New Abbot President

On October 7, 2025, at a meeting at Wilhering Abbey, Abbot Dr. Pius Maurer of Lilienfeld Abbey was elected as the new Abbot-President of the Austrian Cistercian Congregation.

It was also decided that Abbot Dr. Reinhold Dessl of Wilhering Abbey would remain First Assistant, and Fr. Dr. Meinrad Tomann of Heiligenkreuz Abbey would remain Second Assistant.

Abbot Pius Maurer (born 1971) comes from the parish of Unterdürnbach in the municipality of Maissau (Weinviertel). After graduating from high school in Hollabrunn, he entered the Cistercian Abbey of Lilienfeld in 1989. He studied in Heiligenkreuz, Rome, and Jerusalem. He has been a priest since 1996 and Abbot of Lilienfeld Abbey since 2019. He is a visiting professor at Heiligenkreuz University and, in collaboration with his fellow monks, serves as parish pastor in Lilienfeld, Eschenau, Traisen, and Wilhelmsburg. Since 2022, he has been a member of the Council of the Abbot General of the Cistercian Order.

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