A Rich Legacy

Ancient Roots: The Desert Fathers

Benedictine Monasticism traces its way back as early as the fourth century AD, when men enamored with Christ travelled out to the desert seeking silence and wisdom through prayer. In spite of the solitude they sought, many pilgrims followed them seeking counsel. The desert fathers would eventually play an integral role in the preservation of the faith in a tumultuous world. The monastic orders which followed in their footsteps provided training, technology, medicine, and education to the people of Europe. The monks' work and endurance laid the foundation stones for western civilization, and preserved the Christian faith through many dark times and trials.

Saint Benedict

The tradition of the desert fathers was continued by Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine order. His book, known as “The Rule” still forms the core of Benedictine life today. The Rule defines what it means to be Benedictine, from simple instructions such as when sleeping the brethren “should remove their knives, lest they accidentally cut themselves” to profound teachings of love such as if a monk believes one of his brothers is angry with him “he must, then and there without delay, cast himself on the ground at the other’s feet to make satisfaction, and lie there until the disturbance is calmed by a blessing.”

Through the Rule, Saint Benedict combined Augustinian organization with the wisdom of the Desert Fathers into an order that would outlast empires, conquer frontiers, and weather the cruelest storms. The quiet endurance of Benedictines stood guard over both the bodies and souls of God’s people through the invasions of Atilla the Hun, the Black Plague, countless heresies, Viking invasions, famine and much more.

Unlike more recent missionary orders, the Benedictines take a vow of stability, tying themselves to a particular community and to the land they worked on and prayed on. This stability allowed the Benedictines to walk with the families of those they served across generations. Their people knew that, come what may, they could rely on the stable quiet love of their Benedictine monks. This love was often put to the test, and perhaps nowhere more than in the English Benedictine Congregation.

The English Benedictines

Benedictines first came to England in the 500’s. Through long centuries they labored to convert the hearts of those who lived there. By the 1500’s it seemed that their work was done. However, in the 1530s catastrophe struck as Henry VIII exiled the Benedictines from their home of nearly 1000 years.

The monks lived in exile in France, but they never forgot their home and their people. 20 years later, during the reign of Mary Tudor, a single monastery, Westminster Abbey, was re-established, only to be dissolved again by Queen Elizabeth a few years later. Eventually all but one of the remaining monks had been killed or had died. This last monk, Father Sigbert Buckley lived out his years in exile in the Tower of London, but he did not forget his beloved home and his people. Before his death, he professed a number of English men who preserved the ancient tradition in exile in France. In spite of harsh laws against Catholic priests, many of these exiled English monks living in France would travel back to England in secret, ministering to the Catholics left there. One notable example was Saint Alban Roe who was brutally executed after being discovered as a Catholic Priest in England. But the cruelties of a tyrant were no match for the patient love of the Benedictines which had been there long before their enemies, and promised to remain long after.

Ampleforth Abbey

Eventually their patience paid off, and the English Monks were permitted to return to England in the 1800's, where they established Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire. This was a new type of Benedictine monk, one who had endured the cruelties of disaster and losing everything.

These monks served as missionaries in their own homeland. English Benedictine monks lived in the heart of England alongside the people they loved so much. While priests were sparse in an English Catholic Church that was only beginning to recover, Ampleforth Abbey sent out Fathers to staff the surrounding parishes and to minister to the people. The monks at Ampleforth had preserved the ancient faith of their fathers, and now they re-taught it to their people as they helped to rebuild the community around them. As part of this mission, the monks at Ampleforth founded their own school, thus starting the unique blend of missionary education and monastic life that English Benedictines are known for.

Crossing the Atlantic

In the aftermath of World War II as the world became increasingly anti-Christian a group of Catholic laymen sought to establish a school for their sons which would prepare them, both intellectually and spiritually, to witness to the truth of Catholicism at the most prestigious secular universities in the U.S.. So, they petitioned the monks at Ampleforth to establish a school and a monastery in Saint Louis. Finally in 1955, 3 monks arrived from Ampleforth to establish Saint Louis Priory which would eventually become Saint Louis Abbey. When Prior Columba, Father Luke, and Father Timothy first arrived, the lay people had planned a lavish dinner to welcome them. But Father Columba demanded, “Vespers First” which is still a tenant the monks strive to live by today. The school established by the monks, Saint Louis Priory School, is now known throughout the country for its exceptional academic rigor. But it has kept true to the spirit of Father Colomba’s simple demand, “vespers first” as the first priority is given to a boy's spiritual development. In addition to the mentorship and fatherhood provided by the monks, the boys are given the same rigor of Theological instruction found in Catholic seminaries.

Father Timothy, Father Columba and Father Luke

Saint Louis Abbey Today

In a world that tells our beloved people that they are no good, that there is nothing sacred, nothing worth believing in, we respond with simple acts of love, seeking to bring holiness back into the lives of people, and to counter the world's message of hatred with the love of Jesus Christ.

In the tradition of our English Benedictine Fathers, we still evangelize through pastoral ministry in schools and parishes, but each monk lives out his vocation in a unique way. One of our most beloved monks, the recently departed Brother Symeon, changed the lives of countless people through his simple earnest love and artistic talent. He created many beautiful works of stained glass and mosaic and planted trees with the boys at our school. Father Augustine writes books, makes armor, and teaches. Father Ralph and Father Gerard are poets. Father Laurence and Father Dominic are published authors.

Whatever our particular talents and whatever particular tasks we may be assigned, each of us strives to witness to the love of Jesus Christ that we experience in our hearts, through our service to one another and to the members of "the Abbey family".