Br. Benedict Owens professed temporary vows as a monk of Subiaco Abbey at Vespers on September 8, 2015.
Born Joseph Owen on June 25, 1983, in Montgomery, Alabama, and baptized in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Prattsville, AL, he joined the U.S. Navy after graduation from high school. After the Navy tour, Joseph joined the Catholic Church and was confirmed during the 2006 Easter Vigil.
He attended Troy University in Montgomery before joining the Diocese of Mobile as a seminarian in 2007. He graduated from St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, LA, with a BA in Philosophy and Liberal Arts. He then explored a vocation with the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, before come to Subiaco as a candidate in February 2014. “I have travelled to all corners of the world seeking to do God’s will, and God has led me here to Arkansas to grow in holiness as a monk, “explained Br. Benedict.