Meeting of BEAO

Benedictines from across East Asia and Oceania gathered this October at Thien Binh Monastery near Ho Chi Minh City for their biennial meeting. The event brought together leaders and delegates from monasteries in Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam—representing a thousand monks, nuns and sisters from across the region.

The Benedictine presence in this part of the world stretches back nearly two centuries. It began in 1835 when Bishop John Bede Polding OSB arrived in Sydney. The first monastery was established in 1848. From these beginnings, monastic life gradually took root across the Pacific and East Asia, often through bold missionary endeavours, and sometimes through profound suffering and martyrdom.

The BEAO meetings, held roughly every two years, serve to deepen collaboration between these diverse communities, particularly in formation and education, and to strengthen the bonds of fraternity within the wider Benedictine family. At this year’s gathering, Sr. Meg Kahler of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan in Australia was elected to succeed Br. Nicholas Koss of Wimmer Priory in Taiwan, who has guided the network with commitment and insight since its beginnings 30 years ago.

The meeting’s programme combined presentations from member communities with times of prayer, reflection and shared discussion on the challenges and opportunities common in Benedictine life. Among the contributors were Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder OSB, who spoke about the relationship between the male and female branches of the order and promoted the 2029 jubilee, and Fr. Cyprian Consiglio OSBCam, Secretary General of the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue. Abbot Bernard Lorent Tayart, President of the Alliance for International Monasticism, also addressed the assembly, as did Fr. Joseph Nguyễn Văn Ấm SDB on the life of the Church in Vietnam.

Two abbot presidents of international congregations—the Subiaco-Cassinese and Ottilien—, made the journey from Europe to take part. The Apostolic Nuncio to Vietnam, Archbishop Marek Zalewski, presided at the opening Mass. Throughout the week, participants shared in the daily rhythm of prayer with the monastic community of Thien Binh.

The gathering concluded with a day in Ho Chi Minh City, former Saigon, where participants visited the cathedral and the archdiocesan pastoral centre, home to an impressive formation institute for the laity. The day ended in characteristically fraternal style, with a seafood lunch and a lively cultural evening that celebrated the diversity and unity of the Benedictine family in East Asia and Oceania.

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