Swiss-American Congregation

The Swiss-American Congregation , formerly also the Pan-American Congregation (Latin: Congregatio Helveto-Americana Ordinis Sancti Benedicti ) is a monastery association of Benedictine monasteries that was founded in the United States in 1881 as part of the Benedictine Confederation .

history

During the 19th century, several Benedictine monasteries were founded in the United States from German-speaking countries . The institutions of the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland were turbulent in the 19th century. All were restored by Napoleon after the French Revolution in 1798 and 1803 , with the exception of St. Gallen Abbey , as the Prince Abbot made no political concessions. The anti-monks policy of the Swiss cantons led to the dissolution of the monasteries in Pfäfers (1838), Muri (1841), Fischingen (1848) and Rheinau (1863).

The outlook for Swiss Catholics during the Kulturkampf was so bleak that the Abbeys of Einsiedeln and Engelberg began a program to establish new abbeys in America. This gave the Swiss monasteries a refuge if they were to be completely dissolved. The emigrated Pinonier monks should also serve the emigrated Germans. The new abbeys remained part of the Swiss Confederation .

By 1881 the number of communities had grown so large that it seemed sensible to separate them from the motherland. Therefore, Pope Leo XIII approved . the establishment of a congregation under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary .

Current situation

The congregation consists of sixteen abbeys and monasteries in the United States, British Columbia, and Guatemala. There are two dependent priories in Mexico and Guatemala. The congregation has five hundred monks.

Current members

• St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana
• Abbey Conception in Conception, Missouri
• Subiaco Abbey in Subiaco, Arkansas
• St. Joseph Abbey in Saint Benedict, Louisiana
• Mount Angel Abbey in St. Benedict, Oregon
• Marmion Abbey in Aurora, Illinois
• St. Benedict's Abbey in Benet Lake, Wisconsin
• Westminster Abbey in Mission, British Columbia , Canada
• Mount Michael Abbey in Elkhorn, Nebraska
• Our Lady of Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, Massachusetts
• Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California
• St. Benedict Abbey in Still River , Massachusetts
• Monastery of the Ascension in Jerome , Idaho
• Our Lady of the Angels Benedictine Monastery Cuernavaca , Morelos , Mexico

literature

• Joel Rippinger OSB: Benedictine Monasticism in North America. From the origins in the 19th century to the present . In: Erbe und Einsatz , 94 vol. (2018), pp. 34–45.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lukas, Abbot Schenker: 400 Years of the Swiss Benedictine Congregation . In: Church in Switzerland .
2. ↑ Home . In: The Swiss-American Benedictine Congregation .
3. ^ Catalog of Monasteries . In: The Swiss-American Benedictine Congregation . Archived from the original on August 7, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
4. ^ Catalog of Monasteries . In: The Swiss-American Benedictine Congregation .