Conception Abbey
Retreat Week
Each year the monastic community retreat is normally scheduled during the week after Seminary Graduation. This year, because of the move and renovation, we moved it back a couple weeks so that we could get settled. This year, our Retreat Master is Msgr. Kevin Irwin. Msgr. Irwin is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York…
Construction Preparations
Last week, construction crews turned up the soil and added a few access roads to the monastery in preparation for the major renovation. The roads will serve for areas to store dumpsters and have easier paths to drive machinery to the monastery. Demolition inside begins on June 2. The monks will have a special blessing…
Alumni Ordinations
May and June are busy times for alumni of Conception Seminary College to be ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in their respective dioceses. It is obviously a joy and blessing to the Church to see men who studied at our seminary come to this great moment in their life. During the year 2014, Conception…
Moved out of the Monastery
The monks are getting settled in their temporary residence in St. Joseph Hall. I wanted to get more pictures posted of us moving out of the monastery last week, a historical event that will now be known simply as, “The Move.” Again, it was the efforts of seminarians and monks to help the move goes…
Celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism
As you can tell, it was a beautiful day at the Abbey. The weather was warm, sunny, and in the 70’s. But, the real joy came from being able to baptize Dominic Anselm Pawlowski, the third son of Max and Laura. Max works at the Newman Center at Northwest Missouri State. During the school year…
First Anniversary of Priestly Ordination
It was one year ago today that Fr. Victor and I were ordained to the priesthood. It was a whirlwind of events that lead up to my ordination, including running in the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay, taking final exams, graduating from St. Vincent Seminary (Latrobe, PA), preaching all the weekend Masses at Sts. John and Paul…
A Moving Experience
This is normally a quiet week for the monks. It is usually the time of year when the monastic community has its annual retreat. The seminarians have gone away until August and we transition into the summer months. However, this week is different because the monks are moving out of the monastery to prepare for…
Happy Mother’s Day
Today, Sunday, May 11th, we celebrate Mother’s Day—a day to honor our mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, godmothers, and all who have had a maternal influence in our lives. Whether you are the homemaker, teacher of life, caretaker, nurse, best friend, soccer mom, backbone of the family, or just good old “Mom”—thank you for the many roles…
Seminary Graduation
Congratulations to Conception Seminary’s Class of 2014 It was a full church for the Commencement and Honors Assembly. Due to the rain and thunderstorms, post-graduation pictures were taken in the Basilica. Our seminarians will depart after Sunday’s Mass of Thanksgiving.
May Day!
May Day is an annual community-wide team-oriented sports and activity day held at Conception Seminary College which fosters fraternity, promotes physical fitness, and builds the framework for friendly competition. Alumni from year’s past have great memories of May Day during their time at Conception Seminary. The night before, seminarians are usually up to no good…