Abbey Banner - Fall 2021 by Saint John's Abbey

Abbey Banner Fall 2021

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Bless the Lord, all that swim in the waters; sing praise and highly exalt God forever. Bless the Lord, all birds of the air; sing praise and highly exalt God forever. Daniel 3:79–80

John Geissler

This Issue Abbey Banner Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey Fall 2021

Volume 21, number 2

Published three times annually (spring, fall, winter) by the monks of Saint John’s Abbey. Editor: Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. Design: Alan Reed, O.S.B. Editorial assistants: Gloria Hardy; Patsy Jones; Aaron Raverty, O.S.B. Abbey archivist: David Klingeman, O.S.B. University archivists: Peggy Roske, Elizabeth Knuth Circulation: Ruth Athmann, Tanya Boettcher, Chantel Braegelmann, Cathy Wieme Printed by Palmer Printing Copyright © 2021 by Order of Saint Benedict ISSN: 2330-6181 (print) ISSN: 2332-2489 (online)

Saint John’s Abbey 2900 Abbey Plaza Box 2015 Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-2015 saintjohnsabbey.org/abbey-banner Change of address: Ruth Athmann P. O. Box 7222 Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7222 rathmann@csbsju.edu Phone: 800.635.7303 Questions: abbeybanner@csbsju.edu

Cover: Confreres extend the sign of peace to golden jubilarian Father Robert Koopmann, 11 July 2021. Photo: Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

Renewed Spirit

Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God, still bearing fruit when they are old, still full of sap, still green.

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n 25 July the monastic community welcomed one-hundredtwenty donors, friends, and neighbors for the blessing of our newly renovated monastery home. Following years of planning and fundraising, the actual deconstruction and reconstruction were accomplished in sixteen months—right through the drama of COVID-19!

Psalm 92:14–15

This Issue of Abbey Banner celebrates God’s grace and blessings for Saint John’s Abbey as made manifest in the lives of sixteen jubilarians observing the twenty-fifth, fiftieth, sixtieth, seventieth, or seventy-fifth anniversary of their profession of vows as Benedictine monks. And for good measure, our seventyfifth jubilarian, Father Kilian McDonnell, has just reached the century mark— one hundred years young! Deo gratis! We also meet Brother Jacob Berns, who professed solemn vows with the jubilarians. Beyond these personal milestones, Saint John’s Abbey also celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the consecration of the abbey and university church, 24 August 1961. Twenty years after the church was constructed, architect Bernard Jacob offered a critique of Marcel Breuer’s masterpiece: “The evolution of the design of the Saint John’s Abbey Church, from first sketches to the finally erected building, is a fascinating record of that rare symbiosis between architect and client that produces extraordinary results. The building is unlike anything Breuer had designed before and probably better than anything he designed thereafter.” In this issue, we focus on the sculptural elements of the church itself. Dr. Martin Connell also outlines the significance of the Mabon Madonna statue in the church. Our community depends on the assistance and cooperation of neighbors, coworkers, and volunteers in carrying out our mission with its various ministries and outreach programs. Mr. John Geissler introduces four student land managers who have completed stewardship projects in the abbey arboretum. Father Geoffrey Fecht names and thanks thousands of donors and volunteers who make “Saint John’s what it is today.” Brother Aaron Raverty outlines the community’s latest dream and venture: along with Mr. Martin Pasi, master organ builder, to establish an organ-building operation that combines the art of organ building with the fine crafting skills of abbey woodworking. Abbot John Klassen opens this issue by offering thanks to our generous benefactors who made the recent renovation of the monastery possible. We also meet a monastic reformer considered by religious historians to be the “Second Benedict”; delight in the poetry of our senior monk; learn about changing habits in monastic life; and more. The staff of Abbey Banner joins Abbot John and the monastic community in offering thanks and best wishes for the blessings that our friends bestow on us daily. May our loving God shower “the immeasurable riches” of divine grace in kindness toward each of you (Ephesians 2:7). Peace! Brother Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. Poetry can tell us what human beings are. It can tell us why we stumble and fall and how, miraculously, we can stand up. Maya Angelou

Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B.

By remarkable coincidence, this day of blessing was the 175th anniversary of the day Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., set out from Munich with the goal of founding a Benedictine monastery in the United States. This projectenmacher (visionary, project maker!) was not held in high esteem by his fellow monks at Metten Abbey—not many in Germany or the U.S. felt there was any chance of success. But, undeterred, he persevered and succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams—founding his first monastery at Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and his second at Collegeville.

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In the revitalization of this building, designed in the 1950s by Marcel Breuer, we aimed to be true to the spirit of Mr. Breuer: marrying form and function, being attentive to simplicity in line and texture, with an honest use of materials. I believe that Marcel Breuer would be gratified by what Gregory Friesen designed in 2020. The oak and maple floors were stripped, sanded, and sealed, and now reveal the original beauty of the wood. In addition, oak accent walls have been added to contrast with the plasterboard or masonry surfaces. Mr. Breuer sought to unify the inner and outer worlds. Thus, in a significant number of the former dorm or “study hall” rooms, the window surface was increased and energy-conserving panes were introduced, providing a significant improvement in the thermal tightness of the building while allowing plenty of light to cascade in. Each of the four floors now has a common space, two of them with kitchens. Monks treasure silence. The original building posed a serious challenge to acoustical engineers. They succeeded, however, in making this monastery a much quieter space, with acoustical treatment in the ceilings of the hallways and common rooms. The walls between rooms were also carefully insulated to minimize sound transfer. It is enough for me to hear myself speak on a phone—I don’t want to hear someone else’s conversation! New spaces within the cloister include a Bible Oratory (for reading and praying with The Saint John’s Bible), an enhanced exercise/fitness facility, differentiated spaces for liturgy and music resources, a transformed archives, storage space for art and artifacts, and a differentiated menu of rooms to meet the individual needs of confreres. From all the monks of Saint John’s Abbey: Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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Monastic Profession and Jubilees a master’s degree in liturgical music (2021). Before professing first vows in 2018, Jacob had worked as a liturgical musician, Benedictine Volunteer (Rome, 2015–2016), Minnesota Math Corps tutor, and licorice factory line worker. He continues playing organ for abbey liturgies, serves as a staff accountant in the abbey business office, and assists with hymnal editing.

Brother Jacob Berns professes solemn vows.

uring a festive Eucharist on the feast of Saint Benedict, 11 July, Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B., and the monks of Saint John’s Abbey rejoiced in God’s blessings as they witnessed the solemn profession of vows of Brother Jacob Berns. During that same celebration and again on 1 August, the community also honored sixteen confreres on the occasion of their twenty-fifth, fiftieth, sixtieth, seventieth, or seventy-fifth anniversary of monastic profession. The unusually large number of jubilarians was due to the COVID-19 pandemic—a year ago the community was unable to honor the jubilarians or welcome their families and friends to campus because of state, national, or diocesan

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Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

health guidelines. As the pandemic guidelines and mitigation protocols have been revised, and as the monks have been fully vaccinated, the community—at last—was able to extend Benedictine hospitality to guests and celebrate “God’s astonishing grace” on these milestone anniversaries. Alleluia! Solemn Profession Brother Jacob (Jordan) Berns, O.S.B., 29, grew up in Perham, Minnesota, the third of four children born to Ronald and Patricia Berns. He attended St. Henry’s Area School through sixth grade and the Perham public schools through high school. At Saint John’s University he earned a bachelor’s degree in music and theology (2014) and

“I sought monastic life,” reflects Brother Jacob, “because I wanted a life of prayer, having recognized at an early age the importance of regular prayer and the difficulty of sustaining this on my own. I have since found that the kernel of Benedictine life rests in the community. The virtues Saint Benedict encourages us to pursue—humility, obedience, listening, to name a few— are all tested and brought to perfection in the life of the community. It makes sense that I

Brother Jacob Berns

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

would have chosen Saint John’s: I already had a relationship with many of the monks, the faculty and staff, and even the natural environment. I already felt part of the community. I am here to seek God, and the community makes real that divine encounter through daily challenges and continual support.” Silver (25/26) Jubilarians Twenty-five years after the conclusion of their novitiate, Brothers Makoto Paul Tada and Isidore Glyer were honored by the community on their silver jubilees of monastic profession. Born in Acihi, Japan, Brother Makoto Paul Tada, O.S.B., began his monastic life at Mount Michael Abbey, in Elkhorn, Nebraska. He became acquainted with our community while pursuing graduate theological studies in Collegeville. Later he professed vows as a monk of Saint John’s Abbey. Most of his monastic

life has been spent in prayer and service at our community’s former priory, Trinity Benedictine Monastery in Fujimi, Japan, where he exercised his skills in accounting and commitment to good stewardship, overseeing the monastic property and buildings. Fluent in both Japanese and English, Tada san is graced with a wry sense of humor. A native of Saint Paul, Brother Isidore Glyer, O.S.B., began monastic life as an IT specialist, installing new operating systems on personal computers, and exercising his skills with computers and software at both Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict. After years of generous service in the abbey guesthouse, he was appointed guestmaster by Abbot John earlier this year. Within the monastery, Isidore oversees the humble book collection of the cloister library, clearly favoring

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

L to r: Brothers Isidore Glyer and Paul-Vincent Niebauer and Father Edward Vebelun

the historical and science fiction sections. He is leading the charge to salvage and upgrade the sound system in the abbey and university church. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the monastic community from honoring Father Edward Vebelun and Brother PaulVincent Niebauer on their silver anniversaries of monastic profession (2020), but the community was delighted to celebrate their twenty-six years as Benedictine monks in July. Father Edward Vebelun, O.S.B., from Lisbon, Ohio, has devoted most of his monastic life to pastoral ministry as a missionary monk in Japan and more recently as a pastor in Minnesota parishes. After years of study, he was able to achieve fluency in the Japanese language even as he deepened his knowledge of and appreciation for the Japanese culture. In Minnesota he exercises his skills in leadership and compassionate presence, eager to walk with others in their faith journey. Though surrounded by throngs of Vikings fans (and even a few Cheeseheads), he has remained loyal to his cherished Pittsburgh Steelers. A man of faith, Edward is a beloved pastor and confrere. A native of Phillips, Wisconsin, Brother Paul-Vincent Niebauer, O.S.B., followed the call of the elephants and circus ring to the call of monastic life. Eating fire and juggling have proven to be helpful preparations for life in

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community! He has exchanged the circus tent for the stage, directing theater productions at Saint John’s Preparatory School throughout his monastic life. For many, Paul-Vincent’s face or voice have been their first contact with Saint John’s because of his years of service as abbey vocation director or communication director. He maintains his good humor and positive energy even as he struggles to answer the question: What’s the difference between a circus and a monastery!

Richard has coordinated tours of the abbey church, assisted at the abbey guesthouse, managed the website for Bridgefolk: Mennonite-Catholic dialogue, and expounded on the life of Benedictine saints for Abbey Banner.

Brother Richard Oliver (l) and Father Robert Koopmann

Golden (50/51) Jubilarians Father Robert Koopmann, O.S.B., was honored for fifty years of monastic profession. Growing up in Waterloo, Iowa, Father Bob loved all kinds of music, from classical to gospel to pop. His study and skill together with his remarkable creativity and enthusiasm have produced an accomplished pianist, organist, teacher, mentor, and showman. As a college freshman at Saint John’s, he played the Holtkamp organ; in his golden years, he spearheaded the effort to commission Mr. Martin Pasi to expand that organ, transforming it into one of the great treasures of the musical world. Throughout his adult life, Bob has offered piano recitals, delighting audiences with his performance while educating them about the particular musical score and composer. He served as a faculty resident, director of a study-abroad pro-

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gram in South Africa, and as president of Saint John’s University—overseeing the creation of a new governance structure for the school. In the past decades, Bob channeled his skill at improvisation into a series of recordings of beloved hymns, spirituals, and chants. Despite recent health challenges, he continues to transform even the most mundane liturgical service into an inspired moment of musical grace—few, if any, musicians are more adept at inviting the congregation to raise its collective voice in song and praise. COVID forced a belated celebra-

tion of the golden anniversary of Brother Richard Oliver, O.S.B., but he happily accepted, “just in time,” the ceremonial wooden cane from Abbot John to mark his fifty-first anniversary of profession. His native Philadelphia, Lasallian education, library science, and the American Bene-

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

dictine Academy (of which he is president emeritus) are among Richard’s favorite things. Wellread, brilliantly insightful, and a master of words and websites, he exercised his English and German language skills and organizational ability during the 1980s as European field director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML), reporting at the conclusion of his service in Germany: “the Baltics are free, the Soviet Union has dissolved, the Berlin Wall no longer exists, Germany is united, and Iraq has been punished”; while humbly acknowledging, “There’s only so much one Brother can do for a continent.” He captured osb.org as a domain name for a comprehensive website of all things Benedictine and spent years developing and coordinating the data bases for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men in Washington, D.C. In his retirement, Brother

Diamond (60/61) Jubilarians A leap-year baby born in New Rockford, North Dakota, Father Stephen Beauclair, O.S.B., has been a professed Benedictine monk for sixty years. Since his ordination he has served the community and the Church as a pastor of souls: in the Archdiocese of New York, in the Archdiocese of Nassau (The Bahamas), and in the Minnesota dioceses of Crookston, Saint Cloud, and Saint Paul and Minneapolis. A beloved pastor, Stephen’s warm, compassionate presence has been a hallmark of his

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

(L to r): Fathers Roger Klassen, J. P. Earls, Blane Wasnie, Roman Paur, and Michael Naughton

ministry—and is the reason that so many of his assignments have ended with a disappointed congregation when he was asked to move on. A humble, quiet, faithful minister of the Gospel, Father Stephen models the best qualities of a good shepherd.

Atlantic and Pacific theaters as a merchant marine during World War II. He served his monastic community as a nurse in our healthcare facility and as sacristan par excellence. Luke

Seven of the twenty-one Saint John’s monks who professed their first vows in 1960 are still active members of the community: Brother Luke Dowal; Fathers Roger Klassen, Blane Wasnie, Michael Naughton, Roman Paur, and John Patrick (J. P.) Earls; and Brother Mark Kelly. On 1 August, the community honored their lifetime achievements with a blessing.

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

Father Stephen Beauclair

A youthful 97, Brother Luke Dowal, O.S.B., came to Collegeville from Gardner, Massachusetts, after serving in both the

Brother Luke Dowal

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

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expresses Benedictine hospitality by sharing his creations of breads, pastries, cakes, and pies —a craft learned during his years of service at Saint John’s foundation in Mexico. Beginning in 1969, he took up painting—from floral arrangements to landscapes. He continues to be active in the community’s prayer life, singing praises with his hallmark basso profondo. A quiet, deeply spiritual, and consistently happy man, he brings a joyful presence to our community. Father Roger Klassen, O.S.B., is among the multitude of Benedictines who hail from Saint Martin, Minnesota. Earlier in his monastic life, he was a skilled and creative teacher of German at Saint John’s Prep School and an innovative and energetic director of the international studies program at Saint John’s

University. His pastoral sensitivity, tinkering skills, and commitment to frugality have helped him to attend to both the spiritual and the physical-plant needs of the various local parishes in which he has served— Collegeville, Cold Spring, Freeport, New Munich, Saint Rose, Royalton, and North Prairie. Apparently no one told him he’s supposed to be retired by now, so he serves as pastor of the Church of Saint Joseph in Saint Joseph and Collegeville again! A native of Brainerd, Minnesota, Father Blane Wasnie, O.S.B., was a student of patristics at the Sorbonne in Paris before teaching theology to graduate students at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary. For decades he has shared his insights and pastoral skills with the faithful in Minnesota dioceses: Saint Cloud, Crookston, Duluth, and

Saint Paul and Minneapolis. He was also a faculty resident at Saint John’s University. At the abbey, Blane delights equally in the community card table and dining table, where his “engaging humor” and ability to recognize and comment on life’s many ironies are exercised readily. Though living in retirement at Saint John’s, he assists his classmate Roger as sacramental minister in both Saint Joseph and Collegeville.

Pueblo Books and Michael Glazier Books, thereby expanding its popular liturgical library to include more academic and scholarly titles. Michael’s administrative skills were put to good use at Mary, Mother of the Church Abbey in Richmond, Virginia, and as prior at Sant’Anselmo, the Benedictine international house of studies in Rome. Now in retirement, he presides at the daily crossword puzzle.

Father Michael Naughton, O.S.B., from Marshalltown, Iowa, served his community and the Church in a variety of roles, from organist to pastor to chaplain—and more. Following training at the Menninger Clinic, he was a counselor and teacher of counseling skills. He served first as an editor and later as director of Liturgical Press. During his tenure, the Press acquired

For sixty-one years, Father Roman Paur, O.S.B., has lived by the mantra: “I just do what I am told.” He has been told to be trained as a counselor; to serve as vice president of student development for Saint John’s University where he advanced the residential life program and expanded housing; to direct and develop the programming of Saint John’s Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute; to shepherd the flock of Trinity Benedictine Monastery in Fujimi, Japan, as its prior; to coordinate the abbey volunteer program; and to be the chief tinkerer for monks personalizing their rooms in the renovated monastery. When Roman has told himself to do something, he has ventured to the woodworking shop to craft furniture and even cufflinks.

Rite of monastic profession: “Then let the brother prostrate himself at each one’s feet, that they may pray for him. And from that day forward, let him be counted as one of the community” (Rule 58.23).

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Alan Reed, O.S.B.

The pride of San Angelo, Texas, Father J. P. Earls, O.S.B., has been a wellspring of camaraderie and good cheer throughout his monastic life. His delight in the English language and literature

has been expressed through the composition of hymn texts, as a teacher of university English classes, and as a fine homilist. During his decades of service as a faculty resident, he mentored a multitude of students and even offered impromptu cello recitals. His administrative résumé includes university vice president of student development and abbey formation director. He was a beloved chaplain to the sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery—when he remembered to go there! With all he encounters, Father J. P. shares his loving presence and good humor.

walks, and parking lots during the winter; mow lawns, weed and irrigate gardens, and maintain football fields in the summer; and empty trash cans throughout the year—all in order to keep this special place safe and looking good. In retirement, Mark continues to be a dedicated fan of Johnnie athletics, a driver of confreres to medical appointments, and a loyal, warm friend to neighbors and alumni.

Few, if any, have had more direct contact with the land that is called Saint John’s than Brother Mark Kelly, O.S.B., from Ford City, Missouri. For forty-nine years he was the faithful head of the grounds crew, working with dedicated coworkers and an army of students to clear snow and ice from roadways, sideRobin Pierzina, O.S.B.

Father Wilfred Theisen

Brother Mark Kelly

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

Platinum (71) Jubilarian For seventy-one years, Father Wilfred Theisen, O.S.B., from Wadena, Minnesota, has faithfully honored his Benedictine vow of stability—not once leaving the Milky Way Galaxy! He has, however, accumulated quite a few frequent-flier miles when, honoring his vow of obedience, he traveled to Europe at the insistence (he says) of the six abbots under whom he has served. While in Collegeville,

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Change Begins Here, Now he taught physics to university undergraduates for decades. He also welcomed and engaged dozens of resident scholars during his forty years of service as the abbey liaison to the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research. His induction in 2019 into the Saint John’s University J-Club Hall of Honor for distinguished service was the crowning achievement of his lifelong devotion to Johnnie athletics. (Those who attend Johnnie sporting events do not need their hearing aids to identify Wilfred’s presence. He can be heard!) In his retirement, he no longer frequents the local golf courses but daily tours the campus and abbey arboretum with his golfcart. Father Wilfred’s good humor, wit, and warm hospitality have endeared him to his confreres, his professional colleagues, and to generations of students.

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

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Diamond (75) Jubilarian Father Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B., the abbey’s senior monk, was honored with a blessing and sustained applause as he observed his seventy-fifth anniversary of monastic profession on the feast of Saint Benedict. By God’s grace, on 16 September he became only the second monk in Saint John’s history to live a full century. Despite a lifetime of delicate health (he regularly protests: “I need to go to bed; I Alan Reed, am out of gas!”), he Father Kilian McDonnell has traveled many out his life, Kilian’s curriculum miles on an empty gas tank. A vitae includes systematic theoservant of the Church throughlogian, specializing in ecclesiology and ecumenical study; master teacher in Saint John’s School of Theology; founder of the Collegeville Institute; and participant in both national and international religious dialogues over many years. Beginning in Mr. Travis Spillum, 27, of the fourth quarter of his life, he Little Falls, Minnesota, was took up the poet’s quill, publishinvested as a novice at ing six books of verse. Still tired Morning Prayer on 10 July. and now retired, Father Kilian A Saint John’s University delights in the attention of his alumnus and former Beneconfreres and visitors. dictine Volunteer serving in Tanzania, East Africa (2017– 2018), Travis now begins Prefer nothing to the love a year of discernment of a of Christ. Rule 4.21 monastic vocation. O.S.B.

Jon McGee Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. James Baldwin Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. The Talmud

he verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial [20 April 2021] was an important step toward accountability and healing. However, it does not mark the end of important conversations about the human and emotional cost of racism and violence, hatred and division, exclusion and injustice. Much work remains. We live in challenging—and frequently painful and agonizing— times. We are called to reflect deeply on our values and beliefs. We cannot simply look away. I often turn to the Benedictine values that animate and guide us. They call us to welcome all people and to respect the dignity of each person, whether we agree with them or not. They prefer a common good in support of community. They commit us to the practice of justice for all. They demand deep listening—with both the ear and the heart—to the voices of those around us,

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

particularly the voices of the suffering and the oppressed. They teach us to strive for peace: with self, with others, with God. They call us to do all of this through the prism of love: love of neighbor, love of self, love for creation. They provide us with moral and human values that define a well-lived life and a common goodness.

We live not in sweeping or epic moments but rather in small, daily engagements. Our daily habits, words, and actions ultimately define our character. Even small steps—taken with purpose and conviction— eventually add to significant change. And change can only begin with an open heart and an open mind.

How will change happen? It begins with you and me. How we treat people. What we expect of ourselves. How we stand up for others, and what we believe in. Our ability to put ourselves into others’ shoes, to try to understand their experience and even our own. How we greet and support others every day in encounters large and small. What we say when we see injustice or unfairness.

We need to be here for each other. When we act together and support each other, we begin to make an even bigger difference to the people and communities around us. With compassion, courage, conviction, and love, we can indeed change the world. Mr. Jon McGee is the head of Saint John’s Preparatory School.

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Benedictine Volunteer Corps Serenity and Peace: Collegeville Retreat

back to the place that I feel I can never fully repay.

Logan Lintvedt

Following our work periods, we would gather as a community— Benedictine monks and Benedictine Volunteers—and enjoy lunch in the monastic refectory. During these dining moments, the volunteers had the opportunity to sit down with various members of the monastic community to ask questions and get to know the monks on a deeper, more personal level. After lunch, the volunteers had three hours to do as they pleased. Activities ranged from spike ball to leisure on the beach overlooking Lake Sagatagan. Whatever the activity, each was another way to get to know our fellow Benedictine Volunteers and bond with each other. This was important because, although we were college classmates, we had not necessarily had many personal interactions with one another until the retreat.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

eneca’s words resonate with me on a deeper level when I reflect on them at this moment of my life. Following one of the biggest milestones in my life’s journey thus far, I have chosen to do something bigger than myself. The end of my Saint John’s University tenure is leading me to an excursion across the world in Tororo, Uganda—beginning a journey that I expect will shape who I am for the rest of my life. Immediately following graduation, the 2021–2022 chapter of the Benedictine Volunteer Corps (BVC) began their service experience by living on the Saint John’s campus for two weeks. Initially I mused, “Really? We just graduated, and now we have to spend more time at this place?” I now regret that thought because our retreat was truly an occasion to slow down, move beyond the hustle and disarray that describes the life of a 21-year-old college student, and explore the many facets of Saint John’s that were not part of our undergraduate experience. Each day of the retreat, I found myself looking around the quiet campus that was once so lively, and

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Benedictine Volunteer Corps, 2021–2022

appreciating those elements that I took for granted: the riveting history that resonates in the abbey church and on campus; the abbey arboretum and its vast beauty; and of course, the people who make this place what it is. We truly do not appreciate something to its full extent until it is gone, right? Graduation seemed so far away when I was a freshman in 2017, but now, as a 2021 graduate, I cannot help but marvel at where the time went— even as I long to relive so many things! Our daily regiment was extensive and structured with numerous activities to prepare us for our year of service. Each day would begin with prayer, followed by volunteer work around the campus. The work ranged from detailing cars (to raise money for the BVC), to planting trees in the

BVC

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Student Land Managers John Geissler

big perk of being part of the land stewardship effort of Saint John’s Abbey is the opportunity to inspire and be inspired by students of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. We were so fortunate to have four full-time student land managers along with crew leader Brother Jeremy Welters, O.S.B., working to improve the Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum this summer. This energetic team completed a multitude of stewardship projects with an infectious enthusiasm! It gives me hope when I see future leaders work so hard to learn about and care for the natural world. I’m confident our readers will be equally inspired by them. Conal Brady. I am a senior at Saint John’s University, majoring in environmental studies and minoring in biology. I grew up in Mililani, Hawai‘i, but I currently live in Anchorage, Alaska. Whether in Hawai‘i, Alaska, or Minnesota, I constantly seek opportunities to contribute to

The work has taught me that conservation does not end when a tree or pollinator plant is planted. It takes constant vigilance, care, and action to ensure a plant or seedling stands a chance of surviving.

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Lucy Keefe

a plant or seedling stands a chance of surviving. I find this work rewarding as I get to see the difference that my fellow workers and I make. I felt especially honored to organize a pollinator garden near the abbey guesthouse. Using my knowledge of prairie and pollinator plants was exhilarating; I can’t wait to see the garden in full bloom! I am proud of this project and the work our crew put in to make the inner campus habitat come to life.

conservation and land stewardship. Though the work is very physical and challenging, I find it rewarding. It is awesome to see the progression of different projects and witness how our work is making a difference. For example, I find joy in watching an oak seedling grow, especially one that I planted; or walking on a section of a boardwalk that I just installed.

Charlie Matuska. I am from Cold Spring, Minnesota, and a

This work allows me to learn about different aspects of nature in Minnesota. Coming from out of state, I Robin Pierzina, wasn’t familiar with Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum border marker the wildlife, plant spestudies. I sought the student cies, or the natural history of land manager position in the fall Minnesota. Being a student of 2019 after hearing Mr. John land manager has taught me a Geissler speak about prescribed lot; I am excited to share this burns and the work he did knowledge with others. This within the abbey arboretum. I was my second summer working knew immediately that stewardin the abbey arboretum, so I was ship was something I wanted to excited to return and continue do and experience! Due to the the work I had already done—as pandemic, however, I was unable well as start new projects. One to work here in 2020. Getting a of my favorite projects was reposecond chance this past summer sitioning floats and fixing the has been one of the most meanboardwalk in the wetlands. I ingful and challenging moments really enjoy the physical work— in my life. and who doesn’t love to wear waders at work! The work has taught me that conservation does not end when Lucy Keefe. I am a senior at a tree or pollinator plant is the College of Saint Benedict planted. It takes constant vigimajoring in environmental lance, care, and action to ensure studies with a minor in gender

sophomore at the university studying global business (major) and considering an environmental studies minor. Because I wanted to work on campus, be outside, and do something meaningful, working here has been especially significant for me. I was responsible for the general well-being of the abbey arboretum, in particular the next generation of trees—a rare and unique experience that I enjoyed immensely. One of my favorite projects was nicknamed “The Cedar Skeeter” because of the unique way we

used two canoes to transport a “barge” of cut cedar sections. These cedars were salvaged from a campus construction zone. Since they have such thick and dense branches, they are perfect for creating a wave-stopping and sediment-trapping buffer protecting the north shore of Lake Sagatagan. The teamwork needed to make this project a success was a highlight of the summer for me. What I’ve learned has been another pleasant surprise. Every week we read a chapter from the book Minnesota’s Natural Heritage and then explore and discover

O.S.B.

John Geissler

The Cedar Skeeter—for shoreline protection of Lake Sagatagan—was constructed with cedar branches salvaged from a campus construction project.

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Bread of Sinners how it relates to the Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum. Learning to identify different types of trees was great—I had almost no experience doing this but now feel confident identifying more than twenty species. Nathan Meyer. I’m from Iowa City and am now a senior at Saint John’s University majoring in communication and minoring in English. What, you may wonder, is a communication major doing out in the field for the summer? I love my academic work, but that wasn’t my reason for stepping into the realm of land stewardship. No, it was because I’m a runner that I was

attracted to this position. I run cross country and track, and so I’ve gotten to know the abbey arboretum pretty well over the past couple of years. The monks have graciously allowed us to explore the trails and wooded scenery of this special place. I could not pass up the opportunity to give back and assist in the arboretum’s preservation. Coming to work each morning, I looked forward to what the day had in store. I’ve been blessed to have a great team of fellow student land managers and supervisors who make the job, even on the more demanding days, an absolute joy.

Epilogue. I add my thanks to the monastic community for their commitment to the stewardship of this beautiful land and for their willingness to use it as an educational tool to connect students of all ages to the value of stewardship. As a past student land manager myself (1996–1999), I know the lifechanging power of this place and experience! Twenty years from now, when these students return to campus, they will be filled with pride, seeing the long-term impact of their hard work. Mr. John Geissler is the Saint John’s Abbey land manager and director of Saint John’s Outdoor University.

Francis, Bishop of Rome

n the narrative of the Last Supper (Mark14: 12–16, 22–26), the words and gestures of the Lord touch our hearts: he takes bread in his hands, pronounces the blessing, breaks it and offers it to the disciples, saying: “Take; this is my body.” With simplicity, Jesus gives us the greatest sacrament. His is a humble gesture of giving, a gesture of sharing. At the culmination of his life, he does not distribute an abundance of bread to feed the multitudes but breaks himself apart at the Passover supper with the disciples. In this way Jesus shows us that the aim of life lies in selfgiving, that the greatest thing is to serve. We find the greatness of God in a piece of bread, in a fragility that overflows with love, with sharing. Fragility is the word I would like to underscore. Jesus becomes fragile like the bread that is broken and crumbled. His strength lies precisely therein, in his fragility. In the Eucharist fragility is strength: the strength of the love that becomes small so it can be welcomed and not feared; the strength of the love that is broken and shared so as to nourish and give life; the strength of the love that is split apart so as to join all of us in unity. There is another strength in the fragility of the Eucharist: the strength to love those who make mistakes. On the night he is betrayed, Jesus gives us the Bread of Life. He gives us the greatest gift while he feels the deepest abyss in his heart: the disciple who eats with him, who dips the morsel in the same plate, is betraying him. Betrayal is the worst suffering for one who loves. And what does Jesus do? He reacts to the evil with a greater good. He responds to Judas’ “no” with the “yes” of mercy. He does not punish the sinner, but

rather gives his life for him. When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus does the same with us: he knows us; he knows we are sinners; and he knows we make mistakes, but he does not give up on joining his life to ours. He knows that we need it, because the Eucharist is not the reward of saints; it is the bread of sinners. He exhorts us: “Do not be afraid! Take and eat.” Each time we receive the Bread of Life, Jesus comes to give new meaning to our fragilities. He reminds us that in his eyes we are more precious than we think. He tells us he is pleased if we share our fragilities with him. He repeats to us that his mercy is not afraid of our miseries. He heals us from those fragilities that we cannot heal on our own, with love. What fragilities? Feeling resentment toward those who have done us harm; distancing ourselves from others; feeling sorry for ourselves. He heals us with his presence, with his bread, with the Eucharist. The Bread of Life heals rigidity and transforms it into docility. The Eucharist heals because it unites with Jesus: it makes us assimilate his way of living, his ability to break himself apart and give himself to all, to respond to evil with good. He gives us the courage to bend down with love toward the fragility of others. In the Eucharist, we receive Jesus who loves us and heals our fragilities in order to love others and help them in their fragilities.

This article is excerpted from Pope Francis’ Angelus address on 6 June 2021, Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

The Eucharist is not the reward of saints; it is the bread of sinners. John Geissler

Gracing the abbey arboretum is Minnesota’s state flower, the Showy Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium reginae), a native orchid.

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A Madonna for All Times Martin F. Connell

arved nine-hundred years ago by an artist in Burgundy, France, the statue of the Throne of Wisdom graces a chapel in Saint John’s Abbey and University Church. Although remarkable that this beautiful work of art has survived all this time, the medieval origin of the statue is not its most arresting character. The statue’s material and theology, the time of its arrival at Saint John’s Abbey, and its significance for today all transcend its creation in the middle of the twelfth century. Research on the 36-inch statue— called the Mabon Madonna after the name of the donor—revealed that unlike most medieval statues of Mary and Jesus, this work was carved from a single block of wood. Usually the mother and the child were carved separately and later affixed to one another, but deftly wrought by the artist in the Throne of Wisdom, mother and child only appear separable. When the statue was received by Saint John’s, it needed repair; Mary’s left hand and both of Jesus’ hands were missing. Based on historical precedents, all three hands were restored—Mary’s left hand complementing her embrace of her Son; Jesus’ right hand raised in the traditional gesture of benediction, and his left hand holding a book. Her enormous left hand curved

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Alan Reed, O.S.B.

around Jesus’ tiny fingers not only reflects Mary’s maternal care but also signals her ready response to the angel Gabriel’s news of the conception of Jesus: “Let it be with me according to your Word” (Luke 1:38). Initiated by the corporal unity of mother and son in the flesh, so began God’s undeserved gift to humanity in the incarnate Son of God. The artist’s union of mother and child in one block

of wood reflects the wedding of divinity and humanity in this gift of life, God’s visitation in the union of the holy family and of all families. The reception of the Throne of Wisdom into the then-new abbey church was celebrated on 24 October 1963. Twenty-nine days later, on 22 November, the first Roman Catholic President of the United States, John F. Kennedy,

was assassinated in Dallas. As the country mourned the loss of a president, the Church could be consoled by the Word of God proclaimed less than a month earlier, at the Mass of dedication, in the reading from the prophet Isaiah (66:13): “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.” And the Gospel reading, the canticle sung at Evening Prayer every day in the monastery, then as now, voices Mary’s praise and thanksgiving for the strength of the Lord, who “lifts up the lowly” (Luke 1:52)—apt and consoling words for a nation brought low by violence. In 1963 Roman Catholic liturgies were still in Latin, and the community gathered to welcome the Mabon Madonna processed while chanting the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which dates to the century of the statue’s origin. The honorifics sung to the Mother of God that day included the very title of the statue, Sedes sapientiae, ora pro nobis, “Throne of Wisdom, pray for us,” and also Consolatrix afflictorum, ora pro nobis, “Comforter of the brokenhearted, pray for us.”

The artist’s union of mother and child in one block of wood reflects the wedding of divinity and humanity in this gift of life.

Exactly one year after the statue was installed, the Roman Catholic Church convened for the third of four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. On 24 November 1964, the Council issued its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), which reminds the Church that Mary is the “mother of Christ and mother of humankind” (§61); that “the Blessed Virgin is intimately united with the Church” (§63); and that “the Mother of Jesus, glorified in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church, . . . a sign of sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn on earth” (§68)—messages that Catholic Americans and the nation surely needed at that time. The material union of Mary and Jesus in the Throne of Wisdom reminded a nation in mourning that Mary is ever a model for the Church, even in times of pain. Luke’s Gospel recalls for Christians what Simeon tells Mary at the presentation of Jesus in the Temple: “A sword will pierce your heart” (Luke 2:35); and John’s Gospel reveals that Mary stood steadfastly by the cross (John 19:25–27). Sixty years ago, American Catholics were less integrated into the nation than today. Unlike the first Catholic President, John Kennedy, who while campaigning had to assure Protestants that he was not an

agent of the pope, the second Catholic president, Joe Biden, was elected in a country whose Protestants and Catholics better understand that they share the same faith. Symbolized by the restored left hand of the child Jesus in the statue, American Christians are united in proclaiming the Word of God. (Still, Catholics are no less saddened by disappointments and losses, many the result of bad faith and violence inside the Church rather than outside, revelations that drive the faithful away and pierce Catholic hearts.) The 1963 liturgy of dedication closed with the Salve Regina, a medieval prayer that depicts humanity as “mourning and weeping in this valley of tears,” and so we are. But the Madonna remains, just as those present sixty years ago sang of her, vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, “our life, our sweetness, and our hope.” Seated as the Throne of Wisdom, pleading our cause so close to the ear of her Son, the Mother of God is advocata nostra, “our advocate.” As Mary consoled Burgundian believers nine centuries ago, and Americans sixty years ago at the death of a president, as the gift of the incarnation continues to be revealed in the Madonna’s place, she remains an example and advocate for us today, our Sedes sapientiae. Dr. Martin F. Connell is professor of theology at Saint John’s University.

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Abbey Woodworking and Pasi Organs development of organ builders. A new building for this program would include all needed woodworking equipment with stateof-the-art safety enhancements as well as instruction space and work areas for students, volunteers, and guest artists.

Aaron Raverty, O.S.B.

hroughout our community’s history, monks of Saint John’s Abbey have not shied away from bold initiatives. Beyond its missionary foundations and schools, the community has a proven track record of successful ventures: the building of the quadrangle (one of the largest structures west of the Mississippi at the time of its construction) and the abbey and university church (an icon of Modernist architecture). Other enterprises began humbly enough but achieved greater renown in time: Liturgical Press, Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML), Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), The St. John’s Boys’ Choir, The Saint John’s Bible, and Benedictine Volunteer Corps. More recently, when master organ builder Martin Pasi and his studio were enlisted to expand our church’s Holtkamp organ, the opportunity for another novel venture presented itself. Completed in 2020, the church organ expansion was the result of close collaboration with Saint John’s Abbey Woodworking. Before coming to Collegeville, Mr. Pasi had been hoping to discover the right venue for establishing a new “center” for his organ-building operation— one that would combine both business and educational components. Because of his

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Abbey Woodworking today

relationship with Father Lew Grobe, O.S.B., manager of abbey woodworking, and amid conversations with a host of others involved in the organ project, an innovative idea emerged: combining the art of organ building with the fine crafting skill of abbey woodworking. In the context of upgrading the woodworking operation, the prospect of inviting Pasi Organ Builders, Inc., to take up residence and establish an organbuilding foundation in the woodworking building took on new life. Father Robert Koopmann, O.S.B., president emeritus of Saint John’s University and mastermind of the organ expansion, partnered with Father Lew in his efforts to implement this significant enterprise. Father Bob considers Martin Pasi to be “among the world’s top organ designers and builders,” a true artist who creates every part of

Tommy O’Laughlin

a new pipe organ with his own hands, making the pipes from scratch. Meticulously attending to the sound produced by each individual pipe, Mr. Pasi engages hand and ear to match the architectural acoustics of the particular space. By so doing, he has earned the esteem of his peers and the admiration of organists worldwide. Organ builders from around the world have come to learn from him in the traditional way, working alongside the master. Saint John’s Abbey hopes to establish an abbey/Pasi organbuilding “institute.” The abbey would acquire the current Pasi organ business organization (assets, equipment, supplies, inventory, work-in-progress, contracts-in-process, hand tools, intellectual property, and all related equipment) and establish a training school/guild for the education and professional

Saint John’s aims to highlight the educational component of the operation: imitating the model of apprenticeships in medieval guilds where successive grades of expertise—apprentices, journeymen, and masters—produced sterling crafted products. In addition to apprenticeships in the art of pipe-organ building, training in organ repair and organ tuning would also be offered. Artists involved in the creative construction of pipe organs and their parts could also be offered a residential stay to ply their crafts. The organ project might even provide vocation recruiting opportunities for the abbey while revivifying the emphasis in the Rule of Benedict on monastic crafts and manual labor (RB 48). According to the terms of the agreement with Martin Pasi, he and his staff along with any organ intern trainees would become employees of Saint John’s Abbey Woodworking. The current Pasi business would move from Roy, Washington, to Collegeville. Mr. Pasi would commit to this new abbey venture for a minimum of three (and possibly five) years to ensure its full establishment and a smooth transition.

For more than 150 years the Saint John’s woodworking enterprise has engaged skilled monastic and lay artisans who have crafted a wide range of outstanding products. Continued demand has, however, rendered the existing woodworking shop insufficient to meet new production and inventory challenges. Expansion of the facilities would address the needs of the woodworking operation while accommodating Pasi Organ Builders. Both would be housed in a new, two-story, 28,000-square-foot complex. Once completed, this building would firmly establish Abbey Woodworking/Pasi Organs as a premier workshop for quality handwork, where artisans, grounded in and inspired by Benedictine values, create pieces of beauty and utility, and nurture their craft for generations to come. During the construction period, the current woodworking oper-

ation and staff will continue to produce quality products. If funding can be secured, construction could begin as soon as 2022. Father Lew and Father Bob are optimistic about the current and future demand for new pipe organs. They believe this enterprise will provide a solid monastic labor, since the fine art of organ building is disappearing. Their optimism is echoed in a promotional pamphlet: “The combining of Abbey Woodworking and Pasi Organs is a project that holds great promise to encourage future generations to become builders and artisans, and to do so by the work of their hands” (RB 48). Brother Aaron Raverty, O.S.B., a member of the Abbey Banner editorial staff, is the author of Refuge in Crestone: A Sanctuary for Interreligious Dialogue (Lexington Books, 2014).

For more information about the latest adventure of Saint John’s Abbey, see https://saintjohnsabbey.org/work-of-our-hands.

CSNA Archtects

Fall 2021

Lives of the Benedictine Saints Benedict of Aniane Richard Oliver, O.S.B.

lthough we revere Saint Benedict of Nursia as the Patriarch of Western Monasticism, it is unlikely that he intended to found a religious order as we know one today. That distinction is generally accorded to the “Second Benedict,” Saint Benedict of Aniane (ca. 747– 821), who shaped Benedictine monasticism more than any other. His greatest concern was with regulations and monastic practice rather than with spirituality. Born into a noble family of Visigoths in Aquitaine, southern France, and given the name Witiza, at a young age he entered service as a page in the Frankish court of Pippin the Younger (d. 768). Witiza served Pippin’s son at court and enlisted in Charlemagne’s Italian campaign (773). Near Pavia, he saw his brother, struggling in the flooded Ticino River, torn away by the current, never to reappear. The experience affected him greatly. His biographer, Ardo (Smaragdus; d. 843), recounts the tearful conversion that led Witzia in his twenties to leave the imperial court, renounce the world, and enter the Abbey of Saint-Seine near Dijon. At Saint-Seine, Witiza was enamored of early monasticism’s extreme asceticism. He preferred

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the austere rules of Columbanus, Basil, and Pachomius. His egocentric form of asceticism proved to be incompatible with common life, so he lived as an anchorite [recluse] among cenobites. Eventually the abbot recommended the Rule of Benedict—that was nothing more than a rule “for beginners and weak persons” in Witiza’s mind. The more he came to know the Rule of Benedict, however, the more his appreciation of it grew. “This change of heart transformed him in the eyes of his brethren from a ridiculed misfit to an integrated member of the community, a process concluded by his promotion to cellarer” [the monastic official in charge of provisions] (Ardo, Vita, 2.6; tr. Allen Cabaniss). During this time, he fully assimilated the Rule, and the monks elected him abbot.

The aim of [Benedict of Aniane’s] reforms was that through prayer, study, meditation, and reading the monks would pass “from faith to sight,” that understanding would blossom into contemplative love of God. Butler’s Lives of the Saints, 1998

Benedict came to see that his zeal for perfectionism was not shared by his monks. He abandoned Saint-Seine in 779 and, with his father’s inheritance, established a community of like-minded monastics at Aniane near Montpellier in Languedoc (modernday Occitanie) and became its abbot. He changed his name to Benedict about 780. His community adopted the Rule of Benedict, and numerous monasteries in western France and Germany joined in observing the new rule that Benedict had introduced at Aniane. King Louis the Pious made Benedict his advisor on monastic affairs in the Kingdom of Aquitaine. In 814, after Louis succeeded his father as emperor, he installed Benedict as abbot of Marmoutier Abbey in Alsace. He entrusted Benedict with the coordination of practices and communication among the monasteries within his domains. Benedict had a wide knowledge of patristic literature; and Church leaders, such as Alcuin of York, sought his counsel. In the dogmatic controversy over Adoptionism, Benedict and Alcuin took the part of orthodoxy, denouncing those who taught that Christ, in his human form, was not the true son of God but only adopted. A series of reform councils held at the imperial palace between 816 and 819 aimed at clarifying the hierarchies and orders within the Carolingian Church. “This was the time that Benedict of

“Tears for Fears: Alienation and Authority in the World of Benedict of Aniane,” Open Library of Humanities, 8). Louis the Pious was generous in calculating the obligations of the monks but extremely cautious about allowing them any rights. Benedict secured—for some monasteries only—the right of free election of an abbot from within the monastic community. Even so, for each abbatial election permission had to be secured—and could be withheld. Benedict has been adversely criticized for his prohibition against educating externs in the monastic schools. He aimed thereby to strengthen the contemplative character of the monasteries. Although these new codes fell into disuse shortly after the deaths of Benedict and his patron, they did have lasting effects on Western monasticism, paving the way for the Cluniac Reform of the tenth century.

Daniel Villafruela/Wikimedia Commons

Saints Benoît. 17th century bas relief from the Church of Saint-Pierre Gignac (Hérault, France), representing Saint Benedict of Aniane and Saint Benedict of Nursia.

Aniane composed his most lasting legacies, the Codex regularum monasticarum et canonicarum and the Concordia regularum, works that aimed

to celebrate the many varieties of monastic life that could exist under the overarching authority of the sixth-century Rule of Benedict” (Trzeciak and Kramer,

Benedict of Aniane died in 821. He never achieved the uniformity he intended because it depended on the unity of an empire that soon disintegrated, but he did elevate the idealism and uniform observance of Western monasticism. His feast day is celebrated on 11 February, the date of his death; or 12 February, the date of his burial. Brother Richard Oliver, O.S.B., president emeritus of the American Benedictine Academy, is the coordinator of Saint John’s Abbey church tours.

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Meet a Monk: Kilian McDonnell John’s for the Diocese of Fargo. His attraction to religious life would not let go of him, however, so he entered the Dominican novitiate at River Forest, Illinois. When health problems developed, he took a leave of absence. After his health improved, he again applied to the Dominicans but was rejected.

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Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

he fourth of eight children of Joseph and Anna (Averbach) McDonnell, Father Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B., was born in Great Falls, Montana, one century ago, 16 September 1921. Baptized William Perry, he and his family moved to Velva, North Dakota, soon after his birth. There he attended grade school and graduated from Velva High School in 1940. While in high school, he participated in the school band, dramatic productions, and was a Boy Scout, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Father Kilian was born to join a religious order. He sought to make this happen at an early age, but the local bishop convinced him to consider the priesthood. At the age of 19, he entered the pre-divinity program at Saint

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Dominican and Jesuit friends suggested that he apply to the Benedictines at Saint John’s Abbey, whose novitiate he entered in August 1945, receiving the name of Kilian. After his first profession as a Benedictine monk on 24 August 1946, he completed his bachelor’s degree at Saint John’s University and began graduate studies in liturgy at the University of Notre Dame. Following ordination to the priesthood on 2 June 1951, Father Kilian served as associate pastor at St. Boniface Parish in Hastings, Minnesota, and later as associate pastor at Holy Rosary Church in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Trier, Tübingen, Münster, and Heidelberg. (His confrere Father Michael Marx would bemoan the influence of the German language on Kilian’s writing style: we had to keep pulling out the sauerkraut!) Kilian also undertook research in ecumenical institutes in Paderborn, Geneva, Paris, Oxford, and Edinburgh. In 1964 he received a doctorate in theology from the University of Trier. After nearly a decade of study and travel, he returned to Collegeville where he served as a professor of theology at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary, 1964–1992. What kind of teacher was he? Typically, a class on ecclesiology would not propel students to the edge of their seats, but Kilian’s did just that, thanks to its con-

Kilian’s advanced studies began at the University of Ottawa, where he received a licentiate in theology in 1960 and then continued his studies at various European universities, including Father Kilian, inspired by Luke 5:6

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tent, discussion, and sometimes even heated debate! One such session that riled the students had to do with the notion that a teaching promulgated by the magisterium, but not received by the people, is not an “authentic teaching.” Kilian’s response was memorable. Speaking in an even, gentle voice, he urged the class to think of the Church as a river. If we follow that river far enough, we will see various, even spectacular changes. Sometimes the river is so wide, we cannot see its banks. Sometimes it flows quickly through high, craggy canyons, over rocks that create rapids which test our strength and perseverance. And there are times when the current is so slow and the water is so deep that we hardly know we are moving at all. Our challenge, he said, is not to focus on the banks of the river (they change quite often). Rather, Kilian urged us to focus on the flow of the water itself: always moving forward, sometimes with great force; at other times, barely discernible. That current, he said, is the Holy Spirit—the only thing we need embrace. Neither the classroom nor Kilian’s vow of Benedictine stability could contain his energy and spirit. His expertise and intellect led him to the farthest reaches of the globe. His crowning achievement, however, did materialize in the backyard of his own monastery. With the encouragement of Saint John’s University President Father

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Benedictines plotting and planning (l to r): Father Kilian McDonnell, Father Godfrey Diekmann, Sister Mary Anthony Wagner, and Father Michael Marx

Colman Barry, O.S.B., Kilian founded the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research in 1967, initially serving as director and then as president. Over the past half-century, the Collegeville Institute—a place of scholarship, worship, dialogue, and community—has welcomed hundreds of scholars from the United States and abroad as campus residents, engaged in conversation, writing, and a first-person method of discourse that has become the institute’s hallmark contribution to the ecumenical movement. As the Spirit moves, so does Father Kilian! After the Second Vatican Council, he served as secretary of the national Presbyterian/Roman Catholic Consultation and as a member of the national dialogues between Luth-

erans and Roman Catholics, and Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics. For twenty years he was a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on charismatic renewal. Internationally, Kilian served as cochair of the consultation between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Roman Catholic Church as well as cochair of the dialogue between the Pentecostal Christ willed for his Church to be one. If it isn’t one, then its effectiveness in preaching the Gospel is limited and wounded. It can’t do what it was founded to do. Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B. “Apostle for Unity”

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A Kilian Sampler Churches and the Vatican. He was a member of the International Disciples-Roman Catholic Dialogue and consultor to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Vatican ecumenical office. Kilian’s many years of service have not gone unnoticed. In 1983 he received the Papal Award for Ecumenism, Pro Pontifice et Ecclesia. The following year, his confreres and colleagues in Collegeville honored him with the Pax Christi Award, Saint John’s highest award, recognizing “those who have devoted themselves to God by working in the tradition of Benedictine monasticism to serve others and to build a heritage of faith in the world.” “For distinguished contributions to theology and

After All the Words At the age of seventy-five, while reading a poem in the New Republic, Kilian said to himself, “I think I can do as well”—and started to write poetry. He acknowledges that decades of publishing scholarly theological articles and books “was not a good preparation for creative writing.” Nonetheless, he embarked on his latest venture with the same inquisitiveness, zeal, and studied manner exhibited throughout his professional life. Kilian’s literary excursions have resulted in the publication of six books of poetry.

the Church,” the Catholic Theological Society of America awarded him the John Courtney Murray Award in 1993. “Unity is something we have to work for,” Father Kilian asserts, “even though it’s not something I really expect to see in my lifetime—and I plan on living a long time!” Indeed, Christian unity has yet to be achieved, but Kilian remains true to his word: he

began his second century of life on 16 September 2021. It seems that those who turned him down for religious life due to “health reasons” misjudged his tenacity, his ability to thrive on ill health, and his determination to make his life one of service to the Church. We are glad for their decision. Ad multos annos, Father Kilian!

After I have emptied out my store of words, depleted all useable sounds, in praising God’s unsayable glory, wasted the Oxford Dictionary, pauperized the Coptic Lexicon, have no breath between my teeth, wordless beauty I give back to God.

Macular Degeneration Some rusty pipe inside bursts, spilling spent blood upon the macula, blots out the light. Neither time, nor space, nor mass, said Einstein, are true constants; only light. Why then this black hole? Sure, God, like yeast, transforms by corruption. Yesterday I was indestructible eighteen, the sea was deep; today decaying in the shallows.

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

Among Father Kilian’s less celebrated skills is his mud-wrestling expertise. On Independence Day 1980, he was recognized as the Champion of the Mud Pit, Senior Division.

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“After All the Words” and “The Monks of St. John’s” from Swift, Lord, You Are Not, copyright 2003 by Order of Saint Benedict. “Macular Degeneration” and “The Catholic Thing” from God Drops and Loses Things, copyright 2009 by Order of Saint Benedict. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, and used with permission.

The Monks of St. John’s File in for Prayer In we shuffle, hooded amplitudes, scapulared brooms, a stray earring, skin-heads and flowing locks, blind in one eye, hooked-nosed, handsome as a prince (and he knows it), a five-thumbed organist, an acolyte who sings in quarter tones, one slightly swollen keeper of the bees, the carpenter minus a finger here and there, our pre-senile writing deathless verse, a stranded sailor, a Cassian scholar, the artist suffering the visually illiterate and indignities unnamed, two determined liturgists. In a word, eager purity and weary virtue. Last of all, the Lord Abbot, early old (shepherding the saints is like herding cats). These chariots and steeds of Israel make a black progress into church. A rumble of monks bows low and offers praise to the High God of Gods who is faithful forever.

The Catholic Thing

The carnality of the [Catholic] Church really drew me. Mary Karr

Catholicism isn’t for lotus eaters: we put a body on the cross. Like all dysfunctional families We tear flesh, spill blood before we eat. To celebrate the naked Christ between the thieves: jeweled crosses, purple cassocks, lace cuffs, ermine capes. Popes and bishops draw the line at rouge. We’re big on things we can touch: wine, bread, oil, votive candles, and, sometimes, the palpable body of man. The Word made flesh weeps.

Fall 2021

Olga Ivanova

Abbey Church: Sixtieth Anniversary The form of the abbey and university church is tremendously powerful. It is sculpture in the truest sense, carved and shaped out of reinforced concrete. Dr. Victoria M. Young Following years of planning and three years of construction, the Saint John’s Abbey and University Church was consecrated on 24 August 1961. More than 416,000 board feet of lumber, 1,685,204 pounds of steel reinforcing, and 10,500 cubic yards of concrete produced this icon of Modernist architecture designed by Marcel Breuer.

Paul Crosby

Alan Reed, O.S.B.

Monastery Renovation

ule of Benedict Pray, Work, and Change Clothes Eric Hollas, O.S.B. Seven times a day I praise you. Psalm 119:164

n time Psalm 119 became the measure of monastic life, the schedule on which Saint Benedict built his day. I’m guessing that in Benedict’s day the issue of clothing did not crop up as a problem for monks, since he allowed each monk only two sets of clothes. The presumption is that the habit served in the field, in workshops, in choir, and even in bed. I shudder at the thought of what those garments must have smelled like, especially since the Rule restricted the use of baths!

prayer. Work periods punctuate the day often enough to make a frequent change of clothing the norm. I recently overheard a conversation in which two of my brothers totaled the number of times a day that they slipped from habit into other clothing and back again. “Seven times a day,” reported one. “Same for me,” recounted the other. As for me, on really busy days I’ve counted up to ten changes of clothing—which I think puts to shame the more modest regimen at Downton Abbey! If this seems a bit excessive, perhaps it is. All the same, the monks who work in the garden or woodworking, in offices or a classroom all require clothing appropriate to the situation. Likewise, attendance at prayer services or meals dictates a

decorum that most monks take seriously. As much as anything, however, common sense urges a sensitivity to the individual situation that makes a wardrobe of two habits inadequate today. To cite two obvious examples: I would not expect to see one of my confreres jogging three miles in his habit, nor another processing into Sunday Evening Prayer in boots, jeans, and t-shirt. Such is life in modern monasteries.

The 1950s single-pane windows were replaced with energy-efficient thermal windows, and the glass surface was enlarged in a number of rooms.

Perhaps the time has come to revise the traditional motto of Saint Benedict. Once it was enough to “pray and work.” Now we might say: “pray, work, and change clothes as necessary.” Father Eric Hollas, O.S.B., is deputy to the president for advancement at Saint John’s University.

Monastic life evolved, however, and with it came frequent changes of clothing each day. Sometimes those changes came from practical experience, as was the case with the agricultural monks in America. Early on they discovered the hazards of mixing habits—and especially scapulars—with farm machinery. Wisely, those monks relied on the flexibility offered by the Rule, and so was set in motion an evolution in clothing that now is more than Benedict ever imagined. The monks of Saint John’s Abbey gather four times each day for

Monks began moving into the “new” monastery, designed by Marcel Breuer, in September 1955. Between March 2020 and July 2021, that complex underwent renovation. Monks began returning to the renewed monastery, designed by Gregory Friesen, in July 2021.

Novices learn quickly how impractical a habit is for firefighter training.

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

Photos: Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

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New cables, conduit, pipes, and wiring accommodate the upgrades in the heating/cooling, plumbing, electrical, and technology infrastructure.

Throughout the renovation, COVID controls were housed in a secure, undisclosed location.

Fall 2021

Donor Honor Roll The following are those who have given directly to Saint John’s Abbey. Saint John’s University and Saint John’s Preparatory School each has its own fundraising offices and programs.

Give, and it shall be given to you. Good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over, will they pour into the fold of your garment.

s in years past, at this time Saint John’s Abbey recognizes and gives thanks to those who so generously assist the abbey through their contributions, planned giving, and volunteering. We express our gratitude publicly in Abbey Banner by listing the names of our donors and volunteers. These donors make possible multiple programs that the abbey sponsors. We read in Scripture, “Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and passed it to them, and they all drank from it” (Mark 14:23). Jesus, the perfect steward, gave thanks and passed the cup on just before he gave himself to us completely for our salvation. He offers us the chance to drink from his cup, and we know what drinking from his cup means for each of us. Often it means our own sacrifice—giving up some of what we have in order to do the Lord’s work—recognizing that we are not only responsible for our own lives but also for the lives of those around us. Taking

Abbey Legacy Circle

Luke 6:38

care of our brothers and sisters is an important Benedictine value. The monks of Saint John’s Abbey thank all our donors and volunteers for making their own special sacrifice to assist the abbey in its work. Over the past year and a half and more, most of our monastery was renovated. Your generosity in assisting with this project has touched all of us deeply. The renovation—along with all our other programs, projects, and ministries—required a significant amount of support from our friends, both monetary and prayerful. We thank all who partner with us in our service and outreach. Your help is essential in sustaining and strengthening the work of Saint John’s Abbey, where your gift makes a vital difference. Thank you for the role you have played in making Saint John’s what it is today. May God Bless You! Father Geoffrey Fecht, O.S.B. Abbey Development Director

Recognizing those benefactors who have made a planned gift for the abbey through wills, trusts, annuities, and life insurance policies. Donors who asked that their gifts remain confidential are listed as Anonymous. (Deceased +) Anonymous (3) Harriet Acheson+ Dr. Peter J. Albert and Charlotte Mahoney Bernard J.+ and Joan+ Andert Daniel N. Arzac Jr.+ Lydia Avery+ Bernard J. Axtman+ Richard+ and Irene+ Barry S. C. Bauclair+ L. Darleen Baumberger+ Rev. Eugene G. Belair+ Paul J. and Edna Berres Margaretha Bierbaum+ Leigh F. Birkeland+ Joseph J. Bischof+ Edward F. Bitzan+ Anna B. Blissenbach+ Beatrice M. Bloms+ George F. and Geri Bodmer Keith J. Boelter John Book+ Henry G. Borgerding+ Mr. and Mrs. Peter Botz+ Peter W. Bower John Braegelmann+ Jackie Breher+ Thomas F.+ and Lorraine+ Bresnehen Rev. Francis A. Britz+ Margaret D. Broderick+ Mary E. Brown+ Margaret A. Bucher+ Harry E. Burns+ James F. Burns+ Marion+ and Charlotte+ Butcher Addie L. Butler+ Therese Carbonneau+ Phyllis “Kelly” Carmien+ Noreen L. Carroll+ William P. Cashman+ Vera M. Chapado+ COL Benjamin+ and Opal+ Chapla Dr. Robert and Nancy Christensen Dr. Brendan Collins and Gail Sher Margaret Collins+

Rev. Louis G. Cook+ Paul E. Cormier Claire Crandall+ Francis G.+ and Norma+ Culhane Rev. Martin T. Cullen Edward Cunningham+ William G. and Colleen Dalrymple Hermit Angela G. Del Greco, Obl.S.B. Carol Deutsch+ Stephen S. Deutsch+ Rev. Patrick T. Devine+ Ruth K. Dindorf+ John+ and Anna+ Dreis Frances Drinkwine+ Rev. Charles J. Duerr+ Joleen and Dean+ Durken Marie+ and Henry+ Ehmke Deacon Elmer+ and Georgina+ Eichers Wilfred F. Engel+ Elizabeth Everitt Mary Eynck+ Hazel Fecht+ Margers Feders+ John Finken+ Mary Fischer+ Rita G. Fisher+ Lucille A. Fitzsimmons+ Edward P.+ and Loretta H.+ Flynn Maxine Z. Flynn+ Harriet R. Fraser+ Angeline Freund+ Rev. Joseph J. Fridgen+ Rev. Cecil H. Friedmann+ Gerard Gach Nellie Gaida+ Mavis and Paul+ Gannon Margaret L. Gilboe+ Dr. Theodore and Bernadine+ Gimenez Lawrence J. Gleason Sr.+ Edward R. Goossens Louise+ and Emmett+ Gorman Rev. Peter W. Grady+ Richard J. Grant+ Robert A. Gresbrink Charles and Mary Griffith Gary K. Grooters+ Elizabeth Grote+ Rudolph J. Guerra+ Joan M. Gurian George H. Haack+ Msgr. James D. Habiger+ Lawrence P. and Mary Haeg Lois J. Hall Marybelle+ and Willard+ Hanna Dr. Harris D.+ and Mary+ Hanson John E. and Geraldine Happe

Eugene R.+ and Celia+ Hawkins Rev. Lawrence A. Hemp+ Florentina Herding+ Abraham and Sharon+ Hernandez Dr. Noreen L. Herzfeld Arthur G. Hessburg+ Elmer Hoeschen+ Msgr. Michael J. Hogan+ Lenora Hollas+ and Jane Hollas Rev. Jerome J. Holtzman Fred J.+ and Valeria+ Hughes Joseph B. Hunn Catherine A. Huschle+ Mary G. Huschle+ Rev. Wilfred Illies+ John+ and Claire+ Jacobowitz Richard T. and Patricia M. Jessen Lois Job Mark Emery Johnson+ Francis+ and Helen S.+ Jordan Rev. Bernard W. Kahlhamer+ Marjorie Kalinowski+ Rose J. Kaluza+ Rev. Neal E. Kapaun+ Rev. Lawrence E. Keller+ Ann+ and Herbert L.+ Kelly Jack Kelly+ Dorothy B. Kennedy+ Marie P. Kiess+ Severyn+ and Margaret+ Kipka Beatrice Kirchner+ Martin+ and Gertrude+ Kirschner Catherine Klassen+ Rev. Sylvester M. Kleinschmidt+ Rev. Kenneth F. Knoke+ Gladys Kobishop+ Robert J. Kohorst+ Dr. Steven E. and Debbie Koop Bernice Kowalik+ Theodore Kraker+ Mathilda Kramer+ Hedwig L. Kratz+ Anna C. Kremer+ Lucille E. Kreutzian+ Vivian E. Krogh+ Rev. Philip J. Krogman+ Kenneth P. Kroska+ Catherine Kruchten+ Dr. John J. Kulus Josie Kwatera+ Alvina Laubach+ Helen C. Lauer+ Susan and Edward W. Lehmann Jr. Bernadine A. Leicht+ Lester F. LeMay+ Eugene+ and Ursula+ Lenard Iver M. Linnemann+

Bernice Locci+ Robert H. Mace Jr., Th.M. Dr. Michael W. Maeder+ Robert A.+ and Norie T.+ Mahowald Brenda Maiers+ Richard+ and Dolores T.+ Manthey Terrence J. Martin+ John+ and Marian+ Maurin Mary F. Meinberg+ Daniel W. Meinz William M.+ and Leona R.+ Meinz Rev. Michael G. Mertens+ Florence Meyer+ Magdalen Michels+ Michael Molloy and Thomas Hilgers Rev. John E. Moore+ Florence G. Moritz+ Helen Moritz+ Henry A. Morof+ David J. Morreim Mary M. Muckley+ Louise Muggli+ Martinella+ and Stephen J.+ Muggli Sr. William Paul Muldoon Michael and Laura Mullin Doris H. Murphy+ Dennis and Ruthanne Neeser Arthur G. Nelles+ Steven T. and Dr. Kristen Nelson Gertrude Niehoff+ Milton J. Nietfeld+ Joseph Niggemann+ Msgr. Allan F. Nilles+ E. Thomas O’Brien+ Walter Otto+ Rev. Harold J. Pavelis Alma Pavia+ Steven C. Pederson and John Burns+ Gregory J. and Ellen Pelletier Jerry and Ruth+ Peltier Melvin Pervais Mary Pfau+ William Phelps and Sayre Weaver-Phelps John J. Pieper+ Dorothy Pierzina+ Emily Platnik+ Elizabeth Portz+ Joseph+ and Caroline+ Portz Rev. Gerald L. Potter+ Harriet Pregont+ Joseph Prostrollo Adella L. Rademacher+ Msgr. James W. Rasby+

Alan Reed, O.S.B.

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Fall 2021

Erma T. Rausch+ Lydia Reichert+ Mathias J. Reichert+ Dr. Nicholas F. and Bernice Reuter Anthony+ and Mary+ Rhomberg Rev. Donald W. Rieder+ Evelyn Roche+ Evelyn Roelike+ Marcella Rotty+ Laurel Rudolph-Kniech and James Kniech Eddie Rueth+ Rev. Kenneth Russell+ Rev. Thomas J. Ryan+ Steven and Cynthia Saboe Josephine T. Sauer+ Margaret Schissel+ John J.+ and Marie+ Schmitt Rev. Bernard P. Schreiner+ Roland J. Schreiner+ Ottilia Schubert+ Rev. Raymond A. Schulzetenberg+ Rev. Paul A. Schumacher+ Mark Schwietz and Marti Elliott Lidwina Schwinghamer+ Rev. Alex L. Schwinn+ Donald+ and Joan+ Seifert David and Patricia Serreyn John A. Siebenand Mildred M. Sieve+ Wilfred J. Simon+ Elizabeth Sjoving+ Stephen and Barbara Slaggie Mary Jean Smith+ J. T. Starzecki Gen Stein+ Julia Stein+ Rev. Louis C. Stovik+ Virgil M. Stovik+ Marjorie C. Studer+ Joseph Suk+ Alice G. Sullivan+ William P. Sullivan Jr.+ Rev. David K. Taylor Bill and Jean Tehan James L. and Donna+ Tembrock Joseph and Judy Tembrock Alfred A.+ and Elisabeth+ Terhaar Ethelyn Theisen+ Louise Theisen+ Robert J. Thielman+ Frances+ and Ted+ Thimmesh Henri V. Tran Sharon H. Tupa Sherri L. Vallee Helen C. VanAcker+ Rev. Arthur A. Vogel+ Nestor and Evelyn Vorderbruggen

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Alfred C.+ and Dorothy+ Wagman Arthur L.+ and Romana+ Wahl Florenz Walz+ Jerome Weber+ Dr. Stephen and Mary Ellen Weber John C.+ and Eileen+ Weihs Patricia A. Weishaar Thomas S.+ and Margaret+ Welch David A. Wendt and Renee Harberts Theresa Marie Wendt+ Dr. Waldemar H. Wenner+ Edward L. “Chuck” Wenzel+ Harriet Wicklace+ George W. Widman+ Orville Woeste+ Gregor+ and Marie+ Wollmering

Abbey Founders’ Circle

(Lifetime Giving) Recognizing those who have made cumulative gifts of $50,000 or more to the abbey over the course of their lifetime (gifts and pledges, outright and deferred). Donors who asked that their gifts remain confidential are listed as Anonymous. (Deceased +) Anonymous (16) Harriet Acheson+ Gloria and Dr. M. George+ Allen Ayco Charitable Foundation Jeffrey P. Barnett Richard+ and Irene+ Barry Florian L+ and Kathleen+ Baumgartner Rev. Eugene G. Belair+ Paul J. and Edna Berres Leigh F. Birkeland+ Beatrice M. Bloms+ Keith J. Boelter Dolores J. Bormann Jackie Breher+ Joseph T. Brudney+ Margaret A. Bucher+ Marion+ and Charlotte+ Butcher Phyllis “Kelly” Carmien+ Central Indiana Community Foundation Central Minnesota Community Foundation Cherbec Advancement Foundation Dr. Robert and Nancy Christensen Margaret Collins+ Paul E. Cormier Claire Crandall+

As generous distributors of God’s manifold grace, put your gifts at the service of one another, each in the measure you have received. 1 Peter 4:10

Brian P. and Joy L. Crevoiserat Francis G.+ and Norma+ Culhane Rev. Martin T. Cullen Hermit Angela G. Del Greco, Obl.S.B. Ginger and Roger Delles Ruth K. Dindorf+ Driscoll Foundation Joleen and Dean+ Durken East Bay Community Foundation Marie+ and Henry+ Ehmke Wilfred F. Engel+ Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Rita G. Fisher+ Edward P.+ and Loretta H.+ Flynn William and Patricia+ Friedman Mavis and Paul+ Gannon Dr. Theodore and Bernadine+ Gimenez Dorothy J. Gorecki Rev. Peter W. Grady+ John F. and Joan Grobe Gary K. Grooters+ Judith Grooters Joan M. Gurian Msgr. James D. Habiger+ Lawrence P. and Mary Haeg Donald M. and Marion Hall Marybelle+ and Willard+ Hanna Dr. Harris D.+ and Mary+ Hanson Rev. Robert Hazel James A. and Maxine Hecimovich Abraham and Sharon+ Hernandez Elmer Hoeschen+ Mark W. Holian+ Naomi Jasmer+ Mark Emery Johnson+ Marjorie Kalinowski+ Ann+ and Herbert L.+ Kelly Severyn+ and Margaret+ Kipka Beatrice Kirchner+ Martin+ and Gertrude+ Kirschner F. Alexandra+ and Robert+ Klas Rev. Kenneth F. Knoke+ Dr. Steven E. and Debbie Koop Hedwig L. Kratz+ Rev. Philip J. Krogman+ Julia and Frank+ Ladner Mary and Bud+ Lambert Rev. Peter Lambert Susan and Edward W. Lehman Jr. Diane Liemandt-Reimann and Ronald Reimann Bernice Locci+

Joseph R. and Sylvia Luetmer Michael R. and Nancy McCarthy McDowall Company McGough Construction Company, Inc. McGough Foundation Lawrence and Andrea+ McGough Tom and Linda McGraw William M.+ and Leona R.+ Meinz Theodore E. and M. Irene Micke The Minneapolis Foundation Minnesota Community Foundation Michael Molloy and Thomas Hilgers Morgan Stanley GIFT Florence G. Moritz+ Henry A. Morof+ Mary M. Muckley+ William Paul Muldoon National Philanthropic Trust Dennis and Ruthanne Neeser Steven T. and Dr. Kristen Nelson Walter+ and Caroline+ Niebauer Milton J. Nietfeld+ Onchuck Law Office, S.C. Steven Pederson and John Burns+ Jerry and Ruth+ Peltier Melvin Pervais William Phelps and Sayre Weaver-Phelps Joseph+ and Caroline+ Portz Joseph Prostrollo Adella L. Rademacher+ Renaissance Charitable Foundation, Inc. Rita and Robert+ Rengel Dr. Nicholas F. and Bernice Reuter Rev. Donald W. Rieder+ John E. and Lois Rogers Marcella Rotty+ Mary Ellen Rudden Steven and Cynthia Saboe Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation Ralph Schad+ Scherer Bros. Lumber Co. Michael and Susanne Scherer John J.+ and Marie+ Schmitt Ottilia Schubert+ Schwab Charitable Fund Carole Schwietz

Lawrence+ and Marilyn+ Schwietz Mark Schwietz and Marti Elliott William and Joyce Sexton Amb. Robert and Ellen Shafer Russell and Tina Sherlock Slaggie Family Foundation Stephen and Barbara Slaggie J .T. Starzecki Virgil M. Stovik+ Alfred A.+ and Elisabeth+ Terhaar Louise Theisen+ Lyle and Marilyn Theisen Raymond and Mary Turcotte The U.S. Charitable Gift Trust Kae+ and Maurice+ Vandeputte Alfred C.+ and Dorothy+ Wagman Arthur L.+ and Romana+ Wahl Jerome Weber+ Dr. Stephen and Mary Ellen Weber John C.+ and Eileen+ Weihs Patricia A. Weishaar Thomas S.+ and Margaret+ Welch Robert+ and Jeanette+ Welle Dr. Waldemar H. Wenner+ Edward L. “Chuck” Wenzel+ Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. Daniel A. and Katharine Whalen Harriet Wicklace+ William and Joyce Sexton Family Foundation Willis of Minnesota, Inc.

Abbot’s Circle

(Lifetime Giving) Recognizing those who have made cumulative gifts of $25,000 to $49,999 to the abbey over the course of their lifetime (gifts and pledges, outright and deferred). Donors who asked that their gifts remain confidential are listed as Anonymous. (Deceased +) Anonymous (3) Dr. Peter J. Albert and Charlotte Mahoney Bernard J.+ and Joan+ Andert Gordon J. and JoAnne Bailey Benedictins De Montserrat John and Bonita Benschoter Raymond and Joan Benson Rev. Francis A. Britz+ Mary E. Brown+ Noreen L. Carroll+ Catholic Community Foundation

Catholic United Financial Foundation Dr. Brendan Collins and Gail Sher RoxAnne Daly and Jack F. Daly Jr.+ Laurence G.+ and Redelle+ DeZurik John L. and Jeune Dieterle Rev. Charles J. Duerr+ Bernadette S. and Ed Dunn El-Jay Plumbing & Heating, Inc. Patrick J. and Kris Ellingsworth Hazel Fecht+ Andy and Jodi Fritz Nellie Gaida+ Edward R. Goossens The Greater Cincinnati Foundation Group for Affordable Housing George H. Haack+ Matthew and Jacqueline Haughey Rev. Lloyd G. Haupt+ Rev. Wilfred Illies+ John+ and Claire+ Jacobowitz Francis+ and Helen S.+ Jordan K. C. Marrin Co. Rev. Bernard W. Kahlhamer+ Thomas and Joan+ Kasbohm John J. and Marilyn Kennedy Vincent R. and Jean Kinney Klas Family Foundation Koch Foundation, Inc. Catherine Kruchten+ Helen C. Lauer+ Edward J. LeMay H. Daniel and Wendy Levene Mark and Joyce Ludowese Dr. Michael W. Maeder+ KC and Anne Marrin Joseph S.+ and Sharon+ McGraw Mary F. Meinberg+ Magdalen Michels+ Paul and Nancy+ Moran Louise Muggli+ Garrett E. and Diane+ Mulrooney Dr. Robert A. Nelson Gertrude Niehoff+ George H. L. Porter and Carol Arnold Porter James S. and Lori A. Rausch Rosemarie Rinn J. Patrick Rooney+ Eunice and John+ Ruff Rev. Thomas J. Ryan+ Will and Barbara Schafer Rev. Raymond A. Schulzetenberg+ Donald F. and Catherine Schwarz Rev. Alex L. Schwinn+ SOAR!

Rev. Louis C. Stovik+ Dr. Joseph Sullivan Target Corporation Rudy and Sheryl Tekippe

Father Hilary Thimmesh (1928–2019) Michael Urbanos and Rosann Fischer Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program Florenz Walz+ David A. Wendt and Renee Harberts Stephen and Regina Wolfe Gregor+ and Marie+ Wollmering

Prior’s Circle

(Annual Giving) Recognizing those who made annual gifts of $1,000 or more to the abbey between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. Donors who asked that their gifts remain confidential are listed as Anonymous. (Deceased +) Anonymous (15) Dennis M. Adams John and Catherine Agee Dr. Peter J. Albert and Charlotte Mahoney Gloria and Dr. M. George+ Allen Randall O. and Sara Altmann Amica Mutual Insurance Company John and Elizabeth Anderla Mary Anglin Steven F. Arnold John and Monica Ashbaugh Gordon J. and JoAnne Bailey William and Jeannemarie Baker

Paul Middlestaedt

Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund Robert and Theresa Barrett James W. Bassett Richard L. and Helga Bauerly Bob and Mary Becker Gary F. and Virginia Bellinghausen Raymond and Joan Benson Sharon Bigot Dolores J. Bormann Peter W. Bower David M. Brashear Daniel R. and Nancy Breyen Nicole M. and Nicholas+ Briese Ken and Carol Brown Timothy J. and Carrie Brown Stephen W. and Rita Buckley Elizabeth M. Carey Geraldine and Thomas+ Carey Dennis G. and Julie Carlson Noreen L. Carroll+ Catholic Community Foundation Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Saint Cloud Catholic United Financial Foundation Dennis and Marilyn Cavanaugh Dr. Robert and Nancy Christensen Cleveland Foundation Albert J. and Susan Colianni Community Foundation of Louisville Lucy L. Cords and Alvin Gerads Richard and Sara Crawford Brian P. and Joy L. Crevoiserat James Croker Monica Dahlquist Dr. Stephen E. Dalseth

Fall 2021

Brother David Allen: Benedictine hospitality Matthew R. and Anne M. Darling John D. and Kathi Dayon Bernard and Catherine DeLaRosa Hermit Angela G. Del Greco, Obl.S.B. John L. and Jeune Dieterle Leonard Di Lisio Diocese of Saint Cloud Joseph C. and Mary Dirksen Robert and Pamela Douglas Dorrine M. Douglass Bernadette S. and Ed Dunn Joleen Durken Alexis Duval-Arnould and Kjersti Monson Dr. Stephen and Lynn Eckrich Kevin and Betsy Egan Russell Ehman Patrick J. and Kris Ellingsworth Dr. John W. and Barbara Engel Russel and Beverly Engleson John J. and Debra Erhart Patrick D. and Gail Evans Daniel C. and Lynn Fazendin David and Barbara Finn Cynthia M. Foster Peter J. and Cheryl Franta Joseph W. Fraune Fruth Family Foundation John D. and Bettina Fruth Wallace and Mary Claire Fu Henry T. and LeChi Gallagher Mavis and Paul+ Gannon Scott and Denise Gathje

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Jerome and Beth Geis Craig and Shirley George Dr. Dale and Mary Gerding George Golden Dorothy J. Gorecki Edwin and Judy Grelson Charles and Mary Griffith John F. and Joan Grobe Michael L. and Paula Gross Charles and Janet Haas Rita and John Hacker Lawrence P. and Mary Haeg Douglas and Jane Hagerman Donald M. and Marion Hall Michael F. and Ann Hammer Steven and Nancy Hanousek Rev. Robert Hazel Michael Hemesath and Elizabeth Galbraith Suzanne Hemesath Michael Hensley Philip and Shirley Hodapp Mark W. Holian+ Lenora Hollas+ Rev. Jerome J. Holtzman David and Michelle Horan Barbara Houston Dr. Terrence and Toni Hughes Jay F. Hunstiger Willem T. Ibes Craig Irvine Richard T. and Patricia M. Jessen Lucie Johnson

Paul Middlestaedt

Thomas and Diane Johnson Ronald E. Joki Thomas Joyce Diana Juettner Lyle C. and Kathleen Kasprick Lois C. Kauffman Richard D. and Janice Kellogg David and Shirley+ Kelly Kingsley H. Murphy Family Foundation Vincent R. and Jean Kinney Peter G. Kirby Christopher and Tomoko Kitrick Sandra Klas+ John H. and Alexandra Klein William H. and Sally Kling Theresa Knier Daryl R. and Kathleen Kohlhaas Kazuko Rosa Kojima Dr. Steven E. and Debbie Koop Gary A. and Noreen Kordosky Susan and Gary Kuefler Peggy Ladner and Clifton Brittain Kevin O. and Beth Lafeber Rev. Peter Lambert John Leddy James Leitner James M. Lesko and Stephen Gliatto H. Daniel and Wendy Levene

Rev. Vincent P. Lieser Hon. John and Mary Lindstrom Xiao G. Liu Justin Lombardo Jeanne M. Lowe James E. and Berteil Mahoney Robert L. and Anne Mahowald Thomas A. and Mary Jo Mahowald Joseph M. Mallak Thomas R. and Janet Manthey Doris A. and Peter Matter Scott and Mary Kay May McDowall Company Lawrence McGough Brian J. and Kathleen McGrane Thomas and Mary McKeown Daniel W. Meinz Barbara J. and Joseph Merickel Dr. Joseph H. and Barbara Merickel Thomas and Rose Mary Meyer Mightycause Foundation Eric Moede Paul Moran William Paul Muldoon Garrett E. Mulrooney Katherine Murphy Michael E. and Jane Murphy Philip and Rosemary Murphy Cary and Regina Musech National Philanthropic Trust Dennis and Ruthanne Neeser Robert and Joanne Neis Dr. Robert A. Nelson Joseph M. and Susan Ness Elaine M. and Thomas Newton Richard D. and Andrea Niggemann Augustine and Elizabeth Nolan Susan and Stuart Nordquist Michael and Kathleen O’Keefe Rev. Thomas Olson Omaha Community Foundation Kevin T. O’Malley James P. O’Meara Michael and Marie O’Reilly John and Gigi Ossanna Bob and Ginny Padzieski Gianfranco and Susan Pagnucci Gregory R. and Peg Palen Angela and John Pan Bruce and Mary Kay Pederson Jose A. Peris and Diana L. Gulden Peterson Dental Associates, P.A. Thomas and Virginia Peterson David Pfeffer COL John F. and Barbara Phelps Caroline and Brian+ Phillips Dorothy Pierzina+ James and Nancy Piggush Stephen and Laura Plantenberg Vincent C. and Marcia Pletcher

Richard Plotkin Stephen and Laura Pluemer Charles and Janice Pohlman James and Verle Polglase Stephen Pollock George H. L. Porter and Carol Arnold Porter Joseph+ and Caroline+ Portz John and Frances Povolny Len and Mary Powell Dr. Kenneth and Gretchen Preimesberger David and Karen Quinby Rose M. Rarick Therese Ratelle James S. and Lori A. Rausch Patricia and Gregory Reese Robert Reichert Gary and Pamela Reierson Dr. Nicholas F. and Bernice Reuter Dr. Royal Rhodes Rick and Helga Bauerly Foundation Charles H. and Lucy Rieland Drs. Richard and Jane Rodeheffer Michael E. and Ava Roeder Francis and Rosemary Roehl Kenneth and Betsy Roering J. Barbara Rogan John E. and Lois Rogers Paul and Kathleen Rothstein Mary Ellen Rudden John P. and Susan Ryan Steven and Cynthia Saboe Thomas and Linda Sanders Will and Barbara Schafer Michael and Susanne Scherer Kenneth and Yvonne Schilling Joseph L. and Marilyn Schmit John W. and Lynn Schubert Schwab Charitable Fund Donald F. and Catherine Schwarz Mark Schwietz and Marti Elliott Dolores Seashore David and Patricia Serreyn Aubrey Sexton James F. and Paula Sexton William and Joyce Sexton William T. Sexton David G. and Julie Seykora Judy Sheridan Elizabeth P. Shipton James and Deborah Sieben Kathleen Silvers Nancy A. Skaran Dennis and Mary Kay Smid Dr. J. Weston Smith Kevin J. Smith Rev. Phillip R. Smith, C.PP.S. Gregory Soukup and Mary Jo Carr Don and Marlys Spieker

Michael and LeAnn Staiger J. T. Starzecki Dr. Paul and Jane Steingraeber Family Richard and Joyce Stock Dr. Thomas and Ann Stone John and Patty Sullivan Dr. Joseph Sullivan LT COL John P. and Chris Taitt Ronald J. Tavis John D. Taylor and Leigh W. Dillard Rudy and Sheryl Tekippe Mary Ann Tham Dr. Anthony P. Thein Jon and Lea Theobald Rev. Kenneth E. Thielman+ Sarah and Christopher Thompson Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing Wallace and Mary Ann Tintes John and Patricia Trakselis Raymond and Mary Turcotte Chris A. Twomey Patricia Tyson Michael Urbanos and Rosann Fischer Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program Philip C. VanHale Dr. James E. and Perha Varley Miriam R. Vetter Rev. Arthur Vogel+ Phyllis L. Volk Philip H. von Lintel, M.D. Leo and Margaret Vos Mary Jo Warnke Bernard and Barbara Weber Paul and Marlene Weber Patricia A. Weishaar Paul N. and Jacqueline Welle Christopher and Jennifer Wenner Dr. Joseph H. and Mary Wenner Dr. Waldemar H. Wenner+ Elaine and Lloyd+ Wenning Frederick S. and Cynthia West Paulina Whang Matthew J. Wilch William and Joyce Sexton Family Foundation Thomas B. Williams Richard and Erin Wojciechowski Stephen and Regina Wolfe Bruce Wolff and Therese Rasmussen Tom+ and Mary+ Woychick Stephen R. Yurek Steven D. and Susan Zimmerman

Confreres’ Circle (Annual Giving) Recognizing those who made annual gifts up to $999 to the abbey between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. Donors who asked that their gifts remain confidential are listed as Anonymous. (Deceased +) Anonymous (22) Mark and Maryann Aaron Amare Abebe Fekade Abebe Deacon Courtney and Bernadine Abel Arlene Abler Paul and Kim Abrass Charles T. and Brenda Achter Brian J. and Cassandra Adamek Steven R. Adams Jenny Adamson Perry O. Adkins Rev. Timothy G. Agar Gretchen Agee Mary Ager

Barry and Amy A’Hearn Donald Ahlbach Barbara Ahlstrom Richard and Patricia Ahner Joseph Akus Arturo R. and Heather Albanesi Richard and Ellen Albares James M. Albrecht Rosemary Albrecht Janet Alexander James Allen and Catherine McGinnis Jean M. Allen Rosemarie Allen Thomas C. and Sally Allen Tom Allen Bryan and Karen Alpers John K. Alpers William and Shirley Alpers Donald and Sharon Althaus David P. Altman Leo H. and Dolores Ament American Endowment Foundation American Online Giving Foundation

Brother Jeremy Welters: Benedictine hospitality

Paul Middlestaedt

Fall 2021

Deacon George and Mary Kay Anderberg Tim and Wendy Andersen Tony Andersen and Ann Pryor Andersen LTC Craig E. and Judith Anderson Evelyn A. Anderson Gene and Caralyn Anderson Hunter and Barbara Anderson Joan Anderson John M. Anderson Kurt Anderson and Claire Sardeck Natalie A. Anderson Rolf T. Anderson Elizabeth S. Andrews Michael Antolik Lucille J. Antonik API Inc. Asbestos Settlement Trust Nancy and James W.+ Archbold Mary C. Arczynski David H. Armitage Florine K. Armstrong Kathryn L. Arndt John and Margaret Arnold Linda and Robert Arnold Judith Aronow Gary and Sheila Ascheman Stephen J. and Carol Askew Richard and Carol Atkins Thomas M. and Janis Atkins Dolores and Joe Auge Karen Auman Ayco Charitable Foundation Julia Babb Linda Bacchi Dr. William R. and Rhonda Bachand Susan Bachelder Beverly and John+ Bachman Kenneth A. and Elizabeth Backe Gail and Charles Backes Will and Bernie Backes Joseph and Kathryn Bainbridge Barbara Bakeberg Patricia D. Balassone Sharon Balcom Rev. Timothy H. Baltes Thomas G. and Katherine Bambenek Jon A. Banack Douglas J. and Gretchen A. Bancks Michael P. Bancks Nicholas A. and Jodi Bancks Anacleta S. Barlaan J. Michael Barone Mary Ann Barragry Mr. and Mrs. Patrick J. Barrett Thomas and Annette Barrett James J. and Martha Barry Nancy K. Barry John D. Barta Robert J. Barten

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Rose Bartley Dorothy Bass and Mark Schwehn Bernard B. and Marilyn Bastian Melanie Batoff Jeffrey P. Bauer Michael T. and Lucille G. Bauer Michael W. and Margaret Bauer Thomas J. and Kristin Bauer Michael B. and Barbara A. Baumann Paula Baumberger Tim and Pat Baumberger William and Barbara Baumgarten Timothy K. and Linda Baumgartner Msgr. Thomas F. Baxter Mary Louise Baylon Jessica L. Bazan Richard J. and Sharon Beach Dr. Edward and Kathleen Beal Cherene C. Bebeau Jason Bechir Gary and Kay Bechtold Herbert Bechtold Guy W. and Ruth+ Beck Jean Beckel Klaus P. and Zerryl Becker Joseph W. and Joyce Beckermann Vern and Sue Beckermann LTCs James and Lisa Beckmann Mary K. Beckmann Aimee Beckmann-Collier and David Collier Dave and Judy Bednar Kathleen Bednar Ernest J. and Ruth Bedor Thomas J. Beer K. Ruppert and Danise Beirne Matthew Beirne and Laura Stork Juan Carlos Belalcazar Canal Kimberly H. Belcher Charles A. Belland James A. Belland Wayne and Margaret Bellefeuille Geno Beniek Annette M. Benoit John and Bonita Benschoter Darren and Torrie Bentley M. Joseph and Theresa Berg Joseph W. Berns Thomas Bersell Gary and Rochelle Berts Joan Bertz Mark Berven Rev. Richard Best Joseph R. and Helen Bettendorf Jennifer L. Beutz Michael C. and Karren A. Beutz Mary G. Beverage Edward Biersmith Jim and Bonnie Bigelbach

Michael and Connie Billion Ronald L. and JoAnn Binsfeld Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw Carol Bishop Mary Ann Bishop Beryl L. Bissell and William Christ Cletus M. Bitzan LeRoy Bitzan Blackbaud Giving Fund Valera Blair James E. Blaney Brady T. and Nicole M. Blaska Barbara A. and Robert Blessing Patrick G. Blizzard Margaret Blohm Theresa J. Blommer Rev. Wilmer Bloy Christine Bochen Terry and Mary Kay Bodeen Faye and Robert Boehler Robert A. and Jean Boehler Samuel B. Boggs Suzanne Bolger Helaine F. Bolter Aaron and Nicole Bolton Anthony A. and Rebecca Bombich Cynthia A. Bondoc Jeffrey Bonneville Bruce and Tamara Bonnicksen Gregory and Linda Bookey Bill and Mary Boom Marie Louise and Tom+ Borak Joseph and Mary Bouska Joseph T. and Kelly M. M. Bower Beth Bowman David and Felicia Boyd Daniel Boyle and Ann MacKay Craig and Patti Bradash Rev. Denis J. M. Bradley Anita Bradshaw John and Susan Brady Kathleen A. Brady-Murfin Margaret J. Brahm Tyler A. Brakner and Leah M. Ranta Rev. Peter B. Brandenhoff Donald L. and Patricia Brandl Dr. Rochelle J. Brandl John E. and Terrie Brandt Gerald H. Brantner Joanne Braun Michael and Susan Bredeck James S. Bredeson Rita Breier Ellen Brennan John P. Brennan Marlene T. Brennan Terrence F. and Carolyn Brennan Michael and Karen Brenteson Steven and Marlene Bresnahan

Eric B. Brever and Heather Hamernick Rosemary Brever Susan Brewster Robert J. and Marie Brickley Robert and Mary Rae Briggle Clark M. Brittain David A. and Barbara J. Britz Del Brobst Bill Brockway and Kathleen M. Brown Thomas and Mary Novak Brodersen Dr. Matthew and Laurie Anne Broghammer Sarah E. Broghammer Leo N. and Gail Bromenschenkel John and Margaret Brossart Roland and Cyrilene Brouillard Daniel P. Brown Edward G. Brown Dr. Frank H. and Laurie Brown Dr. Frank T. and Alice Brown Nadine Brown Sheryl A. Brown Brownson, PLLC David L. Bruch Mark J. and Lisa Brueske Matthew C. Brumleve James H. and Marjorie Brutger Jerry and Jean Bucksa Robert Buckvold Ruth Bueckers David and Kathleen Buettner Edward and Mary Buksa Wilfred F. and Ruth Bunge James E. and Helen Burkart David M. Burns Joe and Kayreen Burns Griffin Burris Jacquelyn Bush Lloyd and Brenda Buttweiler Timothy J. and Julianne Buttweiler Amity Buxton Karen Buytaert Dennis Byron Lorraine Cagley Kathleen Cahalan and Don Ottenhoff Lawrence Caines Rev. Michael J. Callaghan, C.M. Madeleine Callahan Peter Callahan Bill Callas and Nancy Holm Callas Dennis Callies Siri C. Caltvedt Cynthia Campbell Marlene T. Cannon Dr. Joseph G. and Eileen Capecchi Paul Capecchi Joseph and Linda Capistrant Diane Caplin

Father Gordon Tavis Vincent and Robyn Caponi Catherine A. Carey Jackie Carey James P. and Molly Carey Patrick F. Carey Lin Cargo Richard Carlbom and Justin Schramm Donald D. Carlson Eric B. Carlson Gary and Katherine Carlson Jon and Margaret Carlson Julia Carlson Tom and Shelly Carlson Mary Lou and Jim Carney Joan Carroll Patricia Carroll Gary and Catherine Carruthers Mary Fran Carter Kathleen Casey Lu Cashatt Jonathan D. and Brianne Casper Marcia Casper Rev. Lawrence A. Cavell Mary Caven Matt Celichowski Susan M. Cencer Kathleen A. Cepelka Paul D. Cerkvenik Mary Chamberlain Joan M. Chandler Linda M. Chapman William R. and Maria Charlesworth Paul Chase and Mary M. Angerman Eugene R. Chatelaine Robert L. and Diane Cherry James D. Child Henry R. Chirhart Dorothy Chizek Mary Ann Chladek James and Nancy Chouanard John H. and Joan Chouinard Christ Church Grosse Pointe

Paul Middlestaedt

John W. and Nora Chromy Church of Saint Boniface, Cold Spring Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe Elaine P. Churchill Janice Cink Lita S. Claar Delores A. Clair Thomas and Linda Clancy Br. J. William Clarey, F.S.C. Rita M. Clasemann Peter and Mary Jo Clasen Sue Ford Clausen George Cliff Patrick and Lisa Cline Lee and Yvonne Clintsman Mary Jo Cobb Leonard L. and Jeri Coequyt Jeanne Cofell and Patrick Dwyer+ Lorraine H. Cofell Susan Nierengarten Cohen Vicki Coifman Phillip Cole and Mary Jo Ruff John Coleman David and Julie Collins Winnie and Tom Collins Sharon Colston Tony and Lynne Comazzi Clement J. and Molly Commers Robert M. Condon Frank Conko Patrick M. and Patti Conlin Corinne Connelly Sara A. Connerty Brian J. and Carol Ann Connolly Carol J. Connor Daniel Conway Margaret Nuzzolese Conway and Christopher Conway John J. and Lisa A. Conzemius Peter A. and Mary Jo Conzemius Heather Cook

Gregory and Donna Cooley Carla M. Cooper Mary Coover John A. Corbo Paul E. Cormier Kenneth J. and Carol Coskran Nathaniel Costa and Aimeclaire Roche Bertram and Jill Cottine Paul M. and Jill Coudron Dr. Thomas A. and Lynne Coudron Thomas Coughlan Clayton J. and Darlene Coughlin Francis M. and Marilyn Court James C. and Michele Cox Tristan and Elizabeth Cox Janet Coy William J. Coy Michael and Renee Coyle Francis R. Crain William Crawford John E. Cronin Michael and Ellen Cronin William J. Cronon Joseph I. Crotty George M. Crow Robert V. and Florence Crow Robert and Cindy Crowe Daniel and Sandra Crowley Rev. Martin T. Cullen Kim A. and Carol Culp Dr. Michael and Virginia Cummings William and Judy Cunningham Ellen Cutting Mary Ruth Cyr Paul T. Cyr Julia Dady William F. and Nanette Dagnon Charles Dahl Adele W. Dahlberg James S. and Alison Dahlman Huaweilang Dai Joseph R. and Ann Daley Nancy Dallavalle and Robert Wething Rev. Gerald E. Dalseth John J. and Theresa Daly Thomas M. and Patricia Daly Mary P. Danaher John R. Danielson Charles Darwent James C. Daugherty Dr. John M. and Judy Daugherty Angela Davis Mary B. and John E. Davis Michael J. Davis Nancy Davis Dwight Day Jeffrey M. DeBevec Gerald Decker Steven and Julia Deetz Nelda Dehn

Martin J. Deignan Gerard De La Cruz Julio G. and Mary DeLaRosa Joan de Leon Lourdes Delfino Dell Technologies Stephanie Rindelaub Delorie Thomas and Linda De Luca Thomas and Annmarie DeMarais Dr. Frank J. and Yolanda De Paul James and Barbara Deutmeyer Alfred S. Deutsch Benedict and Sharon Deutsch Kevin J. and Diane Devereaux John Devereux Jr. Jennifer DeVore Diane DeWall Dr. James W. and Catherine Dey Dale and Constance DeZeller Rev. John V. DiBacco Jr. Randy and Jane Dick Walter and Joanne Dick Jane E. Dickerson Alan and Sandra Dickinson Alex D.+ and Ann+ Didier Thomas and Karen Dierberger Drake and Madeline Dierkhising Diffley Guitar Studio John B. and Kathryn Diffley Barbara W. Dilley Elizabeth Dingmann William F. and Linda Dircks Cynthia M. and David Dirkes Andrew F. and Anna Dirksen Edward J. and Dianne Dirkswager Barbara A. Dispanet Joel and Chris Dittberner R. Christopher Ditton Rev. Robin Dodge William and Leah Doherty Margaret A. Dolan Richard and Jan Dold Patricia Ann Dolejs Maria Dominguez Mary Ann Donaldson John Donlan S. Betty Donoghue Joyce Donovan David J. and Catherine Dooley Gregory P. and Barbara A. Dooley Sheila B. Doran Julie Dorcey Karen M. Dosemagen Millicent Dosh Robert and Judith Douglas Steven and Brenda Douvier Charles E. and Carmelle Dowdle Valoree Dowell Gregory D. and Mary Jo Downs Marilyn J. and Robert Doyle Mary H. Doyle Paul F. and Beverly Barten Doyle Patricia Drahota

Fall 2021

Ingrid Drekonja Donald B. and Marilynn Drever Steven M. and Mary Drew William F. Drimel S. Monica Drogon Edward A. Duane Victor Lee Dubrowski Adeline Duerscherl Harold J. and Mary+ Duffy Jan Duhnke Robert and Evelyn Dumonceaux Suzanne M. and Richard Dunn Dennis and Diana Dunning Todd and Susan Dunphy Carla Durand Mark and Barbara Durenberger Consuelo and Dennis Dutschke Paul and Laurie Duxbury Janice A. Dworschak Dorothy Dwyer James and Joy Dwyer John S. Dwyer Dr. Franklin and Sarah Earnest Dr. Timothy and Nancy Ebel Robert H. Ebner Rev. Leonard A. Eckroth David and Rose Marie Ederer Charles and Patricia Edstrom Anne and Terrence Edwards Jason Edwards David A. Efken Brian Eggersdorfer Marlin G. Eich Joseph S. and Laura Eiden Patrick A. Eiden Bruce and Tracee Eidenschink Alan and Lollie Eidsness S. Grace M. Eidt, C.S.J. Eugene and Dottie Eisenschenk Jeff and Sandy Eiynck Amy C. Ekeh Robert T. and Carol Ekhaml Carol Elbert Mary Jean Elioff James Ellison Marie K. Elsen SJ Elstad and Diamond Drilling and Supply Frank J. Emanuelson Robert Emery Ellen Endslow J. David Enestvedt Jason and Jennifer Engel Nic Engel Thomas R. and Sharon Engels Clarence and Jean Enneking Enviro-Safe Inc. Patti Epsky Alan and Cheryl Erickson Arnt Erickson+ and Cecilia Paulus William P. and Bernadette Erickson Cyril and Darlene Erkens Roberto L. Escribano

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Marie R. Esplan Thomas B. and Lori Esselman John Estrem Bernadette and Robert Ethen Dr. Mary Jean Etten Brad M. and Mary Eustice Leo and Terry Euteneuer Mel and Julie Euteneuer Philip A. Evans Richard M. and Patricia Evans Robley D. and Joan M. Evans Rev. Dennis D. Evenson John W. and Margaret Faber Michael A. Fahey Vernon W. Fahrenkrug+ Lucy Fallon Martin S. and Margaret Fallon Drs. Terese Fandel and John Pennings Raymond and Estelle Farley David and Mary Farnesi Dr. Joseph and Jill+ Farry Eugene and Janet Faulhaber Terrie Faust Ellen M. Fay William and Patricia Fay Modris M. Feders Gerry and JoAnn Feld Robert Felde and Martha Steele Mark C. and Theresa Feldmann Jeffrey and Caren Fenske Tony and Beth Fenstad Carol M. Ferguson Jack and Debbie Ferguson Peter J. Fergusson Michael P. Fiala Frances Field Virginia A. Field Steven and Karen Filipowski Br. Harry Finkbone, O.S.L. Joseph F. Finn Jr. Donna and John J. Finnegan Jr. Fischer Groen Law & Groen Title Co. John and Donna Fischer Richard and Patricia Fischer Beret Fitzgerald Patrick M. Fitzgerald Nora Fitzpatrick and John Thuente Drs. Thomas and Insley Flaig John D. Flanagan Rev. Robert B. Flannery Joel P. and Constance M. Fleck Dennis H. and Diane Flicker Denis and Mary Flint Deborah A. and Joseph Floeder Jeanne Flood James and Janice Florey Mary Joe Florian Agnes Flynn Connor and Pamela Flynn Patrick J. and Marlene Flynn Mrs. Roxanne Flynn

Brother Jacob Berns Linda J. Fodstad Laurie Foell Elizabeth Foellmi Sheila S. and John D. Folkestad Jeanne Forbes Carol and Daniel+ Forby Daniel P. and Cindee Forby David Forster and Sandy Pfefferle Forster Robert J. and Linda Foster Judy Fournier Maria-Teresa Fowell Diane Fowler Leone and Clarence+ Fowler Claire Fox Suzanne Fox Susan Francois James and Kelly Frankenfeld Joanne and Tom Frankenfield Daniel J. and Mary Franta James and Cathy Franta John P. and Jeanne+ Fraune Rex and Doneta Free Kenneth C. and Denise Freed Rev. Ioannis Freeman M. Ann Freitas Peter and Nancy Fribley Richard and Marilyn Frie Dr. Gregory and Ann Friederichs Joseph and Nadine Friederichs Joseph and Kathleen+ Friedrich Michael J. Friedrich Cecilia Friend Rev. Gilbert R. and Gretchen Friend-Jones John and Sandra Fritscher Dr. Thomas and Cathy Fritz Deacon Bob and Gretchen Froehle Karen L. and Mark Froehly Dr. Ann I. Fromell-Theis Deacon Jeffrey D. and Donna Fromm Giusy Frontini David and Sally Frost

Alan Reed, O.S.B.

Rev. Robert Fucheck Dr. Stephen C. Fuller Janice Funk Richard and Janice Furcht Jerry and Jeanne Furst Mary Gabelman Gerard and Martha Gach Mary Jane Gaffney Norbert J. Gaier Richard J. Galena Anne C. Gall Edward Gallagher III Mary Gallagher Sylvia A. Gallo James and Mary Grace Galvin Janet and Thomas+ Gambrino Stephen and Barbara Gamradt Louise Gangelhoff Dianne Gapinski Lisa Gariepy Thomas J. and Colleen Garrity Daniel and Mary Garry Rev. Dr. Edward Garten Edward and Joan Gartner Rebecca Garza Bruce and Bonnie Gasperlin Valerius N. Gasperlin Robert Gatz+ Robert and Charlotte Gavin Supranee Gavinlertvatana Clifford and Peg Gawne-Mark Margaret K. Gaynor Michael A. Gee Alan Geiwitz and Mary McMahon General Mills Foundation Rev. Donald Genereux John and Barb Gerend Julius and Katherine Gernes Timothy M. Gerrety and Huyen Nguyen Donald and Mary Gerum Sue Gherty Frank C. Giardina Jr.

Jane Gilbert-Howard and Kenneth Howard Dale Gilbertson Drs. Shawn P. Gillen and Barbara Higgins Renee Gilmore Mary Alice Ginther Rev. Edward M. Girres Mark J. and Kelly Giura Sharon and James Givens Wayne and Kathleen Gjerde John and JoAnn Glady Robert and Jean Glass Jeffrey A. Glover Jim and Rainy Glowack Andualem D. Gobena Leila Goblirsch+ Peter Godich and Martie Woods William R. and Virginia Goedde Gina C. Goetzie Maureen P. Golden Elizabeth Goman Edgar and Beatriz Gomez Laura Gonzalez Perez Perry and Patti Good Vernon W. Goodin Jack and Margaret Goodnoe Dan Goodrich Elna Goodspeed Ed and Donna Goossens Robert A. Goossens Timothy M. and Susan Gossman Louis M. and Eileen Gottwalt Thomas and Maria Gottwalt Mark and Karen Gould Charlene Gove Colleen and Michael Grady Jim and Mary Graeve Rev. William C. Graham Leon and Patricia Grahn S. Brigid Marie Grandey, S.C. James and Judy Graner Jerome and Kathleen Graney Leann Gratz Edward and Alice Grayson James and Kathleen Green Thomas and Mary Greenstein Wayne and Mary Gregoire John and Barb Grek Robert A. Gresbrink Dr. Thomas and Denise Gribbin Drs. John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker Grant R. Grissom Alvina Groebner Kara Groff Virginia B. Grosh Thomas and Nancy Gruber Theresa J. Gucker Mary L. Guerrero Debra Guertin Gil and Lisa Gullickson Dolores Gulotta Louis and Mary Gundrum

S. Sally Gunn Kevin H. Gust Kenneth Gutzwiller Eugene and Terese Haak Barbara Haase Marlene Haberer Raymond L. Hackert Dr. Benedict R. and Claire Haeg Hon. Thomas F. and Susan Haeg Thomas and Mary Hager Dan and Margee Haider Matthew J. Haines and Jennifer Marshall Bonnie Hall Jeffrey G. and Kathy Hall Lois Hall Mary Hall Patrick M. and Suzan Hall Thomas R. Hall and Julie Kunkel Joseph F. and Kristine Halloran Dr. Walter H. and Maura Halloran Darnell and Mary Halverson Joshua M. and Mara Halverson Dr. Paul R. and Mary Hamann Margaret M. Hamburger and John Kupris Mary J. Hammond Patricia M. Hampl Marcia Hampton Helen Hamrick Michael Hancock Sheila Hannon Mary Ann Hansen Mary E. and Richard Hansen Nicholas A. and Kelley Hansen Richard and Kathryn Hansen Bruce S. Hanson Charlotte L. Hanson Dennis Hanson Dr. Robert and Gaylynn Hanson Steven and Diane Hanson Bill and Kitty Hanz Bob F. Happke Bill and Alice Hardy Marjorie Harlow Katharine Harmon and Matthew Sherman Robert and Linda Harmon Sheri Harms Patricia E. Harnish Rosie Harren Betty Harris Laura J. Harris Margaret and Alan Harris Louise Harris-Cole Kathleen Hartman Terrance J. and Renee Hartman Francis Hartmann John and Mary Hartmann Marvin A. and Pamola E. Hartung Victor Hartung Dr. Quentin and Kathleen Hartwig Diana H. Haskins

Louis and Kathleen Hastert Norton J. and Kathy J. Hatlie Robert J. Hauer Jr. John and Felicia Havenaar Patrick J. and Mary Ann Haws Karen Hayes Gerard M. Healy Suzanne G. and Terence Healy Dr. Michael D. and LaRae Heaney Stephen and MaryEllen Hecimovich David Heike John and Joyce Heilard Dale L. and Kay Heimermann John and Lorna Heinen Marjorie Heinz Jeffrey B. and Alice Heinzen Dale and Joan Heitz Thomas and Barbara Heitzmann Patrick L. Held Michael and Janice Helkenn Junita Hemke Mildred Hemmelgarn Frances Hemmesch Kenneth and Jane Hemmesch Michael T. and Michelle Hemmesch Kathleen M. Henderson Danny and Sandra Hendrikson Charles J. Henkel Pat Henkel Richard P. and Nancy Hennig Roger and Bonnie Hennis Dr. James Henry and Mary Baumberger-Henry Joseph E. and Martha Henry Patrick Henry Darryl L. Hensel John and Janet Hentges Mary and James Herbert Adam A. and Charitie Herbst Alan and Sandra Herbst John and Marnee Herd Dr. Patrick R. Hermanson David Hermerding and Kathleen Maloney Hermerding Dr. Roger and Marlene Herold Kathleen Herrick Kelly Herron Dr. Noreen L. Herzfeld Frank and Mary Beth Hess Dr. Philip and Elizabeth Hessburg

Andy Heuer and Pairin Hongsoongnern Robert and Karen Heying James P. and Lynne Hicks John M. and Mary Jane Hicks Patrick J. and Tania Hicks Bryant and Margery High Horse Neal and Kelly Hightower George E. and Anne C. Hildahl Tim J. Hill and Kerry A. Dixon Richard and Rose Hinkemeyer Daniel Hinrichs and Heather Butkowski-Hinrichs Patrick R. and Diane Hirigoyen Catherine Hobday Lisa M. Hodnicki Andrea Hoelscher Dennis and Rita Hoemberg Dr. Hector F. and Mary Hoenig Mark D. and Jenn Hoffman Dr. James R. Hofmann Kathy A. Hogan Kevin P. and Lucy Hogan Tom and Jane Hogan Stephen Hogberg Donald G. and Louise Holden Michael R. and Renee Hollenback Dr. Robert W. Hollenhorst Ann Holleschau Alice S. and David J. Holm Barb and Tom Holmgren Daniel J. Holmgren and Erik Haaland Robert and Francene Holstein Bradley and Linda Holt John J. and Sara Holter Steven and Susan Holupchinski Mark Homer and Joanne Loritz Rev. Keith E. Homstad Martha Otto Honer Honeywell International Charity Matching Carolyn Honl Don J. and Jeanne Hoodecheck James G. Hoofnagle John H. and Colleen Hooley Eugenia C. Hopfer William B. and Mary J. Horak J. Gregory and Patricia Horgan John and Geri Hotz Tonya and Scott Hougen Barbara Jane Houle, Ph.D. Mary Lou Houle

God has given us two hands—one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for giving.

Billy Graham

Fall 2021

Jerald L. and Juliann Howard Richard J. and Christine Howard Kent P. and Marylyn Howe Kevin P. and MaryAnn Howe Paul J. and Dolores Huber Mary Jane E. Huberty James J. Hubner Gerald Hudson Mary Durocher Hudson John Huepenbecker and Marcia Page Kevin J. and Joanne Hughes Margy Hughes Monica Hughes Rosemary Hughes Theresa and Thomas Hughes Laurence D. Huls Richard A. and Donna Humphrey Robin Hunstad Dr. Kai K. and Myrna Hunt Carolyn Hunter Marian Huntley-Lickteig Theresa Huppertz Edwin A. and Quonnella M. Hurd Robert Hurley and Chantal Tanguay Jeffrey P. Hutson Roger C. Huyink Robert and Carol Hyde Sandra A. and John J. Hyland III

Abbot John Klassen

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John and Teresa Hyrkas Thomas and Diane Iacarella Thomas and Christine Igielski Diane Ignowski Marilu Illenberger Keith Imm and Susan Imm-Ttees Nina and John Incampo Marita Ingalsbe Kenneth and Lucy Irvine David Ivanov Lance D. Jacobs Sean M. Jacobson Tom and Sharon Jaeb Daniel and Lois Jaeger Douglas W. and Laura Jaeger John T. Jaeger Jan and Kim Jahnke Michael Jakubczyk Bernadette Janisch Warren D. and Dianne Janzen James Jarocki and Kris Blakeslee Rev. Paul Jaroszeski David P. Jasper Kevin and Christina Jenner Gerard and Leona Jenniges Randal and Judith Jenniges Colleen A. Jennings Michael R. and Patricia Jennings Ryan J. Jense and Helena Baldasty Michael D. and Kathleen Jensen Deborah J. and Thomas Jerome

Michael Crouser

Joseph and Andrea Jimenez Gregory C. and Delanie Johnsen Clifford and Patricia Johnson David Johnson and Megan Hughes Gail and Robert Johnson J. Ralph and Adrienne Johnson Janet Johnson Lawrence A. Johnson and Gwen Perun Lowell B. Johnson Marianne Johnson Michael and Patrice Johnson Nancy Johnson Patricia S. Johnson Peggy Johnson Rita Johnson Dr. Robert and Linda Johnson Steven Johnson and Susan Iverson Steven and Patricia Johnson Catherine Johnston and Brian Drake John V. and Kelly Jones Patsy Herbison Jones Raymond Jones Heidi Joos Lawrence and Renee Jordan William and Rosemarie Jorgensen Janet Joy Daniel and Janet Joyce Gregory A. and Julie W. Juba Robert G. and Mary Juenemann Frederick and Mary Lou Juettner Thomas J. and Shirley Jungels Emelia A. Junk Roger W. and Kathleen Junker Karen and Ted+ Kaden Erwin and Marie Kainer Kurt Kaiser and Mary Clark-Kaiser Jerry and Carol Kalinowski Jon R. Kallman Richard and Susan Kallok Jenrose and Linus+ Kalthoff Thomas A. and Roswitha Kamla Roger and Judith Kanies Daniel and Sara Kantor Mary Fran and William Karanikolas Christina Karnowski Lloyd and Adelaide Kasprick Greg Katz and Margaret Holmes Timothy Kauppi DeAnn Kautzmann Kevin and Joanne Keane Dennis R. and Carole Keefe S. Carol Keehan Dennis and Elizabeth King Keenan Dwight and Renee Keene

Julie Keesling John Keimel and Ellen Kraft Robert F. Kelleher David G. Keller and Emily Wilmer Matthew A. Keller David H. and Jean Ann Kelley Jane Kelly Jerome W. and Sharon Kelly Joseph P. and Jean A. Kelly Mary M. Kelly Patricia Kelly Paul E. and Marilyn Kelly Richard J. Kelly Thomas P. and Denise Kelly Theresa Kelsch George R. and Charlene Kelzer Daniel and Betsy Kennedy Frank A. Kennedy Ronald P. Keogh Mary Lou Kerber Keith J. and Elizabeth Kerfeld George Kern Jerome L. Kern Most Rev. Donald J. Kettler Jerome C. and Bonnie Kettleson Dr. Thomas J. and Pamela Keul Catherine M. Key Randall P. and Janice Kieffer Rev. Robert J. Kieffer Micah D. and Eleanor Kiel Mary E. Kielty Francis P. Kilcoyne Andrew Kim Matthew G. Kiminski James G. Kimmitz Steven M. Kin Corrine Kindschy Drs. Bernard C. and Virginia Kinnick Jacob R. Kirsch Steven J. and Ruth Kirsch Kevin D. Kirwin Franz J. Kitzberger Patricia Klarkowski Richard and Janice Klaverkamp Mary R. Klehr Arnold E. and Roxanne Klein Douglas and Patricia Klein Janice Klein Rae and LTC James E. Klein (Ret.) Robert F. and Mary C. Klein Dale C. and Karen Kleinschmidt Robert and Phyllis Kleinschmidt Colleen Klessig Darrell and Darlene Kloeppner Robert J. and Carolyn Kluk Barbara Ann Kluka Frederic W. Knaak Donna Mae Knapek John A. and Maureen Knapp Loretta Knapp, R.J.M.

Dr. Michael J. and Catherine Knapp Pat and Kate Knight Knights of Columbus Council No. 1636 Jeanette Knippen Shawn D. and Jessica Knorr John Kobishop James A. and Beverly Koceja Duane and Barbara Kocik David L. and Kimberly Kohorst Marvin A. and MaryJane Kollodge Teresa M. and Kenneth Koltes Duwayne Konewko John A. Kooi Jeff Korsmo Walter J. Kosel Jerome D. and Rita Kostreba Mary Jo Koszarek Kathy Kovell Timothy and Jennifer Kowalewski Mary Lou Kozmik James and Joan Kracher Paul M. Kraemer Deacon Eugene and Linda Kramer Kenneth and Colleen Kranz William and Beverly Kranz Michael P. and Joan Krause Rev. Michael Krejci Dr. Thomas Krembs Robert Kreps Robert W. Kressin Richard and Karla Kretchmer Joann M. Kriege Janice Kristanti Irene Kroening Tom and Mary Kroll Frances Kron Dr. James and Mary Krook Charles and Laura Kropke Marilyn Krueger Daniel Krumenaker Art and Bernice Krump Kathleen A. Kucer, M.D. Maureen Kucera-Walsh and Michael Walsh Richard G. Kuchera Jim and Polly Kuelbs Lenore Kuelbs Mr. and Mrs. Tom Kukowski Paul T. and Kathryn Kulas Barbara A. Kummerer Richard and Debbie Kummet Bernie and Karen Kunkel Katherine Kunkel Dennis W. Kurtz Matthew E. Kuskie John T. Kustermann Kathleen Kuznia Lawrence and Margaret Kwacala

Marion Kyler Roger and Sally Labat Rev. Frederick C. LaBrecque Brennan M. Lafeber Kip and Mary Lager Marlene S. Lahr Allan M. Lai and Cecilia Tsang Christopher J. and Susie Laird Arthur Laliberte Richard T. Lally Jr. Huong T. Lam John D. and Margaret LaMarche Darren M. Lamb Mary Rose Lamb Rosemarie C. Lambert Gail Lamberty Ronald and Janenne LaMere Rev. Robert Lampert Carol H. Landgraf C. Bruce and Stephanie Landsem Bernard A. and Zerrin Langer Matthieu Langlois Doris Langston Philip and Debra LaPorte Michael F. and Deborah Larkin Maureen Larney S. G. LaRosa Kathleen Larsen Harold and Mary Larson L. Wayne and Sharon Larson John J. and Kathleen Lauber Glen A. Lauer John G. Lauer James and Mary Jane Lauerman Deacon Vincent I. and Carol Laurato Mary A. LaVoy Maureen and Lanny Law Dr. James and Judy Layer William D. and Dawn Leach Patricia Leahy Donald and Mary Leaon Eric M. LeCompte and Kate Kowalski Eddie C. and Joan Lee Robert Lee and Mary E. Schaffner Andrew Leet Patricia Lefevere Susan and Edward W. Lehmann Jr. Gary and Diana Lein Rev. Richard J. Leisen James N. Leitschuh Lorrayne S. Lenarz Yvonne M. Lencioni Thomas Lenertz James and Dana Lentini Brian A. and Betsy Jo Lenzmeier Richard and Louise LeSavage Rosemary LeTendre Eugene and Irma Letson Suk Chee Rosa Leung Cordelia Lewandoski

The Benedictine monks of Saint John’s Abbey welcome guests of all faiths to experience the abiding presence of God within a praying community. Richard and Emma Lewis Patricia Libra Reggie J. and Denise Licari Robert and Margaret Lietzke Delrio Ligons-Berry Patrick and Renee Lilly Pang Juan and Susan Lim Thomas and Kathryn Lindquist Dr. Robert A.+ and Lois+ Liners James C. and Kathleen Lingor Daniel Linwick S. Anna M. Lionetti Joseph P. and Mary Alice Lipinski John and Kathryn Lipke Paul Lippert Daniel P. and Mary Beth Liska Dorothy and William Liszka-Vowles Timothy J. and Laurie Lloyd Daniel J. and Kathy Loegering Judith Lohmann Paul and Joan Lombardi Stephen and Barbara London S. Alice Long Dr. Bernard and Peggy Long Peggy Louis Robert and Marie Louisell John and Melanie Lovejoy Danny Lovestrand Roger and Rosie Loxtercamp Mark J. and Karen Ludick Deacon Matt and Denise Ludick Julian R. Luetmer Larry and Jo Ann Luetmer Barbara Lundberg M. Todd Lundquist Anthony and Susan Lussenhop Anthony and Gail Lusvardi Donald J. Luther Thomas Lux and Carolyn Britton John and Katherine Lynch Julie and Patrick Lynch Martin and Catherine Lynch Dr. Mary E. Lyons Charles C. and Geraldine Maas Diana J. Macalintal and Nicholas Wagner Mollie MacEachern Robert J. and Maria MacFarlane Dwaine Machacek George Mack Joyce D. Macnamara Richard Madden

Richard E. Madigan Rev. John W. Madsen William J. Maguire Donald J. and Yong Maher Charles J. Mahowald Charles J. and Susan Malerich Rev. Donald A. Malins, Obl.S.B. Annette Malone David P. Malone Catherine Mamer Martin and Laurie Manahan Bruce Mancini and Betty Nystrom Kateri Mancini and Michael Gallagher Francis M. Mancl Sharon A. and Chris Manternach Katherine S. Manthey Dr. Michael and Laurie Marchetti Kelly Marlow KC and Anne Marrin Marguerita Marschall Mary Ann Marschall and James Hibbs Richard J. and Patricia Marshik David and Mary Grace Martin COL James and Rhona Martin Dr. Kathryn A. Martin Leo and Susan Martin Mary Lou and Roger+ Martin Patrick Martin and Amy Honek Matthew J. Maruska Timothy E. and Monica Marx John E. and Kathleen Marxer Charles M. Mason Lucy A. Mastri Dr. Angela Mastri-Rizack Thomas F. and Michelle Matchie Jennifer A. Mateer John S. Mathias Judith A. Mathiowetz Robert A. Mattes Phyllis Mattill Mark and Susan Matuska Donald and Joan Matz Paul A. and Maureen Maus Tom and Mary Maus Paul and Susan Maxbauer Dr. David P. Mayer Dr. James Mazza and Elizabeth Dexter-Mazza

Fall 2021

Dr. Bill and Jane McBride Harold and Julie McCarthy Richard A. and Regina McCarthy James B. and Annette McConnell Timothy and Laurie McCoy Robert and Carolyn McCulloch Daniel M. and Sarah McDermott Emmanuel A. McDonald Lee J. McDonald and Ginger Johnson Myles T. McDonald Edward McDonnell Leigh E. McDonnell Patrick McDonnell and Pam Johnson Robert F. McDonnell Annie L. McEntee Jon D. McGee and Ann Nicklawske McGee Rosemarie McGiffin John McGinty Virginia McGoldrick Margaret McGonigle L. J. McGovern Rosemary McGraw Timothy S. and Jeanne McIntee Stephen J. McKenzie Dr. John H. McKnight, Obl.S.B. Kevin McLane Margaret M. McLaughlin Maureen McLaughlin-Crawford Edward and Linda McManis Sharon McMillan, S.N.D. Marian F. McNamara William and Stephanie McNamara Ann McNamee Harry G. McNeely John McNeil Bernadette McQuaig David and Kathleen Mead Sue Meers Gerald L. and Evelyn Mehrkens Irene M. and James Meier Peter B. Meier Ruben U. Mejia Bruce Melchert and Cathrine Nilles Hazel Meoska Thomas Meoska Carol A. Mercil Joseph F. Merkle Colin M. Merrigan Randy and Lisa Merritt Rev. David Mesner Daniel A. Metzler Bonnie and Jeff Meyer Cyril N. and Darlene Meyer Douglas E. Meyer Gregory Meyer and Joanne Bongaarts

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Abbey Conservation Corps volunteers Jeffrey and Michele Meyer Leroy J. and Jane Meyer Lloyd and Joanie Meyer Madeline E. and Jeffrey D. Meyer Mark and Michele Meyer Richard J. and Mary Meyer Richard and Becky Meyerhofer David Meyers and Catherine O’Link-Meyers Michael Rinaldi & Co. LLP Gordy Midas Paul and Tricia Middleton James L. Miller John Miller and Sandy Bot-Miller Steven Miller and Lizette Larson Burdette C. Miller-Lehn Brian J. and Aleta Millette Patrick H. and Gertrude Mingo William D. Minihan The Minneapolis Foundation Minnesota State Bldg & Construction Trades Council Dennis L. Mishuk Thomas and Mary Misurek Gary P. and Barbara Mitchell Paul Mitchell Geraldine Mock Steven and Rachael Mock Mark and Tere Moehlenbrock Gary and Barbara Moeller Robert J. and Sharon Moeller William A. and Ann Moeller S. Lorraine Molchanow Kevin and Delia Molinaro-Nolan

Bart and Barbara Mollet Timothy Moloney Margaret Molus Rev. Raymond G. Monsour Eduardo Montes Mary Moore Michael J. and Rita Moore Mary and Mark Moraczewski Ana Moreno and James Solem Michael and Patricia Moriarity Mary Morley and James Unger A. A. Moroun Donald L. Morovits David J. Morreim Royce W. and Marjorie Morrissette Craig and Rebecca Mortell Donald and Marie Mortimer Mark Mortrude Ernest Moser Drs. Greg Motl and Laurel Brooks Daniel and Laurie Moudry James W. Moudry and Carole Kastigar+ Peter and Anne Moynihan Len and Kay Mrachek Sara Mruz Craig Mueller Craig Mueller and Vicki Whipple-Mueller Betty Muellner Louise M. Muggli Paula E. Muggli and Lon Enerson Dr. William and Imelda Muggli Mary Lou Mulcahey-Ott Darra D. Mulderry

John Geissler

Rev. John T. Mullarkey James H. and Mari Mullen Jr. Lawrence E. and Irene Mullen Virginia Mullery Robert and Nancy Mulligan Fra’ Thomas Mulligan James A. and Franchelle Mullin Joseph D. and Sharon Mullin Michael and Laura Mullin Michael T. Mulroe James and Barbara Mulrooney Todd Munson Allison E. Murphy Donna Murphy John Murphy Patrick W. and Joyce T. Murphy Paul and Roberta Murphy Richard and Marilyn Murphy Rosemary Murphy and Gerald Kasprzak Maureen Murray Charles and Barbara Mutscheller Mutual of America Foundation Duane and Judy Muyres Robert J. and Margie Mycka Mark and Ann Myers Roy and Gillian Myers Madeline Naftzger Sumi Nakanishi GEN Paul Nakasone Gary J. and Eileen M. Nalevanko Marilu Narem Kristi A. Nash Rev. Dale M. Nau William and Nancy Naughton Brad Neary Robert and Joyce Neary

Mary Neidermeier Bradley C. Nelson DeVaughn and Emily Nelson Margaret Nelson Dr. Ronald and Lucille Nelson Ryan S. and Catherine Nelson Sheila Nelson Brian J. Nett John B. and Kathleen Nett Network for Good Benedict and Frances Neubauer Michael Neumayer John S. and Margrette Newhouse Roger V. Newinski Rev. Duong Nguyen Jane Niebauer Waldo and Elaine Niebauer Todd R. and Laura Nielsen Jean Nierengarten Joseph and Melinda Nilan Patricia A. Nilius Elizabeth Nilles John D. and Jean Noack Ronald J. Noecker Joseph P. Noelke Jr. Bruce R. Nolan Lawrence Nolan Matthew Nolan Peter J. and Cathy Nolan Tony Nordick Judith M. Norman Stephen and Joni Norman David and Beverly Norris Kathleen Norris William J. Noth and Marcia Baumhover S. Irene Novak, O.S.F. John and Lois Novotny Edward J. and Sara Nowak Angela Nugent Gus and Mary Nuzzolese John W. and Judy B. Nyhus Darrell and Sharon Nystrom Richard E. Oberg Robert and Marilyn Obermiller Daniel O’Brien and Catherine Dolan Rev. John F. O’Brien Jerome D. O’Connell and Katherine Bloom O’Connell Joan O’Connell Donna O’Connor Fran O’Connor Michael W. O’Connor Carol H. O’Conor Jeff Odendahl Robert and Donna O’Donnell Dr. Patrick A. O’Dougherty John Desmond O’Duffy Thomas and Mary Clare O’Grady Christina O’Hara Marge O’Hara

Robert D. O’Hara Michael O’Hare Lisa Ohm and Stuart Goldschen Mary Ann and Thomas L. Okner Rev. Robert Oldersahw Debera O’Leary Peggy O’Leary, C.S.J. John and Carolyn Olive Joseph and Carol Olivieri Bill and Becky Olson John M. Olson Jon Olson and Bridget Doyle-Olson Josephine V. Olson Karen E. Olson Mr. and Mrs. Ray R. Olson Eugene and Rita Olsson Patrick and Peg O’Malley Elaine Omann Daniel C. O’Meara Michael O’Neill Thomas and Carole Orth William Osei-Bonsu and Maria Insaidoo Phil and Gail Osendorf Mary Osterhus John “Jack” and Ann Osterman Steven and Karen Ostovich Malcolm and Mary O’Sullivan David Ott Robert G. Otting-Crandall Deacon Sherman Otto Nicholas E. and Diane Overby James M. and Kathleen Pach Laurie Packard Ronald Paczkowski and Judith Talbott Joseph and Stephanie Palen David and Jean Palkert Rev. M. Charles Palluck Gary D. Palm Bruce C. and Mary Palmborg Christopher and Christine Palmer Mary Pluth Palmquist Scott E. and Jacqueline Palmquist Marion Pandiscio Deborah L. Paone Raymond Parise and Debra Miller Dorothy B. Parish Grace Parker Sharon Parriott Earl H. and Rosemary Parrish Anthony Paternoster Most Rev. Richard E. Pates Pam and Dan Patnode Rev. Richard W. Patt Cecilia Paulus+ Ed Pavek Douglas C. and Colleen Pearson Robert C. and Renee Pearson Edward A. Pease David and Mary Jo Pedersen Bernard and Judith Pekarek

Lorraine and R. Ted+ Peller Julie Pelowitz Susan A. Pemberton Herbert and Deborah Pembleton Sharon Pennock John W. Pepelnjak Gail H. and Edward R. Perez Diane Perillo Michael Peroz and Mary Joy Rieder Barbara Perrella Bruce and Patricia Perrizo Kevin W. and June Perrizo Michael L. Perrizo Mary Persoon Darrold Persson Rose Marie Peters Charlotte L. Peterson Danial and Susan Peterson Dennis Peterson Edward and Julie Peterson H. Jeffrey Peterson Laurel Peterson Paul and Maryanne Peterson Kathleen Petheo Norman Petrik Joseph J. Petroski Robert and Ann Petrzelka Jon Petters and Colleen Hollinger Timothy and Jane Pettinger Chet and Janice Pettite Dr. David J. and Sara Petullo Dr. COL James A. and Gay Pfaff Brad Pfahning and Kay Bezdichek Mary K. Pfantz Rev. Bernard A. Pfau Maryann Pflipsen William Phelps and Sayre Weaver-Phelps Thomas L. Piazza Emy E. and Marie Picard Ernest J. Piche Linda M. Pick Evelyn Raba Pickersgill Arnold Picon Katherine M. Piderman Thomas Piekarczyk and Carol Graczyk Dennis and Joan Pieper Roger B. Pieper Diane and Mike Pierce Mary Ann Pierce Rita M. Pierskalla Paul D. Pieschel Justin D. and Elizabeth Piggush Janice Pikal Will E. and Anne Pilkington Edwin J. Pinheiro James and Ellen Pinkowski Dr. John D. Pirsch Stanley and Virginia Pitra

James and Barbara Platten Kenneth J. Plein Brian and Cynthia Plesha Michelle A. Plombon Patrick Plonski and Judy Hawkinson Dr. Kenneth and Beryl Plotnik Patricia E. Podesta Gavin J. and Becca Poindexter Anne and Christopher Policinski Polipnick Insurance Philip J. and Jacque Polipnick Edward F. and Susan Poniewaz James E. Pontius Mary Poole Roger L. and Elaine Popp Carol Johnson Porter Robert H. and Joanne Porter Betty Porwoll Molly A. Posch Thomas and Mary Jo Poscharsky Jack E. Povlock George L. Powers Michael and Margery Powers Jana M. and Charles+ Preble David C. Prem Steve Prokop Kathleen A. Prokopec Frederick and Patricia Prom Mark and Elaine Prom Matthew J. and Chrissi Prom James F. and Mary Prosser Arthur and Anne Przybilla Cinzia Pucciani Duane M. Pufpaff Thomas Pugh George and Binu Punnoose Ronald E. Putz Ralph and Kay Quaas David and Marian Quale Ann Mary Quarandillo Edward P. and Catherine Queenan Jack and Alice Quesnell Thomas and Jaci Quigley Shannon J. Quinlivan Louise Quiroz Joanne L. and Leonard Rabatin Hon. Frank L. and Margaret Racek Brian J. Racette and Colleen Johnson Paul R. and Rose Radkowski Rev. Raymond M. Rafferty Jeanette Rahm Steven J. and Lara Raich David and Carol Rajdl Marvin C. and Phyllis Rakotz Rameer Corporation Mark A. and Kathleen J. Ramion Hon. Jim Randall Magdaline A. Randolph

Fall 2021

Michael and Carol Rangitsch David Rask Rita Rassier Thomas and Deborah Ratelle Keenan and Denise Raverty Terry and Wanda Rawson Gary and JoAnn Raymond Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund Michael S. and Janet Reagan Rebecca Reagan Bernadette Ann Reardon Terry and Michael Reasoner David and Nancy Rectenwald David and Dianne Redman Richard M. and Margaret Reesor Mary S. Regan Pierre N. and Judith Regnier Carol Reichert Jerome E. and Carole Reid Joseph and Sharon Reid Michael and Kim Reiff John P. and Pamela Reilly Robert Reilly and Judith Heinz Dr. Bernard and Dawn Reimer Thomas T. and Linda L. Rein Kathy Jane Reinhardt Thomas and Denise Reinig Mary and Harry+ Reischl Jon L. Reissner and Ann Ferreira Reissner Sandy Reiter Thomas and Leslie Remenschneider Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc. Michael and Elizabeth Renier Brian G. Resch Denise Reuter Leanna G. Rexford Maurice Reyerson and Anna Klarowicz Gerard F. Delos Reyes John and Marge Reynolds Joane Rhoda Dick Rice and Rosemarie Whitehead Isabella M. Rice Allen C. and Colleen Richardson Dr. Deryck and Nadya Richardson Charles and Kay Richter Michele Richter Alan E. and June Ricke

Kathy Riebe Mary Joy Rieder and Michael Peroz Jakob K. Rinderknecht Joseph and Gail Rinderknecht Audrey Ringdal+ John P. and Teresa Ringle Lloyd Ringrose Raymond W. Riordan Karen M. Ristau Edward and Stephenie Ritger Kevin M. Rittenhouse Richard R. Rivard David and Christa Rivers Laura C. Roberts Morgan and Shirley Robinson David Rocchio and Michele Houston Barbara Roche Robert D. Rock Jeri Rockett and John Hershey Geraldine Roebuck John R. and Mary Roeder Kathleen Roehl Thomas and Gloria Roelike Thomas and Mary Rohr Rev. Robert J. Rokusek Marcella Rooney Jean Roozendaal Dr. Christopher G. Rose Joan E. Rosenberger Deacon Kenneth W. and Michele Rosha Michael J. and Peggy Roske Lynda Ross Harry and Vicky Rossander Marilyn and Hank Rossiter Kristine Rossman Rhonda and Jim Rossman Margaret Roth Patrick M. and Susan Rother Jerry and Lois Rothstein Peter J. Rothstein Vivian C. and Raymond Rowe Dr. David and Betsy Rowekamp Jeffery and Anne Rowthorn Benjamin P. and Maureen Roy Ford Royer Jean A. Royer Delores Rubald Michael and Nancy Rubino Jay R. and Ellen Ruble Paula Ruddy Mary L. Rudick Allan J. and Mary Rudolph

If we have nothing material to give, we can offer our attention, our energy, our appreciation. The world needs us. It doesn’t deplete us to give. Sharon Salzberg

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Genevieve Rudolph Kathlyn Rudolph Dr. Thomas D. and Dorothy Rudolph Laurel Rudolph-Kniech and James Kniech Richard and Adele Rudy Constance A. Ruhr Cheryl Running Rev. David G. Russell Rev. Stanley J. Russell David and Eileen Rutten Mrs. Agnes Ryan Eric J. Ryan Erin E. Ryan James and Charlotte Ryan John and Jeanette Ryan Judith A. Ryan Kenneth and Kathleen Ryan Mary C. Ryan Michael J. and Janice Ryan Patrick M. Ryan David W. and Jane Rymanowski Rosario G. Sabido Mary M. Sadek Paul L. and Angela Saffert Ronald J. and Barbara Saffert Jo Ann Safranek Saint John the Baptist Parish, Collegeville Jerry and Melissa Sais Barbara Sajna Carla Sak Mark and Mary Saladin Rosaria Salerno, Obl.S.B. Michael P. and Patricia Salm Kari L. Salzer Gerald and Lorraine Sande Joseph F. and Takako Sandkamp Virgil and Joan Sandkamp Chuya J. Santo Dennis K. and Cynthia Sapletal Laura Lee Saterfield David J. and Joyce Sauer John and Margie Sauer Richard and Sharon Savageau Carolyn R. Sawyer Edward and Sheila Scanlan Gene Scapanski Kathryn M. and Peter Scegura Mary A. Fox Schaefer Michael and Patricia Schaefer Regina M. Schaefer Dr. Richard Schaefer Mary F. Schaffer James E. Schaffhausen Leonard and Mary Scharmach James A. and Rosanne Schaub Sr. Msgr. Roger J. Scheckel James Scheibel and Mary Pat Lee Michael P. and Laura K. Schenk Alice A. Scherer Mark and Heather Scherer

Ben Schirber Walter and Christine Schirber Alex and Susan Schleper Leona Schleper Richard and Elaine Schleper Otilla M. Schley James and Sharon Schlick Joseph and Mary Jo Schlick Mrs. Evelyn Schlosser Michael A. Schlosser Dale Schmidt David H. and Ruth Schmidt John A. and Margaret Schmidt Paul and Annie Schmidt Philip G. Schmidt+ Brian and Michelle Schmit James W. Schmitt Deacon Joseph and Becky Schmitt Robert and Mary Schmitt Fritz and Carol Schmitz Leo Schmitz Deacon Vernon J. and Diane Schmitz Gerald Schnabel and Linda Nistler-Schnabel Barbara G. Schneider Gerald and Therese Schneider James and Carol Schneider Dr. Norbert and Margaret Schneider Stephen J. and Anne Schneider William P. Schneider James Schnepf and Connie Nelson Paul and Connie Schnepf Jeffrey and Linda Schnobrich Christine R. Scholl Michael Schomer and Nicole Clements Terry and Lynn Schones Shirley L. Schoonover Ronald and Marcia Schorn Jackie and Wendell Schott Cathie Schoultz Bradley and Marjorie Schreier Vincent and Beverly Schreier Anthony and Cynthia Schreiner Galen and Mary Schroeder Helen Schroeder Mary and Galen Schroeder Cletus and Ardis Schroepfer Laurence and Helen D. Schroepfer James and Cheryl Schubert S. Dolores Schuh, C.H.M. Wilfred and Donna Schulte Eugenia Schulzetenberg+ Richard and Monica Schulzetenberg Don and Kitty Schumacher Mary Jane and Robert Schutzius Steven R. and Barbara Schuyler Geraldine Schwab Patrick S. and Christine Schwab Henry and Alma Schwalbenberg

Steven G. Schwartz William and Maureen Schwartz Ken Schweiss Thomas Schwen Robert and Margaret Schwob Mike and Christine Scillo Thomas and Maryellen Scott Adele Scritchfield Dr. Robert Scully Dorothy Sebastian Thomas and Barbara Seeger Bruce L. Seekins Kelly C. Seelbach Scott and Mary Sehnert Frank and Delores Seidl William Seidl Beverly Seifert Scott Seiler Rev. Sandra Selby Peter and Sarah Seltz Family James and Leslie Senden Jo Senta+ Dr. Elizabeth Serow John J. and Frances F. Serpe Joseph and Sandra Sery Kevin and Rebecca Sexton Michael and Mary Ann Sexton Rev. Michael F. Sexton Michael and Debra Seykora Amb. Robert and Ellen Shafer Deacon Clarence J. Shallbetter Rev. Martin B. Shallbetter Thomas and Margaret Shannon Samuel Sharpless and Jennifer Whitman Stephen Shatinsky Ray Shaw Judith and Leslie Sheehan Kevin A. Sheehan John Shelde Maximillian T. and K. Dawn Shemesh Steve and Sue Sherburne Rev. Edward J. Sherman Mike and Pat Shivers Rose M. Shober Fred and Shiela Shusterich Harry A. Sieben Jeffrey S. and Amy Sieben Rev. Martin J. Siebenaler John and Catherine Silver Keith and Candace Simar Joseph Simms Martha Anne Simms Jane and Robert Simon Jon J. Simon S. Rene M. Simonelic, O.S.F. Brian and Charleen Simonet John D. Sipe Ann M. Sirianni Sisters of Saint Benedict Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Jennifer and Sean Skahen

Dr. Joseph and Lisa Skemp Jana and John Skradski Joseph Skudlarek Mark and Angela Slattery Jeanne L. Slocombe Brian J. Smith Daniel and Kristine Smith Duane Smith George and Katherine Smith Gerard P. Smith Janice and J. Charles Smith Joel Smith Mary Jean Smith Mary L. Smith Dr. Michael K. and Joleen Smith Paul L. Smith Zachary B. and Joanna Smith Violet Smithwick David and Judith Smucker Julia P. Smucker Kathy Snider Seth C. and Radhika Snyder Bernadine Sobieck Morgan Soderberg Edward Sohn Adam A. Solano Jr. A. Neyle Sollee Bruce and Gloria Soma David and Stephanie Sorensen Delores J. Soroe Cher Souaziong Yvette R. South Andrew F. and Danielle Spaanem Michael and Kathy Spanier Joseph and Betty Spano Michael H. Speck Sandra Spencer Loretta J. Spesia John A. and Sharon Spies Robert and Karen Spies Jerod S. Spilman Timothy D. and Cassandra Spitzley Gregory B. and Vicki Spofford Catherine R. Sponholz Harvey Sprafka Penny Spugnardi Martin J. Stachnik JoAnn F. and Donald J. Stacken Leon G. and Beverly Stadtherr Toni Stagliano Scott K. and Renotta Stainbrook John and Alice Stalboerger David and Jeanne Stanek Noel Stanton Sharon K. Stanton Vicki Stary Gary and Nancy Starzecki Therese A. Stawowy Kristine Stedje St. Edward Catholic Church Robert Steed Roger Stegura

Pandemic dinner service David J. and Kaaren Steil William and Mary Steinbicker Mark and Carolyn Steingraeber Joseph and Marsha Stencel Margaret Stich Virginia Stillwell Mary Jo Stoffel Theresa and Douglas J.+ St. Onge Ronald A. Story Philip and Cynthia Stotesbery Glenn and Gail Stout Joel and Diane Strangis Jeannette Streefland Robert J. and Kay Streitz Jesse M. and Sarah Stremcha Mark and Joan Strobel Rev. Harlan Strong Dr. Chris and Amy Stuart Mark and Nancy Studer James E. Sturm Joseph Subiakla and Carol Mates Stanley and Connie Suchta Diane Sufka Thanongsak Sukwiwat and Suteera Sermsakul Raed Sulaiman and Christiane Maroun Joan B. Sullivan Mary Sullivan Mary Kay Sullivan Marilyn Sutton Joseph and Loretta Swanson Paul and Marie Swanson Randall and Amy Swanson Patrick and Joyce Sweeney Patrick D. and Ann J. Sweeney Mark J. Sweere Thomas G. and Allison Sweetman Gregory T. and Jeanette Swenson Lee Swenson

John Chrysostom Long, O.S.B.

Dr. Richard N. Sykes Jeffrey and Amy Symstad John and Karen Tackaberry Charles Taffe Stanley and Gloria Takahashi Julie and Mike Tangredi Mary Tansill Carol Tauer Doris Tauscher Rev. Youannes F. Tawfik Rev. David K. Taylor Jeanette Saddler Taylor Ruth Taylor TCF Foundation Tom Tegeder and Dorothy Seitz Joe and Phyllis Tegels Carol Tembreull James L. Tembrock Joseph R. and Judith Tembrock William J. and Kathleen Tembrock William J. Temmler Jerry and Janice Terrell Marjean Terrell Richard P. and Karen Teske Timothy J. Teske Margaret Ann Theis Douglas J. Theisen Carl J. Thelen Oswald L. Thelen Thomas and Eleanor Thelen Gregory and Deborah Thibodeau Elizabeth A. Thimmesh Ronald V. and Susan Thimmesh Robert and Shannon Thissen John E. Thomas Corey C. Thompson Oliver and Mary Thompson Pauline Thompson Rev. Thomas A. Thompson, S.M. Margaret Thomson Joseph and Mary Ann Thorp Donn and Patricia Thurk Bonnie Thurston

Fall 2021

Amy and Derek Timperley Dr. Stephen J. and Mae Tinguely Karl J. Tise Michael Tisserand William M. Toenies Marilyn R. Toepfer Lovel Tokic James and Debbie Tollifson J. Tomassilli Patrick and Dee Tomczik Ronald A. Tomczik

Tom Trykowski S. Joan Tuberty, O.S.F.+ Sharon H. Tupa Keith and Kristine Tussing Kathleen Twohy Patrick S. and Elizabeth Twohy Chris and Darla Twomey Mark and Judy Twomey Jack E. and and Susan Uhas Lyle and Marilyn Uhlenkamp Lorrie Ulfers Robert and Renee Ullo

Father Efraín Rosado and Emmaus Institute retreatants C. Joseph and Cindy Tonsing Urban A. Torborg James and Jodo Tornes Richard and Lynn Torney Brenda Torres Samuel Torvend Irene Toth Christina and Corey Shouse Tourino Ralph Tourino Robert A. Towner Lorrayne Traut Herb and Linda Trenz Theodore and Debra Trenzeluk Dennis and Sandy Trettel Katherine Agnew Trevey Paul D. and Karen Trewartha-Weiner Rose C. Trigg Delaynna Trim Coleen Trimble James D. Tripp Thomas E. Trisko and John E. Rittman Felix E. Tristani Angelina L. Trujillo, M.D. Randolph Trumbach

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Union Bank & Trust Dr. David A. and Marie Uppgaard Janice M. and Robert Urban Patricia Urbanski Gregory A. and Loretta Utecht Leila and Jerry Utsch Jerry L. Utt II Anita Vaessen Elizabeth Valent Betsy O. Valnes Brian R. Vander Heiden Beverly and Gregory Vander Vorste Jerry C. and Mary Vandrovec Patrick J. and Susan Vandrovec Rita A. Van Fleet Daniel D. and Jeanne Van Overbeke Rudy Van Puymbroeck Steven Vatch Jr. Marty Vebelun Tom and Elizabeth Ventura Joyce Vesel Daniel and Bridget Vetsch Thomas W. and Carol Vetter

Yolanda Vickman Richard A. and Linda Virden James A. Vivaldelli Steven and Susan McManus Vnoucek Daniel and Kristine Voce Mil Voelker Thomas R. and Mary Jo Vogel Jamie and Penny Volin David and Judith Volk William Volk and Sandra Smith Volk

Félix Mencias Babian, O.S.B.

John and Vicki Volker John J. Vondrell Greg and Dee Dee Vos Diane L. Voth Kurt P. and Cynthia Wachtler Kathlyn and Derek Wade Alice Wagner John L. Wagner Mark and Yvonne Wagner Michael J. and Aimee Wagner Nicholas E. Wagner and Diana Macalintal Dr. Richard J. and Mary Wagner Rose M. Wagner Mark Walbran Michael E. and Linda Walinski James E. Wall Eileen and Norman Wallace Jim and Gen Waller Joseph and Elizabeth Wallis Brian J. Walsh Steven P. Walter Ned and Joan Walton Gary R. Walz Leo J. Walz Wilbert M. and Karen Walz Elizabeth and Francis Wang

Joanne Ward Ward Law Office Steven L. and Jean M. Ward Terrence and Jan Ward Florence Warnert Anne Warwick Phyllis Warzecha Christopher Washburn Richard J. and Jeré Wasko Lynnae Waskosky Mark and Elizabeth Waterloo Gregory L. and Terry Waters James P. and Ann Weaver Robert G. Webber Gene M. and Judy Weber Genevieve Weber Joann Weber Pamela A. Weber Paul and Julie Weber Phyllis Weber Stephen A. and Britt Weber Jerome and Loretta Wedge Mark A. and Lisa Wegleitner LTC Thomas C. and Maria Wegleitner Frank and Eileen Weglicki John and Sue Weitz Derik and Nancy Weldon Douglas and Mary Beth Weldon Nancy O. and Derik Weldon Timothy M. and Rosemarie Weldon Andy and Nicole Welle Paul G. Welvang Rosemary Wentzell Kenneth and Kathleen Wernimont Lisa Wersal and Louis Asher Jack and Felisha Westbrock Clifford and Gloria Wexler Greg and Ellen Weyandt Helen Whalen James and L. Y. Floria Whitcomb Paul and Maureen White Richard and Lynn White Robert L. Wicker Dean and Margaret Wieber Ron Wieber Mark and Beverly Wiechman Cathy S. and Alvin Wieme Jo Wilch+ John R. and Suzane Wilcox Jerome and Martha Wilczyk Douglas A. and Eugenia Wilhelmi Pete Wilkinson Raymond R. Will+ Kenneth and Winifred Willcox Bede D. and Vonnie Willenbring Eugene and Sandra Williams James M. Williams Keith and Kelly Williams Leonardo M. Williams and Catherine Fisher

Bernetta Windschitl Joyce Windsperger-Rubio and Luis Rubio-Losada James F. Wineski and Maisie Kashka Karl and Lucy Winter James L. and Carole I. Wirz Luke T. and Kristin Witt Dr. Thomas J. and Elizabeth Witt Joyce M. Wittenhagen Kenneth Wojack Dr. Hugo M. and Agnes Wolf Leo H. and Betty Sue Wolf Raymond J. Wolf Aaron J. and Marian Wolff James and Judith Wollmering Jim Wolter Peter Wolters Ron and Kathy Woltjer Kwan Yau Wong Carolyne E. Woodle Justin K. Woodruff Albert A. and Kathleen Woodward David and Mary Woodward Thom and Jeanne Woodward Jacob C. Woolfrey Paul and Julie Woolfrey Jason T. Woolwine Tod J. and Cari Worner Scott Wothe Paul Woychick Nicholas Wren James T. and Janis Wrich Randall B. and Marti Wright Robert Wrubel Robert C. and Anne M. Wuolu Katherine Wyers Susan Wyper John Yager James and Vicki Yanisch Marilynn K. Yaremchuk Kirtley Yearwood Eileen N. Yeates Thomas Yogan James W. Young Michael Young Roger C. Young and Joy Beaulieu Young Thomas W. and Patricia Younghans Kathleen Yung Gary E. Zachman Juanita Zamor Paul and Constance Zatek Michael and Ruth Zauhar S. Andrea Zbiegien, S.F.C.C., DMin. Don and Mary Ann Zebolsky Dian Zeck Robert and Dolores Zeni Joshua J. Zenner Edward F. Zganjar Frank R. and Kathleen Ziegler

Rita Zilka Bonnie G. Zimmer Robert and Gayle Zimmerer David A. Zinz Margaret E. Zopelis Pauline Zorza Nathan Zuck

Benedictine Volunteer Corps Circle

Between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 the following Benedictine Volunteers served in sites in the U.S. and around the world. Joshua Aune Noah Becker Bardia Bijani Aval Jack Cassidy Andrew Ellingson Owyn Ferguson Terran Ferguson Peter Griggs Timothy Havenaar Gabriel Johnson Drew Lodermeier Alexander Modeas Keegan Odell Taylor Pickthorn Cameron Swanson Nicholas Swanson

Mary Griffith Amy Grinsteiner John Grobe Eileen Haeg Jackie Hampton Virginia Hansen Anne Hanson Gloria “Chick” Hardy Lois Harren Pat Haws Michael Hemmesch Jim Hofmann Denis Hynes Pam Immelman Nancy Johnson Ron Joki Patricia Jones Doris Kahlhamer Stacy Kampsen Janice Klaphake Marilyn Koltes Ann Kuhl Peter Langseth Rodney Langseth Rungthip “Nune” Langseth Matthew Ludick Jim Lust Barb Lyndgaard Anne Marrin KC Marrin David Meoska Tom Meoska Burdette Miller-Lehn Raymond Mitchell Bill Mock

Donald Morovits Dave Morreim Bill Muldoon Gary Neu Kathy Parker Steven Pederson Chris Porter Anne Przybilla Jim Rau Cathy Robak Michael Roske Michael Ross Trisa Schaeffer Sharon Schmitt Kay Sheils Jane Simon Robert Simon Martin Stachnik Mary Stommes Mary Ann Sullivan Jeanne Terres Ben Trnka Judy Twomey Mark Twomey Leila Utsch Joe Verdas Margaret Voss Kay Wagner Rosemary Walsberg Bailey Walter Ziegler Dan Weber Angie Whitney Cathy Wieme Emily Wilmer Amber Zoller

Abbey Volunteer Circle Between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 the following abbey volunteers provided service to the monastery. Ann Alvord Angie Baszier Joseph Bauer Kelly Beniek Emily Chaphalkar Raj Chaphalkar Larry Davis Dan DeMars Sharon Diedrichsen Denny Douma Bernadette Dunn Edward Dunn Rose Dwyer Betsy Egan Kevin Egan Amber Elfering Marie Eli Tina Elwell Earl Felling Anne Gall Chuck Griffith

Michael Crouser

Fall 2021

Cloister Light The daily routine within the cloister is enlivened by the antics of the “characters” of the community. Here are stories from the Monastic Mischief file. Phone greeting

Hello, this is Father Alexander. If I had wanted to speak to you, I would have called you. At the tone, please hang up. Pet management

Brother, do you love me? Yes, you know I love you. Feed my fish. The Lord’s Prayer according to Pre-schoolers Our Father, who aren’t in heaven, Hello! What be thy name? Harold be thy name. Arnold be thy name. Helen be thy name. My kingdom come. Hi, King Duncan. My King Kong’s dumb! I will be dumb on earth and in dizzy heaven. Give us this day our jelly bread. Give us this day our dilly bread. Give us this day my dolly some bread. Forgive us our trips-upses as we forgive those who trips-us-up against us. Deliver us from measles. Deliver us from easels. Deliver us from weevils. Deliver us from weasels. Amen!

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Abbey Chronicle

Bible Bits Suffering with truth decay? Brush up on your Bible. For a virtuous life, read the Bible. It will scare the hell out of you. Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done. The Prophecy class has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. And the Lord said unto John, “Come forth and you shall receive eternal life.” John came fifth and won a toaster. Religious Practice Don’t wait for six strong men to take you to church. Have you ever been inside a church when it wasn’t decorated with poinsettias or Easter lilies? Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

Woodworking Wisdom

I cut this board three times, and it’s still too short! To better maintain services to the academic community, Clemens Library will be closed part of the summer. Community, May 6, 1992 History exam protocol

Glittering generalities, unsupported by fact, will only detract from your grade. Father Alexander

Physical Plant work order, 05/12/95: Near the abbey tailor shop, there is a strong smell of something electrical burning. Worker’s comment: Brother George was ironing clothes, and some got pretty hot. Order completed.

How many of us have looked around during our family reunion and thought, “Well aren’t we just two clowns short of a circus?” THE BOTTICELLI:

A fine Eyetalian name for A Pizza Palace. Conrad Diekmann, O.S.B.

COVID-19

During the middle ages, they celebrated the end of the plague with wine and orgies. Does anyone know if there is anything planned when this one ends? We can all agree that in 2015 not a single person got the answer correct to the question, “Where do you see yourself five years from now?”

emperatures in the 70s °F on Easter Sunday, 4 April, were further cause for singing Alleluia! A foretaste of a hot summer arrived in early June with temps in the 90s. A high of 94 and a sticky dew point of 68 made for a sultry Independence Day. That was not an Oklahoma! “bright golden haze on the meadow” on 29 July, but a smokey orange haze from fires in Canada that created the worst air quality recorded in Minnesota. Much of the state now suffers from drought; less than four inches of rain fell in Collegeville from May through July. Following a fifteen-month hiatus, the abbey began showing signs of new (and old) life. Beginning in mid-May, as COVID-19 protocols were modified, social distancing was no longer necessary in the monastic dining room. Monks were able to attend the Liturgy of the Hours without masks and were seated in something resembling a monastic choir. Joyful tears were shed by guests and hosts alike as the “guest section” of the monastic choirs reopened for prayer services. Alas, as the COVID-19 transmission rate rose significantly in the local area in August, indoor masking and social-distancing at meals and liturgies returned. We long for the grace of healing. March 2021 • Brother Simon-Hòa Phan’s Covid, Cloister, and Cat, a series of six motion photographs

depicting monks coping with the pandemic, was shown in the Gorecki Gallery at the College of Saint Benedict as part of an art faculty exhibition. The video was later shared within the abbey. April 2021 • Brother Paul-Vincent Niebauer (monk and magician) and Dr. Amy Grinsteiner (Saint John’s University teacher and pianist) presented a magical program of illusion, legerdemain, and keyboard artistry on 14 April to a socially-distanced audience in the Stephen B. Humphrey Theater. No bunnies were burned; no cards were lost; and the Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart pieces were delightful.

Brother Jacob Berns

John Chrysostom Long, O.S.B.

May 2021 • Brother Jacob Berns was awarded a master of arts (liturgical music) degree by Saint

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

The beauty of spring lilacs was complemented by swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus).

John’s School of Theology and Seminary during commencement exercises on 16 May. He was further honored by Minnesota Public Radio and Michael Barone who selected Jacob and a work from his graduate organ recital, Symphonie Romane (No. 10), Op. 73, by Charles-Marie Widor, to be featured on “The Art of the Young Organist (II)” broadcast on the MPR network, 19 July. • On 20 May Dr. James Mullen Jr. began serving as transitional president of Saint John’s University. A former president in residence at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Dr. Mullen reflected on his appointment: “The Benedictine tradition and their devotion to higher education and community is inspiring. To have a chance to be part of this educational community during this transitional period is both exciting and humbling.” Dr. Mullen will work closely with College of Saint Benedict Interim President Laurie Hamen

Fall 2021

as the two schools move toward strong integration under a new governance model.

“Heartened by Hope,” a series of conferences for the annual oblate retreat, 16–18 July, delivered in person and online.

• Celebrating “the Holy Spirit as the breath of God,” Father Michael Peterson presented a Native American flute concert in the abbey and university church on the vigil of Pentecost, 22 May, featuring a novena of pieces written by him or other artists. • In remembrance and honor of Mr. George Floyd, the church bells tolled on 25 May, the first anniversary of his death. Dr. Axel Theimer (far right) and extended family

nary, later becoming administrative assistant and executive secretary for Saint John’s University presidents until her retirement in June.

Ms. Patti Epsky

University media relations

June 2021 • Two beloved, lifelong members of the Saint John’s family were thanked and celebrated by the monastic community for their decades of service. Ms. Patti Epsky began her twentyfive-year Collegeville career as development director for the School of Theology and Semi-

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Following fifty-two years of service —as director of the university’s Men’s Chorus and other undergraduate choirs and ensembles; and as an integral part of the abbey’s musical and liturgical life—Dr. Axel Theimer is now spending more time with his family as he retires. • Liturgical Press authors were honored with a total of thirtyfive book awards from the Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP) and the Catholic Media Association (CMA)—the most awards granted to any Catholic publisher. The Press and Ms. Monica Bokinskie received three additional awards from CMA for outstanding catalogs.

Robert Koopmann, O.S.B.

Among the first-place book award winners were: Journey to Jerusalem: Steps on the Road to Your Soul by Mark A. Villano; Saint Benedict’s Wisdom: Monastic Spirituality and the Life of the Church by Luigi Gioia, O.S.B.; With One Spirit: The Roman Missal and Active Participation by Jozef Lamberts; and The Meal That Reconnects: Eucharistic Eating and the Global Food Crisis by Mary E. McGann, R.S.C.J. July 2021 • On 5 July, Father Roman Paur, manager of the community tonsorium, announced that the barber shop in the renovated monastery was now open “for haircuts and meaningful conversations.” • Sister Michaela Hedican, former prioress of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, presented

• In the presence of Steve and Barb Slaggie and dozens of other donors, friends, and neighbors, Abbot John Klassen presided at a blessing ceremony (orchestrated by Fathers Michael Kwatera and Geoffrey Fecht) of the renovated monastery, 25 July. Prior to the service, Father Robert Koopmann showcased the Holtkamp-Pasi church organ. Brother David-Paul Lange shared reflections on the years of praying and planning that preceded the renovation, so well designed by Mr. Gregory Friesen and team of CSNA Architects, Colorado Springs; and so ably constructed by Breitbach Construction Co., El Rosa, and the staff of abbey woodworking.

ence held via Zoom videoconferencing on 13–14 August. In their presentations, various speakers urged the participants to identify how we, personally and communally, may unconsciously harbor racist attitudes; explored systemic racism and the role of faith traditions; and invited participants to identify ways in which they can commit to becoming anti-racist. Abbot John Klassen, cochair of the Bridgefolk board, led an Evening Prayer service. • Father Michael Peterson, director of oblates, reports that five individuals made their final oblation between April and August. Mary Lou Ott of Edina, Minnesota, explains: “Oblation deepens my daily commitment to seek God. Saint John’s provides a place for spiritual direction also.” Jim Platton, from Avon,

Minnesota, reflects: “I have had a long relationship with Saint John’s Abbey and University, making oblation feels like the natural, next step toward deepening this relationship.” Gunnar Olaf Gundersen, from Newport Beach, California, observes that “The Rule, supervised by the monastery, is part of how the community is helping me to be of better use to my family and parish.” “I have worked at Saint John’s University in liturgy,” says Kimberly Belcher, Granger, Indiana, “The Benedictine way of life is a path I’m deeply connected to.” For Charles Miller of Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, “The Rule is a good guide for me as a spouse, parent, and teacher at Saint John’s Prep School.” Keep calm, wash your hands, and get vaccinated!

August 2021 • Saint John’s received notice from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that its permit to draw water from the Stumpf Lake for campus irrigation was being suspended as of 11:59 P.M., 1 August, due to the drought conditions. The DNR monitors stream flow in the Mississippi River-Sartell watershed, which includes the Stumpf Lake (part of the North Fork Watab River). • “Called Together to Face Racial Injustice: Starting Close In” was the title of the nineteenth annual Bridgefolk Confer-

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

Various campus critters—including swans, loons, Canada geese, ducks, osprey, and purple martins—enlarged their families this spring and summer. Cliff swallows took up residence on the south and east façades of the Great Hall.

Fall 2021

Fifty Years Ago

Monks in the Kitchen A Bit of a Jam

Excerpted from Confrere, newsletter of Saint John’s Abbey:

Ælred Senna, O.S.B.

22 June 1971

• After more than twenty years of living out the motto he had chosen after his election—“To profit the brethren rather than to preside over them”[Rule 64.8]— Abbot Baldwin Dworschak announced his resignation [effective July 23] to the community on the evening of June 3. “After more than twenty years, it would be good for the community to express its choice of an abbot; being able to make such a choice is very important to the large segment of the community that had not taken part in the previous election (more than one-half).” 21 July 1971

[Abbot Baldwin writes:] I look back with a sense of gratitude and joy to that period of my monastic life (1944) when I began to give weekly conferences to the [junior monks] on the Rule of Saint Benedict. The words that apply most fittingly to this period of teaching, which lasted sixteen years, are the words of Saint Paul: “We do not lord it over your faith, but rather we are the servants of your joy.” There is nothing for which to be more grateful than to be able to sow the seed of glory into the hearts of young men who are willing to make it the basic theme of their lives. I look now upon this period as a great privilege to have been able to speak of Benedictine life—its sound-

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ness, its sense of order, its wholeness of life, its wisdom and balance, its optimism, realism, and of those basic Christian virtues of humility and charity. There are so many reasons to be thankful, but especially for the way in which God has used the members of this community in the past twenty years to further divine glory and the progress of the Church. I refer to the work done in the missions, the work of renewal in the parish apostolate, the ecumenical movement, the difficult task of earning higher degrees to meet the critical challenges in the educational apostolate, the struggle that adaptation and renewal called for during and after Vatican Council II. Let us thank God for our faith, for our good will, even for our failures which brought us closer

to each other and to God because they helped us to keep our vision as religious. Let us give thanks to God for every one of us, for those who stayed and those who made the difficult decision to leave, for those who died, those who suffered much in one way or another. Because I understand better now his lonely life and his merits, I never let a day pass without thanking God for Abbot Alcuin’s twenty-nine years as our abbot. There is no reason to fear those who ask the question, “Do monastic communities like Saint John’s have a future?” The greatest opportunity we have ever had is before us now, if we do not lose our identity as Benedictines and Christians, if we do not lose that solid faith which is able to provide community and continuity.

t will be a surprise to you (wink, wink) that I am quite addicted to watching The Great British Baking Show—but it’s true! Frequently the contestants on the show are required to make their own jam. This is done the “old-fashioned way”—without the aid of added pectin. At its most basic, jam consists of fruit and sugar. One relies on the chemistry of heat, sugar, and the natural juices and pectin in the fruit. At the right temperature, the sugar and pectin combine, enabling the mixture to gel. (This method makes for a smaller yield, as a good deal of the moisture from the fruit will evaporate as the mixture cooks.) The modern method employs added pectin, allowing a shorter cook time and a greater yield of finished product. Purists sometimes look down on this shortcut method. A confrere of happy memory was known to whisper a gently disparaging remark to signal disdain for such shortcuts: “You know . . . she puts pectin in her jelly!” But there is a trade-off. Since the old-fashioned method reduces down, it correspondingly intensifies flavor—and that is what I’m talking about! I prefer raspberries or blackberries, but most any fruit will work in the same ratio. In this recipe, I also include a bit of lemon juice, which brightens the overall flavor of the finished jam.

Ælred Senna, O.S.B.

Raspberry Jam

(Yields 2 pints, plus a bit more)

• 800 g fresh raspberries (or blackberries, strawberries, peaches, etc.) • 700 g granulated sugar • 1–2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice In a heavy-bottomed pot (4–5 qt.), combine fruit, sugar, and lemon juice. Crush together with a potato masher or similar tool. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat a bit once it boils. The heat should be just high enough to maintain a rolling boil, i.e., it does not stop boiling when stirred. Stir constantly or at least very frequently. For this quantity of ingredients, it should take about 10–12 minutes at a steady rolling boil or until it reaches a temperature of 220°F. (If you do not have a thermometer, gauge by sight: the mixture will deepen in color; foam will begin to stir back into the mixture; it will become noticeably thicker; a rubber spatula will reveal the bottom of the pot for a split second when it is ready.) Pour the mixture into two 1-pint or four half-pint sterilized jars. (Any leftover jam can be used immediately.) The jars of jam can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. For longer storage, seal jars using a boiling-water canning process.

Brother Ælred Senna, O.S.B., is associate editor of Give Us This Day and a faculty resident at Saint John’s University.

Fall 2021

In Memoriam

Frantic Paddling

Please join the monastic community in prayerful remembrance of our deceased family members and friends: Lawrence T. Amelse Modesta Arceneau, O.S.B. Emily Ann Baker Richard John “Rick” Balaski Eugene J. “Gene” Barry Ruth Beck Walter F. “Wally” Beckey Rev. Alvin Fong Ben Bernard George “Bernie” Borash Jean R. Bradshaw Helen Ann Brake, O.S.F. Charlotte Bratsch Saul Cano Thomas H. Carey, Obl.S.B. Bede Classik, O.S.B. Patrick J. “Pat” Deutmeyer Bridget Ann Donaldson, O.S.B. Albert A. “Al” Eisele Kathleen Marie “Kathie” Engel Abraham Esquivel Armenta, O.S.B. Mary Ellen “Jill” Farry Norman L. Ford Clarence C. Fowler Jeanne Ann Fraune, Obl.S.B. Dennis Frensko Mary Frost Frey Siri S. Gadbois Rev. Kevin M. Gordon Rose M. “Rosee”Gorman Peter J. J. Guerin, O.S.B. Getatchew Haile Carol Lynn Hamlin William Henry “Bill” Hanson Florence G. Hensel

Patricia L. Houston James Aloysius “Skinman” Jenniges Marjorie R. “Marge” Johannes Richard A. Johnson Mary Rosera Joyce Clarice Marie Kellen William “Bill” Kelly Frances “Sandy” Klas Patricia Ann “Pat” Kuklock Deacon Andrew P. Kunkel Ghislain Lafont, O.S.B. Craig James Lenzi Cheryl Maggio Robert “Bob” Mandernach, O.S.C. Kathleen “Kathy” McCluney David Mencias Frances B. “Fran” Moss Matthew “Matt” Myers Mildred L. Notsch Katherine Elizabeth Olafson Robert A. “Bob” Oldakowski John N. Olinger Benedict Oliver, F.S.C. Abbot Adrian J. Parcher, O.S.B. Janice Loretta Pikal Carlos Pop, O.S.B. John Murphy Powers Rev. David Walter Preus Renee Rau, O.S.B. Monica Raway, O.S.B. Hardy C. Reyerson Bruce A. Richard Michael Roussel Thomas George “Tom” Savage

Constance “Connie” Schiff James B. “Jim” Schirmers Laurence Joseph Schlegel, O.S.B. Evert A. Schmidt Mark Casimir Seifert John F. Shumate Frank Silva Lois Mary Sinner Henry Smorynski Radhika Lal Snyder Ángeles Soriano Noé Soriano Pedro Soriano Socorro Soriano Carlos Soriano Bustos Floribert Leo “Flip” Spanier Pamela “Pam” Backous Steece Douglas James St. Onge Michael F. Sullivan Gregory Alan “Greg” Tetrault Deacon Gerald B. “Jerry” Theis Rev. Kenneth “Ken” Thielman Robert Francis “Bob” Thimmesh Joan Tuberty, O.S.F. Robert “Rob” Vix Yvonne M. Warzecha Kyle Michael Wehking Waldemar Hall “Wally” Wenner Bernard A. “Bernie” Wenninger Brad R. Wuebker Gary D. Wuebker Todd M. Wuebker Abbot Clement Zeleznick, O.S.B. Shirley Ella Gertrude Zipoy

Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of God’s faithful ones. Psalm 116:15 A Monk’s Chronicle Father Eric Hollas, O.S.B., offers spiritual insights and glimpses into the life of the Benedictine community at Saint John’s Abbey in a weekly blog, A Monk’s Chronicle. Visit his blog at: monkschronicle.wordpress.com.

Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

n his charming, illustrated fable, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Charlie Mackesy shows a boy on horseback admiring a pair of swans on a picturesque pond. The boy asks, “How do they look so together and perfect?” The horse replies: “There’s a lot of frantic paddling going on beneath.” We are often cautioned against judgmentalism because we never know what unseen burdens others may be carrying on their shoulders. That advice seems even more relevant today in a world still struggling with a pandemic, societies searching for political and economic serenity and, if polls are to be trusted, individuals losing their faith and distancing themselves from religion in general. Some of the latest statistics suggest that nearly 38% of us now call ourselves “unbelievers.” These realities undoubtedly contribute to a heaviness of heart in the stream of people walking our streets, riding our buses, and filling our airports. A lack of faith means there is an emptiness in those hearts searching for something to fill the void. In other words, there is a lot of “frantic paddling going on beneath.” Human history has been here before. We have entire chapters that we call the “Dark Ages.” We suffer from the blight of racism, forced enculturation, and genocide. All these and more may lead us to wonder where the goodness of humanity really lies. But we also know that these moments of the human story are followed by remarkable resurrections. Again and again we observe darkness giving way to enlightenment.

Fill the world with hope of love, compassion, beneficence.

That same hope exists today. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the precursor and model for what comes next. However, the new life that awaits us cannot and will not be achieved by a simple decree on the part of any government or religion. Rather, it will begin within the human heart and likely include more “frantic paddling”: a positive energy that awakens a burning desire for the good. This new life will be the result of persistent and observable behavior on the part of strong individuals who simply will not embrace the darkness of our world, choosing instead to fill it with the hope of love, compassion, and beneficence. Though not easy, this has been done before—and it will succeed. Success depends on each of us and on our commitment to paddling. Our effort will be our own unique embrace of the Gospel and its outward manifestation. May our paddling be frantic.

Father Don’s Daily Reflection Father Don Talafous, O.S.B., prepares daily reflections on Scripture and living the life of a Christian that are available on the abbey’s website at: saintjohnsabbey.org/reflection/.

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Abbey Banner 4 This Issue Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. 5 Renewed Spirit Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B. 6 Monastic Profession and Jubilees

Fall 2021 Volume 21, Number 2

22 Abbey Woodworking and Pasi Organs Aaron Raverty, O.S.B. 24 Lives of the Benedictine Saints: Benedict of Aniane Richard Oliver, O.S.B.

33 Monastery Renovation 34 Donor Honor Roll Geoffrey Fecht, O.S.B. 52 Cloister Light 53 Abbey Chronicle Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

13 Change Begins Here, Now Jon McGee

26 Meet a Monk: Kilian McDonnell Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

14 Benedictine Volunteer Corps Logan Lintvedt

29 A Kilian Sampler Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B.

57 Monks in the Kitchen: A Bit of Jam Ælred Senna, O.S.B.

16 Student Land Managers John Geissler

30 Abbey Church: Sixtieth Anniversary

58 In Memoriam

19 Bread of Sinners Francis, Bishop of Rome

32 Rule of Benedict: Pray, Work, Change Clothes Eric Hollas, O.S.B.

20 A Madonna for All Times Martin F. Connell

56 Fifty Years Ago

59 Frantic Paddling Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

Abbey Advent Retreat 3–5 December 2021 Presented by Father Nathanael Hauser, O.S.B. Abbey New Year Retreat 31 December–2 January 2022

Presented by Father Eric Hollas, O.S.B.

The retreats begin with supper at 5:30 P.M. Friday and conclude Sunday after lunch. Cost: Single room, $195; double room, $340; suite, $380; meals included. Register online at abbeyguesthouse.org; contact the Spiritual Life Office at 320.363.3929; or email us at: spirlife@osb.org.