for Father Boniface’s plan, he at the same time suggested Read more…
Wimmer Wednesday. Boniface Wimmer did not find the grounds of Hart’s Sleeping Place, near Carrolltown, suitable for farming. Oswald Moosmüller writes: “Father Boniface, whose cradle had stood in the so called “Dark Soil” region, the most fertile wheat country in Bavaria, contemplated the harsh, rocky, and mountainous countryside around Carrolltown Read more…
Wimmer Wednesday. Boniface Wimmer arrives in America: “After a good ocean voyage, Father Boniface and his companions had arrived safely in New York on September 16. There he visited with the Redemptorist Father Rumpler on Third Street, the aged Vicar General Raffeiner in Williamsburg, and the Benedictine pioneer, Father Balleis Read more…
Wimmer Wednesday. Boniface Wimmer’s group finally leaves for its Mission to America. “Finally, the immediate preparations for the journey began with a spiritual retreat. The day of departure from Munich was July 25, 1846. They traveled by way of Augsburg, Ulm, Stuttgart, Mannheim and Mainz to Rotterdam, where they shipped Read more…
Wimmer Wednesday. Oswald Moosmüller’s book gives insights on those who would accompany Boniface Wimmer to America. “These five students thus would become the first candidates for the priesthood which Divine Providence brought to Father Boniface for the establishment of a monastery in America.5 “In addition to these, another fifteen upstanding Read more…