BENET 2026
Around 160 educators from five continents gathered at Melk Abbey for BENET 2026, exploring monastic stability, hospitality and the enduring mission of Benedictine schools in a changing world.
Melk Abbey in Austria hosted the tenth World Conference of Benedictine Educators from 6 to 10 October 2026, bringing together around 160 monastic and lay participants from 25 countries across all five continents. Organised under the auspices of the International Commission on Benedictine Education, the conference convened representatives from an international network of more than 180 schools. Delegates were welcomed by Abbot Ludwig Wenzl OSB and Headmaster Johannes Eichhorn to the historic abbey, where monastic life has continued on the rock overlooking the Danube without interruption since 1089.
The proceedings were guided by the theme "Learning to Live! – Stability and Hospitality", inspired both by the Melk school motto Discimus vitam, Learning for life, and the Prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict: "See how the Lord in his love shows us the way of life". Throughout the sessions, discussions addressed the challenges confronting contemporary educational institutions, including rapid social transition, technological fragmentation and geopolitical instability. Within this context, speakers presented monastic stability as an anchor offering students a clear sense of identity and belonging, which subsequently enables educational communities to extend open, confident hospitality to the wider world.
Keynote addresses provided the theological and intellectual foundation for the gathering. Prior Jakob Deibl OSB, a monk of Melk and Associate Professor of Religion and Aesthetics at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna, addressed the assembly on the cultural and theological dimensions of education. Sister Manuela Scheiba OSB, of the Abbey of Alexanderdorf and a lecturer at the Monastic Institute of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, delivered reflections on the exegesis and contemporary application of the Rule of Saint Benedict.
Practical pedagogy and classroom realities featured prominently through two dedicated workshop sessions and an international panel of educators. Coordinated by Patricia Flynn of Saint Benedict’s Prep in Newark, the panel examined the distinctive hallmarks of Benedictine pedagogy across diverse national settings and generations. In the workshops, delegates exchanged best practices and curricular initiatives, exploring how the monastic tradition can effectively inform contemporary school culture and administration.
The conference horarium remained closely integrated with the life of Melk Abbey, whose educational work dates back to a boys’ choir school recorded in 1140. Delegates joined the monastic community for prayer beneath the relics of Saint Coloman in the Abbey Church and took part in guided tours of the abbey complex. The programme concluded on Saturday evening, 10 October, with a final Mass and community supper.
The gathering marked another milestone for the ICBE, established in 2002 by Abbot Primate Notker Wolf OSB to support and connect Benedictine schools worldwide. Led by ICBE President Father Julian Schaumlöffel OSB, the conference reaffirmed the shared commitment of monastic and lay leaders to this international mission. Fr. Julian observed that the encounter prepares educators to return to their communities renewed in their vocation, better equipped to offer students not only academic knowledge but lasting inspiration for life.
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