Congress of Abbots of the Benedictine Confederation
Rome, Sant'Anselmo, September 2000
(AIM, Alliance for International Monasticism)
The Expansion of Benedictine Monasticism
Is an evaluation needed?
On several occasions, I have been asked about the evolution of Benedictine
monasticism at the beginning of the third millennium. "Are there still
vocations in your monasteries? How many abbeys are there in Europe, the
Americas, in Africa, in Asia and in Oceania?"
These questions and other similar ones leave me perplexed. First,
I have some idea of the answer yet I say to myself: Let God be God, and
do not try to measure his presence in our communities! The Bible bids us
guard against those who want to number the People of God and draw up a
balance sheet. However, in spite of certain misgivings, two reasons have
persuaded me to take stock of the development of monasteries in the years
1900 to 2000.
The first reason comes from a feeling and a conviction which are confirmed
as I get to know monastic communities. In spite of the sufferings and distress
of our contemporaries, God does not cease to raise up in our world men
and women consecrated to the service of praise and intercession. Jesus
said, "My Father is always working and I too am at work". This word, carried
out in the emergence of new monastic communities, makes us wonder and adore
the action of God ever new in our world.
The second reason is more simple. As I am responsible for the Alliance
for International Monasticism (AIM), every day I take to heart the life
and development of the communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.
For this reason I must place the benedictine monasteries in the context
of the evolution of the Church and the present world.
This essay concerning the expansion of benedictine monasticism during
the XXth century is presented as a point of departure for a deeper reflection.
It is an invitation to understand better the history of each community
in its cultural, social and political context and in relation to the mother
house which founded it, to its Congregation and its Order. We wish simply
to indicate some strengths which mark the evolution of monasticism. Some
particular points no doubt need revision. Our perspective is limited to
the countries outside Europe and the North-American continent.
At the end of the XIXth Century
At the end of the XIXth century, the monasteries outside Europe and North
America were few in number and the first two decades of the XXth century
did not see many foundations. This calls attention to some basic data:
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Things started moving with the development of the Brazilian Congregation
at the end of the XVIth century (Salvador de Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Olinda,
Recife, São Paulo, Vinhedo);
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There were three foundations in Australia in the middle of the XIXth century
(New Norcia, and 2 in Sydney), other monasteries came into being at the
turn of the century.
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The Congregation of St Ottilien founded the monastery of Pugu in Tanzania
in 1888 and the sisters of Tutzing arrived there the same year. This first
african monastery was destroyed the next year ; two brothers and one sister
were killed. Peramiho is founded in 1898.
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The Argentinean monastery of Niños Dios was founded by Belloc in
1899.
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In Asia, the Trappists were in China already in 1883.
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In the near East, the monastery of Latroun was founded in Israel in 1890;
in Jerusalem, there was a Benedictine monastery in 1896.
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Other foundations were made in the Philippines (Manila 1895) and Japan
(Phare-Hokkaido 1896 and Tenshien 1898).
A global vision of evolution in the XXth Century
This was the situation at the beginning of the XXth century. The comparison
between the situation of the monasteries at the beginning of the
century and at the end of the millennium is impressive: the first two graphics
give us a general idea of this movement (figures 1 &
2) . We find, in fact, an increasing progression of foundations in
the second half of this century: 16, 47, 117, 219, 335 monasteries in the
year 2000. This growth is the more remarkable in that its is general, covering
Latin America, Africa and Asia. The emergence of the first foundations
in Oceania can also be seen. A significant development is shown in
these continents in the years 1940 to 1960. This tendency is confirmed
and amplified in the years 1960 to 1980 and is maintained in the last twenty
years of the century.
Towards the end of the XXth century, foundations stabilise a little
in Latin America, they slow down in Africa due to many political, social
and economic crises. In Asia, on the other hand, the spread of communities
goes ahead. In Latin America, there is considerable development. Two examples
will illustrate this: the impressive fecundity of the foundations originating
from Stanbrook and the development of communities in Spanish speaking Latin
America. Without confusing them, the Brazilian and Spanish speaking monasteries
illustrate the vitality of Benedictine monasticism on this continent (figures
3 & 4).
The nuns of Brazil as an example
The nuns of Stanbrook in Great Britain helped in the foundation of a monastery
in São Paulo in 1911. The accompanying table illustrates the fruitfulness
of this grain thrown on the earth: Victoria in Argentina (1941) made foundations
in Uruguay and in Chile; Petrópolis (1967) founded successively
Santa Rosa (1989), São Mateus (1994), Guajara-Mirim in the Amazon
basin in 1997. Two other monasteries were already in the Amazon basin:
Itacoatiara (1989), and Rio Branco (1993). Today the Brazilian communities
possess both foundations and small offshoots! (figure
11).
Spanish speaking Latin America
In the monasteries of Spanish speaking Latin America growth is found particularly
in Argentina (15 communities), Mexico (15 communities) and in Chile (6
communities); the other countries cover the other half of the distribution
of monasteries (Guatemala, Peru, Costa Rica, Columbia etc …) There too,
the monastic expansion has remained constant since 1940 with an accentuation
in the years 1960-1980 when more than 25 monasteries were founded (figure
4). If one adds the new monasteries of Brazil to those of Spanish speaking
Latin America, we can only be astonished at the progress of monasticism
manifesting a new the presence and action of God.
Africa
There were few communities in Africa in 1900; in a hundred years, more
than a hundred monasteries have been founded. Growth was slow before the
war 1940-45; it increased particularly at the time of political independence,
to come to a head between between 1960-1980 with 34 foundations;
the number slowly diminished between 1980 and the year 2000: 31 foundations
(figure 5).
Some monasteries had to close their doors on account of a tragedy. We
remember the heroism of the monks of Tibhirine, what the monks of Mokoto
suffered, the Bernardines, the Cistercians the Benedictines in the region
of the great lakes, the forced expulsion of the monks of la Bouenza and
of the sisters who had come from the abbey of Venière in Burgundy.
Other monasteries in Congo Brazzaville, to the east of Congo also had to
close. The desire to live near the people continues to prevail and the
daily example of these monasteries engenders a new generation of monks
and nuns faced with the tragedies, distress and poverty of the peoples
of Africa.
The monasteries are distributed over a large part of the continent,
the most numerous are in the Republic of Congo (15), in Tanzania (14),
Madagascar (8), Nigeria (7), Cameroon (6) and in South Africa (5). The
most significant example is Tanzania. The numbers hardly need comment (figure
6).
Asia
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Some monasteries existed at the end of the XIXth century in Israel (Latroun
and Jerusalem), in the Philippines at Manila, in Japan (Phare-Hokkaido
1896 and Tenshien 1898).
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China experienced troubled periods. Thirty three trappist monks
were martyred. Some went to Taiwan and Hong Kong from the Abbey of Our
Lady of Consolation. In North Korea, the St. Ottilien monks had a flourishing
abbey at Tokwon and the sisters of Tutzing at Wonsan. In 1949, twelve monks
were executed ; the others were sent to a concentration camp. Two sisters
died as well. We remember also the tragedy of the monks of
the monastery of La Pierre-qui-Vire who died in Cambodia.
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At the present moment there are almost a hundred monasteries in Asia which
have developed over recent years. The most numerous are in India and Sri
Lanka, the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan. New foundations are being made
in Indonesia. Others are being prepared in Burma and elsewhere (figure
7). Nearly 46% of these monasteries are less than twenty years old;
19% are 10 years old! India and the Philippines lead the way. AIM watches
the development of these communities carefully.
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It would take a long time to go into the history of each country, the congregations
and the monasteries. In India, progress was slow until the middle of the
XXth century and quickened from 1977-1997. India has 22% of the monasteries
of Asia. In Sri Lanka, the monasteries belong to the Sylvestrine Congregation
and are well developed (figure 10).
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In Vietnam, the 15 monasteries belong to the Congregation of the Holy Family
of the Cistercian order (10), to the Congregation of Subiaco, and to that
of the benedictine nuns of Vanves (2). After the wars which lasted until
1975, the monasteries have continued to survive. There have been no new
foundations during the last twenty years (figure 9).
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In the Philippines: two women's Congregations consecrated to the Eucharistic
King, one of sisters and the other of nuns, have developed. Benedictines
and Cistercians have also made foundations. In 1998-99 two foundations
have been made in Linamon, and Corte on the island of Cebu. With India
and Sri Lanka, the Philippines account for half the foundations in Asia,
followed by Vietnam, Japan, Israel and Korea. In the last country, the
monasteries have prospered; that of the Olivetan sisters in Pusan, near
the coast has more than two hundred consecrated sisters.
Some conclusions
In the West, monasticism does not enjoy the same development today as it
does on the Latin American African and Asian continents. We can marvel
at what God is doing on these continents, but we must not pass judgement.
Europe has known periods of great monastic expansion in the Carolingian
era, in the time of St Bernard and of Cluny, after the French revolution
and in Napoleonic times.
The time has come for the other continents to take their share in the
spread of monasticism which goes through new phases of inculturation and
enriches our perspective; the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue completes
this mutual enrichment and opens new paths for the future.
The development of monastic communities is based on the quest for God,
or rather on God who seeks men and women. This wonderful fact takes nothing
from the discernment, the generosity and sacrifice implicit in these new
foundations. Some of them come from the same continent, even the same country.
In Brazil, as we have seen, foundations and small offshoots have come from
native monasteries (eg. Petrópolis). There are also monks who undergo
formation in the mother house. It is not so common now for monks or nuns
to go to another continent to "found a monastery" there. The monastery
of Friguiagbe in Guinea came from the abbey of Maumont (France). Several
monasteries in Latin America have been founded from the USA.
Finally several new foundations have received vocations from different
continents: The monastery of Shanti Nivas made by the Benedictine Sisters
of Tutzing, (Vilakkudy), opened in India on January 3rd 2000 at Pineapple
Junction, Punalur. Five sisters from Germany, the Philippines, Korea and
India arrived in November 1996 on the initiative of the bishop of Punalur,
Mgr Matthias Kappil. For two years, the preparations went slowly: getting
to know the people, learning the language, taking part in the programmes
and activities of the diocese. Then the land had to be bought, a road constructed,
bridges and finally the construction of a monastery under the protection
of St Joseph. The number of sisters rose from 5 to 21 through the arrival
of 16 Indian postulants. The community took shape in the rhythm of their
liturgy, personal prayer and work.
These rambling reflections on various foundations suggest a final remark
which is at the core of AIM's preoccupations: the importance of monastic
formation. The expansion of Benedictine monasticism on the divers continents
asks us to imagine new forms of complimentary formation. Information technology
and new means of communication can help us to find new forms of learning,
common to all the disciples of Saint Benedict and adapted to each culture
and to each person.
Martin Neyt osb
AIM President