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January 28, 2017
Br. Basil Taylor, O.S.B., made his solemn profession of vows as a monk of Subiaco Abbey at the 10:30 a.m. Mass on January 28, 2017, in the Abbey Church. Having completed the period of triennial vows, he professed this life-long commitment as a Benedictine monk. He has served at Subiaco Abbey as assistant librarian, assistant archivist, and in the Abbey vineyard. Br. Basil was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He graduated from Christ the King, then Trinity Jr. High and Southside High School all in Fort Smith. For a while he studied forestry at the University of Arkansas Monticello, after which he worked in information technology for a couple of years. For a time he worked in a number of bars, owning one himself for a while. Following this he worked at Trane AireSystems in Fort Smith in charge of the computer support there and a number of sales offices in the southern region. After 6 years there he decided to pursue the calling to religious life. Having to come to Subiaco Abbey for summer camp when he was younger, he decided with God’s help to make it his new home. After he made temporary vows, then Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB, asked him to finish his bachelor’s degree at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, which he did in the spring of 2016, graduating Magna Cum Laude in Environmental Studies.
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January 1, 2017
Br Reginald Udouj, OSB, and Br. Cassian Elkins, OSB, were ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock at the 10:00 a.m., Mass on December 30, 2016, in the Abbey Church. Br.Reginald will complete his 3rd year of theology at St. John Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota, in May 2017. He attended Christ the King Catholic School in Ft. Smith, Subiaco Academy (class of 1979) and High Point University in North Carolina before making profession as a monk of Subiaco Abbey in September 2012. Br. Reginald will complete his theology studies and be ordained to the priesthood in the spring of 2018. In May 2017 Br. Cassian will complete his 3rd year of theology at St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana. He attended Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic School in Church Point, LA, as well as Our Lady of the Lake University for his undergraduate degrees in philosophy and theology. He did graduate work in philosophy at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, before making profession as a monk of Subiaco Abbey in 2012. Br. Cassian will complete his theological studies and be ordained to the priesthood in the spring of 2018.
