Our Abbot

Most of the major religions of the world have some form of monastic life. When Christianity was no longer threatened with persecution by the Roman Empire, early in the 4th century, some people felt that choosing Christ was no longer the deep and radical matter it once had been. They wanted to live out their baptism in a special way, turning themselves over to seeking God and abandoning all else. They began to notice that since the time of Christ there had been countless men and women who chose to live that radical way of discipleship that we hear about in the Bible in Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-35. These men and women had been living, working, and praying for years in the desert. They had left the city for the desert, leaving possessions, career, even family behind.  A monk (from the Greek μοναχός, monachos, "single, solitary" in Latin, monachus) is a person (male or female) who lives an ascetical life either alone (sometimes referred to as an anchorite or hermit), or with a number of other monks (called cenobitic monasticism). At first they were solitary, but soon found real strength from living in small communities under a guiding wise man, an Abbot. Subiaco Abbey is a cenobitic monastic community of monks living under an Abbot and the Rule of St. Benedict for their way of life as they seek to follow Christ. 

SHORT ANSWER: Simply put, an abbot is the head of a monastery of monks chosen to guide and lead the monastery. More specifically, the Abbot of Subiaco is the spiritual head and Father of the men living the monastic way of life at Subiaco Abbey. From the perspective of canon law, an abbot is also an ordinary of a self-governing monastery, in the tradition of Saint Benedict and his Rule for Benedictine monasteries. His role to the monks is equivalent to that between a bishop and his people. The abbot is therefore a prelate in the Roman Catholic Church and is entitled to wear a ring, pectoral cross and mitre, and is entitled to carry the crozier (or pastoral staff). Practically speaking, the abbot is usually known as the "public face" of the abbey for which he serves. In the case of an abbot of a Swiss-American abbey, his length of his tenure is for an indetermine length of time. 

LONG ANSWER: To fully understand the gravity of an election of an abbot to the life of a Benedictine monastic community, we copy here the words from the American-Cassinese congregation that beautifully lays out the role of abbot for Benedictine monks: 
 

The election of an abbot constitutes one of the most important acts of a monastic community, for it ordinarily involves the transfer of authority from one abbot to another. The election process brings the cenobium to a time of decision, which is both a danger and an opportunity. The election is a danger if taken lightly by the community; it is an opportunity if approached as a moment of enrichment.

Members of the monastic community look to the Holy Spirit to be their guide in an abbatial election, but they must also approach the event with willingness to sacrifice time and energy. Moreover, they need courage and humility to acknowledge the kind of abbot required for the future of their monastery.

The monks believe in the presence of Christ whose sacrament they are about to elect in the person of the abbot. Christ is present in the gathering of the monks; he is vitally interested in a worthy representative of himself as the good shepherd. Faith leads the monks to discern the abiding presence of an involved and interested Lord. Faith leads them to put forth effort and care as they allow themselves to be guided by the strength of Jesus and his Spirit.

The institution of cenobitic monasticism depends on the central role of the abbot. Monks group together in communities, not to live isolated lives with little reference to other monks, but to place themselves in a Christian and monastic milieu and to receive the guidance of others, most especially the direction of an abbot. Cenobites belong to a monastery and desire to live under a rule and an abbot (RB 1:2).

The abbot does not create the monastic tradition. He himself enters the tradition at one point in his life and lives its values in the midst of his brothers. He is selected from the number of his brothers to lead them forward in the ever old yet ever new and changing life of the monastery. Thus, the abbot is himself a monk, one tested and trained in the gospel and in the monastic tradition of a particular house. He forever retains the imprint of the community that guided his beginning steps in monastic life. Upon election he does not cease to be a monk; in fact he must be even more zealous in pursuing the monastic life. But he is given the added task of guiding the life of a monastery and its monks.

The abbot both represents and embodies the monastic tradition of a specific monastery. He sums up the tradition, interprets its thrust, and guides its expression for today. The abbot is not a law unto himself since he must be guided by the sacred Scriptures, the Rule of Saint Benedict, the tradition of monasticism, the ecclesiastical norms of the church today, and the yearnings of his own monastic community. Within this context the Rule accords much discretion in the manner in which he shapes the direction of his own community. Thus the crucial importance of the person of the abbot.

The abbot functions first of all as the spiritual father of each monk. This does not necessarily imply that he is the monk's spiritual director in the contemporary sense of the term, but it means that the abbot must judge with keen insight what promotes the spiritual progress of each particular monk and what is best for him in matters of assignment, education, and way of life. The abbot cannot function as spiritual father without the guidance of the Holy Spirit and without a knowledge of the monk and an interest in his spiritual progress. Conversely the monk will not find a spiritual father in his abbot unless he allows himself to be known and guided by the abbot.

The abbot serves the community as a personal center of unity. He fosters and preserves unity by relating to each and every member of the community, by eliciting and summing up their legitimate aspirations, and by expressing the spirit of the community. He serves the cause of unity by presiding at liturgies, chapters, and community meals. Indeed, the monastic community forms the abbot, forms around the abbot, and is formed by the abbot.

The Rule of Saint Benedict uses many titles and images to depict the person and the work of the abbot. He is the pastor who is charged with the task of protecting, guiding, and nourishing the flock. He is the teacher who is conversant with the biblical and monastic tradition and is able to instruct the monks in the best of godly teachings. He is the chief steward who oversees the goods and property of the monastery, the administrator who knows how to work with others for the protection and proper use of the patrimony of the monastery. He is the father of the monks, fostering a milieu conducive to life and growth. He is the physician, healing wounds and promoting the health of the monks. He is the servant seeking to profit the brothers and making himself available to their needs.

The abbot is also a brother, a confrere to the members of the community. He lives in the community with his brothers, not in a house by himself. He interacts with his brothers in all the ways that constitute common life. His brotherly relationships abide even as he moves into the abbatial office.

The abbot's task today includes discernment with regard to the way in which the monastery supports itself and serves the church in various apostolates. Here especially the abbot needs to be the kind of person who can seek counsel and work with others in forming a sustainable plan for the monastery's work of self-support and service.

When the abbot is chosen from the membership of the community, he takes with him into the office the marks of the community. He should in a real sense be the most characteristic monk of the monastery. He articulates the life of his monastery and embodies it for the monks as well as for outsiders.

The monks who enter the election process must look for an abbot to lead their community. The abbot is elected for a particular house and for a particular time. The circumstances of a particular monastery, e.g., its need for someone with special skills as a teacher or an administrator, will dictate their choice of an abbot.

The election of an abbot brings the monastery to a crucial juncture of its life. The monastic community needs a leader and it normally looks within its own membership to find candidates. By way of exception the monastery may find it necessary to look to some other monastic community for a suitable candidate, especially when the monastery is small or when serious divisions render a community incapable of discovering a leader it can follow.

 In the end the monks need to trust the Holy Spirit and the election process itself to present the best candidates for the office of abbot. The monks should not assume that their candidates will be without fault or limitations. The community needs to assess the limitations of the candidates to discover whether their shortcomings preclude their ability to lead the monastery. The community needs to assess the strengths of the candidates to see whether their talents are sufficient to support the demands of the office.

The monks will be enriched if they achieve a consensus and shift their allegiance to a brother who is selected to bear the burden of office. The monks will be rewarded if their choice falls upon a fellow monk of faith and love, a man of vision, compassion, and common sense.

To become an abbot of a Benedictine abbey, a monk must be elected by his fellow monastic brothers. In the Swiss-American congregation of abbeys, there are certain rules that follow the 1,500 year election method that was outlined by St. Benedict. The actual election is a two-day process. It begins with prayer followed by the election for the officials of the process who will be responsible for undertaking the roll call, naming proxies for those absent, and counting the votes. The community then nominates candidates who will step out of the room while the remaining discuss if the monk under discussion has the qualities to become the abbot. No candidate may campaign for votes or else he will lose his ability to be elected or even cast a vote. On the next day, the community gathers for Holy Mass after which the actual election begins. The Abbot President of the congregation directs the process: 1-The abbot shall be elected by secret ballot. 2-In an abbatial election a two-thirds majority is required on the first three ballots, and an absolute majority on the next six. 3-Once the number has been reached, the monk in the majority may choose to accept or reject the election by his monastic brothers. Should he decline, then the election process starts again. Should he choose to accept, then he becomes the abbot of that community at that moment. 

Subiaco Abbey, originally called St. Benedict Priory, is a member of the Swiss-American Congregation (group of monasteries) of the world-wide Benedictine Confederation. Subiaco was founded by three monks of St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana: Fr. Wolfgang Schlumpf, Br. Kaspar Hildesheim and Br. Hilarin Benetz, and soon “adopted” by the motherhouse of St. Meinrad, the Abbey of Maria Einsiedeln in Switzerland. In November, 1877, an offer of land for a new Benedictine foundation in Arkansas was made to Abbot Martin Marty of St. Meinrad Abbey by the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad Company. The monks of this new foundation were to minister to the German-Catholic settlers coming to the western Arkansas River Valley. On March 15, 1878, the three founding monks arrived in Logan County to begin the new Benedictine enterprise. Gradually the little community grew as new members, largely from Switzerland and later from the U.S., came to help in the work. Today Subiaco is home to 35 men ministering for Christ by living the monastic way of life centered around work, prayer, and study. 
 

Subiaco is located on over 1,500 acres of land in the Logan County, Arkansas, USA. From our founding in 1878, the monks of Subiaco have not only continued the monastic commitment to communally pray and chant the Liturgy of the Hours each day, but have also fostered our Swiss commitment to a decidedly "missionary" outreach as monks. Today our abbey has ministries that include: an educational apostolate with our internationally famous all-male college-prep boarding and day school (7th to 12th grade) known as Subiaco Academy; a pastoral commitment that provides monastic priests to care for four parishes; a 36-room retreat center, gift shop, and conference facility known as Coury House; a merchandising program that produces peanut brittle, candles, urns, soap, habanero hot sauce, rosaries, calligraphy, and wood work; and our own brewery and tap room for beer that is sold locally and wholesale. Internally, we maintain a Health Center for our aging monks, a vineyard, laundry operations, gardens, maintenance and grounds staff, large kitchen facilities, a carpentry shop, and a business and development office. All together, Subiaco employs over 70 dedicated men and women who partner with the 35 monks to continue proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ through our work and prayer. 

We're glad you asked. Click HERE to learn more about this amazing and fascinating way of life.