Our Monks

One of the unusual aspects of our community is our openness to the different ways the Benedictine life can be lived by our brethren. We have brothers who praise God through their artwork and medieval calligraphy. We have priests dedicated to preaching the Gospel. We have monks who have doctorates and who teach our students. We have an ex-surfer, ex-archeologist, ex-professional juggler, ex-rugby player, who makes armor. Though our brothers are very different, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear, their love for one another and for those they serve is manifest.

"The essence of a monastery is to seek God. The core of this is to worship because in worship we acknowledge our creatureliness towards God. This dynamic has a corrective effect on man's soul."

Abbott Gregory Mohrman, O.S.B.

From the start Abbot Gregory seemed destined to be a monk. Monastery founder Father Columba was present at his baptism and he was pre-emptively enrolled in the school that same month. During his childhood the Abbey Church was the only church he ever knew, and it seemed natural that one day he would call it home as one of the monks he admired so much. As a monk he finds fulfillment in ministering to the faithful by preaching, counseling, confessing, and guiding them. But his highest fulfillment is in singing God's praises in the Divine Office.

How would you describe the work of Saint Louis Abbey
The essence of a monastery is to seek God. The core of this is to worship because in worship we acknowledge our creatureliness towards God. This dynamic has a corrective effect on man's soul. Our charism is this worship. Our mission is evangelization. We live out our mission of evangelization in primarily 3 ways: through our school where we form young men both humanely and spiritually, through our work in our parish where we minister to God's people, and through the witness of our monastic life.  

What is the hardest part of monastic life?
The daily living with the brethren. But this is exactly what Saint Benedict said should be hardest: "We bear with utmost patience each other's weakness of body and behavior". But that is also how you become a saint. In growing in patience and fraternal charity we become holy.

How should a vocations candidate know if he is called?
‍Come and try it. The only way to discern the monastic life is to live it. Its not an intellectual excercise.

"I have bound myself with vows, but this freed me to pursue God.  I need this support to live out my vocation. "

Prior Dominic Lenk, O.S.B.

Father Dominic is a Saint Louis native who grew up in Troy, Missouri. He is a talented administrator, an author, and has a special passion for helping Catholic schools in the Saint Louis area. He currently serves as chaplain to Saint Austin's School and he has served on the board of both Visitation Academy and Linda Vista School.

What did you expect to be hard about being a monk that wasn't?
Obedience and having to ask for everything. Once I accepted that someone else is responsible for me, it made it easier. It's not being infantized, you are not being turned into a child but rather realizing what's important. Listening to what God and my superiors want of me, and realizing that though my Abbot is not perfect he has my best interest at heart, and he probably knows what's in my best interest better than me.

What has been the most beautiful part of your monastic vocation?
‍I have gotten to do so many things I would have never gotten to do. I shook the Pope's hand, I have been to so many places and done so many things that I would have never gotten to do. I visited Montecassino. I've visited every monastery in our congregation. And all these opportunities lead me right back home. And I always miss home. The opportunities have been a blessing, but this is home. I don't want to... live anywhere else.

"Lord, that I may see "

Abbott Thomas Frerking, O.S.B.

Abbot Thomas was born near Saint Louis, the son of a God fearing Presbyterian parents. In spite of his upbringing, he spent his adolescent and young adult life as a committed atheist. It was during this time that he studied medical research at Harvard. However, his astounding intellect together with his undying desire to seek and to see the Truth led him from medical research to philosophy, to moral philosophy, to theology. Finally while studying for his graduate degree at Oxford he became convinced that God existed, and that his Church was the Catholic Church. His pursuit of the God of Truth led him eventually to Saint Louis Abbey, where he has served the people as an especially beloved teacher, priest, and Abbot for many years.

What advice do you have for discernement?
‍I'm not a fan of the word discernment. The church never called it that. You experience a vocation, that is, a calling from God. If you find in yourself a draw to religious life, don't start discerning. You could be "discerning" for years. You need to find the deepest desire of your heart, but the way to do that is not by looking at your heart but at God.

How can a young man find what God is calling him to do?
‍‍If you are seeking to determine the direction your life should take, pick a Gospel. It doesn't matter which one. Then pick a day when you can set apart some time, sit down and read the whole thing start to finish. You will find that the passages come in 3 forms. There will be those passages that you could take or leave, that you understand but didn't speak deeply to you. And if you are being honest with yourself there will probably be some passages that repel you. Lastly, there will be a few passages where you suddenly believe that something is being spoken to you. When you encounter a passage like that, be faithful to it no matter what it costs you.

"Radiance is the awareness that God loves me personally. We preach the Gospel not by words but by radiance. "

Father Ralph, OSB

Father Ralph was born in England in the area of Nottingham & Derbyshire.  He spent nearly his entire life living in community. As an adolescent, he was educated at the boys school at the Ampleforth Abbey. Immediately following high school, he joined the British military where he served as an infantry platoon commander in the Sherwood Foresters. Following his time in military service, it seemed only natural that he found his next mission and the structure he had learned to love in life as a monk. And so, in 1959 he joined Ampleforth Abbey. After some years, he was ordained a priest, and then finally asked by the Abbot to join Saint Louis Abbey which he gladly did along with another young monk, Father Finbarr. In his time as a monk at Saint Louis Abbey, he has taught, ministered sacraments, preached, and served in a variety of roles, but he is most well known for his passionate work in support of the Pro-Life cause. He has spent countless hours writing pro-life articles and poems, organizing events, and doing everything in his power to protect the unborn.

What has been the hardest part of being a monk?
Thats not a question I ask myself or ever really considered. We move through light and dark, but the dark times are just dark nights of the soul of course where the Lord is asking you to bear part of his cross, but in order to prepare you for the light times. So I just try to keep that in mind and stay faithful and prayerful.

What advice do you have for a young man considering monastic life?
‍See how much a structured life suits your being by trying it out. I did this by joining the army. When I encountered structure and regular prayer, it was fruitful and I lapped it up. How much structure do you seek in your spiritual life? In a religious order you will have a rule for your life and if you follow that rule you will become holy. Does that give you comfort?

"What attracted me? I was seeking God."

Father Benedict Allin, OSB

Father Benedict grew up in Chicago where he was raised as a Unitarian. In college he studied Great Books at the University of Chicago and then transferred to Cornell. It was during this time that he became an Episcopalian Christian. Before finishing his degree he was drafted into the military where he served as a chaplain's assistant. Upon finishing his service, he began looking for his next mission.

This search led him to religious discernment and moving to Saint Louis where he finished his degree with the Jesuits at Saint Louis University and continued to discern. One day his Jesuit Sodality happened to be meeting at Saint Louis Abbey, and Father Benedict immediately fell in love with the Abbey. He joined shortly thereafter and since that time he has had the opportunity to further his formation at Oxford, Ampleforth, Blakfriars, Rome,  Stansbrook and Manquehue.

Throughout his time as a priest and a monk Father Benedict has had the wonderful opportunity to minister to a diverse set of communities across the globe, all of which he formed lifelong attachments to. But the place that will always hold most dear is the Manquehue School in Santiago Chile. From the devout Catholics, to the adventurous Gauchos (Chilean cowboys), to the scenic landscape Father Benedict loved everything about the community.

He helped create a ministry between Saint Louis and the Manquehue school which utilizes a student exchange program to provide religious and cultural enrichment to both the students at the Manquehue School and the students at Saint Louis Priory School.

What has been the most beautiful part of your monastic vocation?
‍The prayer, the work, and the community.

What attracted you to your monastic vocation?
‍I was seeking God.

"Its joy, that's the thing "

Father Finbarr, OSB

Father Finbarr was born in a suburb of Dublin Ireland. From an early age he had a passion for serving people, particularly the homeless and those most forgotten. As a young adult he joined the Legion of Mary, which provided an outlet for him to continue the life of service he loved. Eventually a friend of his introduced him to the monks at Ampleorth Abbey, the mother house of Saint Louis Abbey. To his surprise, he found man Irish roots mixed in with the Englishness of Ampleforth, and he felt very at home there. He joined Ampleforth Abbey shortly thereafter and in his time as a monk there he earned a Masters in Sacred Theology, became qualified in several languages, and also excelled as a Rugby coach.

While Father Finbarr was still a young monk, the Abbot at Ampleorth asked him to go to join the fledgling Saint Louis Abbey along with another monk, Father Ralph. At Saint Louis Abbey, Father Finbarr has continued his life of service to God's people through chaplaincy, teaching, preaching, and the sacraments. He also continued his passion for those most forgotten, by ministering to isolated rural Missouri Parrishes where he single handedly ran several churches for over 15 years. Father Finbarr is currently living out his retirement in prayer and rest at Saint Louis Abbey.

What advice do you have for a young man discerning monastic life?
Discernment is a question of whether you are comfortable in this setting, but in order to know you have to come and try it. But don't rush it to be clear in a year. Give it 2, give it 10. God works differently for different people.

"Our mission is simply to proclaim Gods love, that he really dies for each individual personally. In prayer you learn to listen to this love."

Father Laurence Kriegshauser, O.S.B.

Father Laurence felt a draw to monastic life as early as grade school. However, this draw became much more serious in his college years when he discovered the Jesuit priest and poet, Gerard Manly Hopkins. Hopkins writings ignited what would become an all encompassing fascination with the Incarnate Christ in Father Laurence. This fascination with the incomprehensible and beautiful combination of the divine and human led Father Laurence to desire a life of pursuit of union with Christ, which he found at Saint Louis Abbey.

Father Laurence is a talented scholar of both language, scripture, and theology. He taught both Theology and English at our highschool, and also taught Scripture and Hebrew at Kenrick Glennon Seminary.

What did you expect to be difficult as a monk that turned out not to be?
‍Celibacy and obedience. I found that Jesus filled me and I trusted in my superiors. It is easy to surrender your will to a loving will. And if you listen to Jesus and surrender to him he will seduce you. Your life will not be devoid of passion if you become a monk. Quite the opposite. But it requires a leap of faith, to trust that Jesus will catch you and fill you.

What has been the hardest part about being a monk?
‍I would say learning to live in peace with people who are very different from oneself, people who think differently, whom one does not understand or who do not understand us. This is both the most challenging thing about the life and the most rewarding because it opens us up to see the beauty of all God’s creatures and to appreciate their uniqueness. The monastery is a laboratory for creating harmony in diversity.

"Praise God in this unlikely place
Praise him with trombone
Praise him with low-down saxophone
O praise him with big bass drum
And banjo strummed on bended knee
Praise him with clarinet pulled apart
O praise the Lord with violin
And with that big old tuba
Praise him with soul
And as you praise him above all things
Don’t forget to make it swing
You gotta, gotta make it swing "

Father Gerard, O.S.B.

Father Gerard was born the son of a mailman in an impoverished Irish Catholic neighborhood of Saint Louis. His father would wake up early before his mail route so that he could read Catholic theology. Prophetically, among his collection was Louis Bouyer’s "The Meaning of the Monastic Life". Father Gerard inherited his Father's religious zeal, alongside his mother's passion for beauty and music. These roots combined with Father Gerard's talent for seeing beauty in the simplest parts of life to form his lifelong love of reading and writing religious poetry. Father Gerard has written hundreds of poems, he has been published dozens of times, and he has written 6 books.

Throughout his time as a monk at Saint Louis Abbey, Father Gerard has served a variety of roles including Pastor and Prior. But the uniting theme throughout all his work has been his great  joy and his deep desire to care for God's people on an individual level, especially the poor and destitute. When he was a younger monk, once a week Father Gerard would go biking through the most dangerous neighborhoods in Saint Louis
praying, comforting, and helping people.


ON THE OTHER HAND
‍
In life there are amusements
You’ll find them everywhere
They please us for a moment
On the other hand, there’s prayer
On the other hand, there’s prayer
‍

"The vocation of consecrated celibacy is objectively superior to any other call. But don't confuse that with being an objectively superior person."

Father Augustine Wetta, O.S.B.

Father Augustine is an ex-professional juggler, a surfer, an ex-archeologist, a rugby player, and an amateur replica armor maker. He is a renowned author, a passionate teacher, a podcaster, and first of all a devoted monk. Of our monks he has a special passion for the youth, whom he serves by attending youth events, podcasting, and attending retreats. He is beloved among his students for his unique combination of hardcore traditionalist zeal and relentless open mindedness.

What did you expect to be hard about being a monk that wasn't?
Saying the psalms every day. I thought reading the same book every week for the rest of my life would be boring, but it hasn't been.

What has been the most beautiful part of your monastic vocation?
‍ Well I have to say the mass first. But that's like saying the Bible is my favorite book. But I'd say sitting in my cell in perfect silence looking at the snow.

"I realized that if Catholocism was True, then it was worth a total commitment "

Father Ambrose, O.S.B.

Father Ambrose was raised Catholic, but was never presented with a firmer vision of Catholicism than mere "cultural Catholicism". All this changed for him in freshman year of high school when he read the conversion story of Saint John Henry Newman. At this point he realized that Catholicism very concretely claimed to be the one true Church. Father Ambrose realized that the Catholic Church was either real or not, and if what it claimed was true, then it was something worth total commitment. And, if it were not, then it was merely a waste of time. This realization awakened a search for Truth in Father Ambrose that would drive him for the rest of his life. It not only invigorated his religion. but drove him to seek to give his life wholly to Christ with a total commitment. When he discovered Saint Louis Abbey, he saw an avenue to radically live out the total commitment that he sought, in a way that would be a powerful witness to modern times.

So finally in 1997 Father Ambrose entered Saint Louis Abbey. In his time as a monk he has filled a variety of roles. He worked as a teacher in the school, teaching Theology, Doctrine, Dogma, Creed & Sacraments, and Spanish. He also helped found the Oratory of Saints Gregory and Augustine, and was responsible for naming the oratory after the two Benedictines who first brought monasticism to England. He served in the monastic library and the school library. And, perhaps most notably, he now ministers to the people in the Falkan Islands as the only priest in the entire country. In this role he finds great joy in continuing the missionary tradition of the English Benedictines that was started by Saints Gregory and Augustine.

What advice do you have for a young man discerning monastic life?
You have to first think about why God made you: to know, love, and serve him and to be happy with him in heaven. This is the core of your vocation in life. It is the most fitting to seek the manner of life most suitable to that end. Consecrated life is the most perfect way to live out this purpose. It is a supernatural call, so if you feel that maybe you could live this way, don't spend years discerning. Come and try it. If its not for you, you have nothing lost. There are stages of discernment built into the postulancy and novitiate, you don't make you final vows for many years.

"The spiritual and the physical parallel eachother. And God can use the physical, the incidental, and even the sinful to bring about his will "

Father Aidan, O.S.B.

Father Aidan is a Saint Louis local who grew up in a devout catholic family on the hill. After working various jobs in the area for several years, Father Aidan remembers being inspired with a desire for more when he encountered the tremendous joy of the nuns he encountered at the convent where his sister was. This interest progressed until one day his sister suddenly posed the simple question, "Have you thought about your vocation?". Father Aidan describes as a feeling like Jesus tapped him on the shoulder and he suddenly knew he had to give his life to God. He began meeting with a Franciscan Sister who guided him in his discernment until she eventually directed him towards Saint Louis Abbey. As soon as he walked in he immediately felt both at peace and at home. One visit led to another and another until at the age of 22 Father Aidan became a monk.

In the course of his time as a monk he has worked many jobs ranging from Kitchen Master to Master of Ceremonies, Sacristan, Theology Teacher, Stained Glass Teacher, Soccer Coach, Frisbee Coach, and Tennis Coach. He currently serves as the Pastor at our parish, St. Anselm. As Pastor, Father Aidan finds a great opportunity to live out his fatherly vocation to the community. His parishoners cherish him deeply for the pastoral love and care that he has shown them.

What has been the most beautiful part of being a monk at Saint Louis Abbey?
The Divine Office prayed in community, particularly the early morning and night prayers like Vigils or Matins and Compline. This followed by my priestly ordination.

What advice do you have for a young man discerning monastic life?
‍Spend time in prayer before the blessed sacrament, especially in exposition. If you feel that you might be called by God to religious life, you should go and explore it because you won't truly know until you try it. Particularly for monastic life, you have to go and see if you can seek God in prayer and in being alone, in  communal life, and in the Divine Office. You have to go see if thats the path that will lead you to sanctity. You may feel called to marriage, but thats normal. Its not wrong for a monk to feel an attraction to the beauty in married life. Your vocation will ask you to share in the cross because thats what we are called to, but there is joy and triumph in the cross. If a potential monk doesn't see beauty in marriage he should go discern more. A good priest would make a good natural father, because the vocation to fatherhood is the same.

"Once I discovered the Divine Office, everything else in life seemed frankly... unimportant "

Father Linus Dolce, O.S.B.

Father Linus is a talented chemist with a PHD from Princeton. However, he abandoned his passion for optimizing battery cells at the beckoning of an overwhelming attraction to the Divine Office. He currently works as the monastery infirmarian, and has also used his talent in science to inspire an awe of God's creation in students at the school. Fr. Linus is in love with the traditional Latin mass and ministers to the people by filling in at local Latin mass parishes, preaching, and offering confession.

What did you expect to be hard about being a monk that wasn't?
It didn't occur to me that anything would be hard.

What has been the most beautiful part of your monastic vocation?
‍The priestly vocation that grew out of it. That's been the best part and a completely suprising part. Its been a source of tremendous blessing for me. I dont think it would have happened if I was anywhere else, for instance if I was in seminary I probably wouldnt have lasted a year.

How would you descibe the work of Saint Louis Abbey?
‍‍Saint Louis Abbey is really a loosely knit collection of priests all dedicated to serving our community in stability and through our priestly vocation in whatever way we can. This results in a profound diversity of clerics, and a great variety of preaching all of which is for the most part really quite good.

"By opening myself up to God's will I have discovered the most incredible joy-filled life. I am so lucky to be here"

"All the good that I do is just a reflection of God's love. To make God's love manifest is such an honor and a privelege."

Father Francis, OSB

As early as 3 years old Father Francis recalls feeling an innate knowledge of his call to monastic life. During liturgies he would vigorously act out the movements of the monks from the pew, and when his mother would urge him to be still, he firmly refused knowing that this was what he was meant to do.

Over time the noise of this world distracted him from what he always knew he wanted, as he fell in love with science. He studied to be a doctor for some time until, still searching for his calling, he moved to Japan where he furthered his education. Jesus was patient though and used the tiny cell-like Japanese apartment where Father Francis stayed to reawaken the desire for solitude and quiet prayer. After 10 years in Japan he moved back home to study for a masters degree in international business. Upon returning home to Saint Louis, the religion of his youth was rekindled in him. Over the course of 6 or 7 years, he devoted more and more time to prayer and the sacraments, as he gradually discovered that the only thing that truly made him happy was a life of prayer and stability. This desire eventually led him to Saint Louis Abbey where he discovered an immediate feeling of peace and belonging. This peace coupled with a profound dream the first night he stayed at the Abbey gave him the assurance he needed to spend the rest of his life as a monk.

Over the years Father Francis has served a number of roles including kitchen master and associate pastor, but he was especially at home during his time as a teacher. He discovered a deep love for his students and their families, as well as a great joy at being able to walk with them through their lives.

What did you expect to be hard about being a monk that wasn't?
Everything I thought would be difficult was not. It was the things I didn't expect. Not having a car or freedom to do whatever I wanted, giving all that up was nothing. The harder part was coming here over 30 years old with a bunch of degrees, and having the humility to let all that mean nothing. To learn to be nothing.

What advice do you have for young men who are discerning?
‍Always trust in God. When we have our ideas or our plans replaced we have an incredible freedom to be with God. I would never have picked Saint Louis Abbey at first. But by opening myself up to God's will I've had the most incredible and joy filled life. I'm so lucky to be here.

Father Cuthbert Elliot, O.S.B.

Father Cuthbert was raised protestant, but he attended Saint Louis Priory School for high school where he was educated by the monks of Saint Louis Abbey. Though he had never considered becoming a monk, or a Catholic for that matter, he had a profound spiritual experience while following the path of Saint Cuthbert on a school trip to England. He immediately inquired about becoming Catholic, and before long he was showing up to weekly mass, altar serving, and reading great Catholic works like Chesterton with his friends. He continued discerning through college and finally joined the Abbey. Since becoming a monk at Saint Louis Abbey, he has served a variety of roles, but currently serves as headmaster where he is particularly beloved by the students at the school.

What advice do you have for a young man seeking to listen to God's voice?
‍Stop talking. A lot of young men "discerning" are really having a dialogue with themselves and their fear rather than listening to God's voice.

"What is the greatest life?"

Father Athanasius Soto, OSB

Father Athanasius was born in Chicago but raised in LA. He worked a series of jobs before being drawn to monastic life by a relentless pursuit of the answer to the question "what is the greatest life?". He has a passion for physical fitness and discipline and has developed a unique approach and programs related to faith and fitness. As a fluent Spanish speaker he assists at All Souls Parish where he ministers to the Spanish language community.

How would you describe the work of at Saint Louis Abbey?
We offer location based priestly service. We help the people around us in any way we can, be it confessions, saying masses, teaching, counseling, or administration.‍

What has been the hardest part of being a monk?
Dealing with dissapointment in the leadership. This will be an issue at any monastery. Its the same way as a job, but the combination of obedience and stability makes it harder.

What has been the most beautiful part of your monastic vocation?
‍Having the time and resources to get in shape. This life has given me room for inventiveness and exploration.

"The key thing is a desire to serve God with an undivided heart. What better goal could you have for your life?"

"In monastic life you gain a clearer sense of your own dependence on God. You put all your cards on the table and bet God exists, he loves me, and he is calling me to this."

Brother Hugh, O.S.B.

Brother Hugh was born in central Illinois where he grew up Evangelical. After the passing of his Catholic grandfather, he felt a need to take his life, his salvation, and his religion more seriously. This prompted him to begin attending services regularly, and to begin wrestling with the scriptures. His humble and courageous search for truth led him to discover that the church he was encountering in the scriptures was one different than his own. In a great leap of faith, he left his church and became a Lutheran.

But he did not stop there. He continued in his relentless pursuit of Truth, until the writings of Joseph Ratzinger prompted him to again abandon what he knew, and become Catholic. As he encountered the tradition of the Catholic Church, he was struck by the often overlooked history and consequence of monasticism in western civilization, and the world. This awe, combined with an intense desire to serve God with an undivided heart led Brother Hugh to again take a great leap of faith, abandon earthly pursuits, and become a monk at Saint Louis Abbey.

Through his time at Saint Louis Abbey, Brother Hugh has continued to seek God with his whole heart, through the times both easy and hard. Time and time again, he has found that Jesus has asked him to abandon what he once had or thought he knew and take a great leap of faith. And through the trials, suffering, triumph, loss, and joy, Jesus has always been waiting for him on the other side, with still more gifts to give.  

What advice do you have for a young man discerning monastic life?
First of all, in hard times continue to pray. Keep doing it. Don't give up with it. Second, monastic life is to be lived. Its an experience. It behooves someone discerning to do a lot of visiting and spend time with the community.

What has been the most beautiful part of your monastic vocation?
‍Monastic life keeps leading you back to that core intuition or serving God with an undivided heart. Through your day, your work, your studies, your interactions with other monks both positive and negative, if you pay attention, you will be brought back to serving God.

"We fell in love with the Abbey at first sight"

Brother Luke Kalhorn, O.S.B.

Our monks come from all walks of life, often the least expected. Nowhere is this more evident than in our Brother Luke. Brother Luke spent most of his life as a protestant, an extremely successful businessman, and as a married man. In his early 30's Brother Luke experienced God's call to enter the Catholic Church. Shortly after he discovered Saint Louis Abbey, and he and his wife Susan immediately fell in love with the Abbey. Throughout the next several decades the monks of the Abbey befriended them, educated their sons, comforted them in sorrow, and brought them closer to Jesus Christ.

And when Brother Luke's wife Susan passed away, it was the Abbey and their liturgy that comforted him and gave him strength. During this difficult time Brother Luke learned a greater surrender, confidence, and love for Christ, and he was drawn closer and closer to the Abbey. Eventually, he was spending so much time at the Abbey that he was invited to join as a monk.

Since joining, Brother Luke has used his administrative talent to mentor students, to pioneer the affiliates program, and to help organize and manage projects such as this website.

What has been the most beautiful part of your monastic vocation?
"Anyone can pray.... but when I pray 5 times a day with my brother monks, there's something powerful there. It’s different. The Holy Spirit is more active. I don't like travelling anymore. I pray the divine office alone when I'm gone but it’s just not as good. It’s being part of this community and common prayer. It’s powerful stuff."

The People we serve

As varied as our monks are, the community we serve is even more varied. Surrounding our monastery is a family of devoted lay people who support our monastery and school. Over generations we have baptised their children, heard their confessions, administered Holy Communion, educated them, married them, counseled them, and buried them. They gather to celebrate Mass with us, they support us, and they visit with us. Many among this community were once our students, whom we particularly cherish. Below is a note written by one of these alumni:

“I do not have words for what the monks at Saint Louis Abbey mean to me. Not only did they educate me, teach me the faith, and give me my first sacraments, but they cheered for me at wrestling tournaments and football games. They visited me. They encouraged me when I needed it. They housed me when I had no place to go. They taught me how to pray. They taught me how to forgive. They taught me how to love. I consider these men to be my spiritual fathers, and wherever I go, I am reminded of what these courageous and holy men did for me and I strive to spread the gifts they gave me. I know that my classmates feel the same way.”
Lou Rolwes class of ‘19

Community Moments

Experience the vibrancy and unity of our Abbey life.