Altar and Home

Conception Seminary College to Host Annual Soccer/Volleyball Tournament

Soccer and volleyball tournament brings together seminarians discerning God’s call The 9th Annual Thunder Cup Soccer and Volleyball Tournament will be held October 15-16 at Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo. Seven seminaries from across the Midwest will gather for a weekend of faith, fellowship, and friendly competition at this annual event. “The Thunder Cup…

Alumni Reunion Weekend

Mass for the Conception Seminary College Alumni Reunion was on Friday late afternoon and the principal celebrant was Abbot Gregory. This would be the last Mass he would celebrate in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception before he departed for Rome to assume his new role as Abbot Primate. The prayers and readings for Mass focused…

Reception for Abbot Gregory

On Wednesday evening the monks had a reception and banquet in honor of Abbot Gregory. It was a time to gather as a monastic community as say “thank you” to Abbot Gregory for almost 20 years of service as abbot, as he soon departs for Rome, Italy to begin serving as Abbot Primate. During the evening…

Abbot Gregory Returns Home

After being elected Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation on Saturday, September 10th, Abbot Gregory was set to return home to Conception Abbey last night. However, his flight out of Rome was delayed, so the original plan of welcoming him at 8:30 PM was pushed back to just before 11:00 PM Saturday evening. The Prior, Fr. Daniel,…

Evening Prayer with the Monks

What is it like to pray with the monks? I recently completed a video of Vespers, our evening Office of Thanksgiving. As a major hour of the Divine Office, the monks line up in order of seniority in the monastery glass hallway. The Abbot, Prior, and Subprior are at the head of the line, followed by those…

New Tower Topics

The Summer 2016 Tower Topics should be hitting mailboxes this week. As the Editor of the magazine, it is always rewarding to see it finally in print. Some of you may be thinking that mid-September is a little late for the summer issue. Well, you would be correct. We finished the magazine and sent it…

Graduate Pilgrimage: 2016

4 Days. 30 Men. 1 Priest. We recently returned to Conception Seminary College from the Rector’s Pilgrimage and thus, its time for a little blog update. The Rector’s Pilgrimage is a chance for soon to be graduates of CSC to spend time with each other and Fr. Brendan, our Rector, to visit a couple of theology…

Abbot Gregory Elected Abbot Primate

Earlier today our spiritual father and abbot of Conception Abbey, Abbot Gregory, was elected as Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation. He was elected by the abbots from around the world to serve as the official liaison of the Benedictine Order to the Holy See. Abbot Gregory will serve as the official head of the…

Abbot Gregory Elected Abbot Primate

Abbot Gregory Polan, O.S.B. Elected Abbot Primate of Benedictine Confederation On September 10, 2016, Abbot Gregory Polan, O.S.B., of Conception Abbey, Conception, Mo., was elected Abbot Primate of the 1500-year-old Benedictine Order at the Congress of Abbots meeting in Rome, Italy held every four years. As head of the Benedictine Confederation, Abbot Gregory will be…

Abbot Gregory Elected Abbot Primate

Earlier today our spiritual father and abbot of Conception Abbey, Abbot Gregory, was elected as Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation. He was elected by the abbots from around the world to serve as the official liaison of the Benedictine Order to the Holy See. Abbot Gregory will serve as the official head of the…