monastic life
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…
Basilica Steps
The past few days have been beautiful. Yesterday I flew the drone around to catch some of the sights of campus. Fortunately I got those two pictures and many more taken before workers started demolition and construction on the front Basilica steps. This morning and afternoon a worker was tearing up the steps that had become…
Monks and the Seminary
Classes in the seminary began on Monday and we have 99 seminarians this year. The summer certainly went by quickly but the monastic community too is ready for another academic year. There are 25 monks involved in some aspect of seminary formation, which might include serving as a professor, chaplain, spiritual director, or other member…