Nexus, January-February 2026

In my homeland, Carnival is quite important; in Rome, it plays no role, and even in the Holy Land, where I spent last weekend, Valentine's Day seems to be more important across religious lines than our Catholic pre-Lenten traditions. My days in Israel were intense. I met with the seven Benedictine communities and the Trappist monks. Five monasteries have a French background, two a German one, and then there are the Benedictine nuns from the Philippines – so English and French are the languages of communication. All the communities are rather small, with between three and thirteen members. They all recruit from abroad. The brothers and sisters are either pilgrims and seekers who have put down roots in the Holy Land, often with adventurous biographies, or they have been sent from monasteries in Europe, Africa or Asia. Economically, most communities depend on tourists and pilgrims; the monastery shops play a significant role. They all employ local Arabic-speaking Christians, thus helping the Christian minority to survive.

The horrific events of recent years—the attack of 7 October 2023, the Gaza war still simmering despite the ceasefire, the conflict with Iran, and immense internal tensions—hang heavy in the country's atmosphere, a poisoned normality. But in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel also showed me a sign of hope: renovation, overdue for centuries, has finally begun, and the often-divided denominations have managed, with astonishing unity, to launch a large and ambitious project. In the face of the bloody conflicts, Christians have been able to focus on what they have in common. The era of the "fighting monks" seems to be over.

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In recent years, our house here at Sant’Anselmo has always been quite full. During the spring, we will know who is leaving and how many places we will have available for the next academic year. We kindly ask all abbots considering sending someone to Sant’Anselmo starting in the winter semester of 2026/27 to send a message to our prior (priore@anselmianum.com) by the end of March so that we can plan accordingly. There are also a few scholarships available. The application deadline for these is also 31 March.

I would also like to draw your attention to our two English-language summer courses: Monastic Aggiornamento – a sabbatical program for Benedictine monks and nuns from 5-25 July. In addition, there is the Oblate Monastic Summer Studium, from 4-24 July. More information is available on our website.

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A few days ago, a fellow brother wrote to me: “I am grateful and happy when someone appreciates art and beauty. That helps us to save our little worlds. And many others that we may not even know about.”

The talk of a small world got me thinking. In Israel, the major issues of world politics were omnipresent. On Wednesday, we welcomed Pope Leo for the traditional Ash Wednesday Mass on the Aventine Hill, and on this first Saturday of Lent, the Benedictine China Commission is meeting, which, among other things, has to deal with great power politics. None of this sounds so small. But when you look closer, it turns out that what we're really concerned with are the small, modest, even humble realities. There are the small, often fragile communities in the Holy Land. And our Chinese houses, too, have a rather understated presence – not exactly a proud city on a hill, but perhaps the salt of the earth? The latest news from Cuba is distressing. The country is being economically strangled. The Benedictines are also suffering, but the witness of their continued presence speaks powerfully.

I recently met an old friend from university who later became a professor and is now nearing retirement. He spoke about his students with a kind of benevolent irony, but also with a certain detachment: "They're a different species!" He attributed this to their digital learning and working style. I know what he means, and at the same time, I find myself quite torn: a self-confessed book lover, and simultaneously a victim of screens that consume far more of my daily work and reading time than I'd like. Saint Benedict largely left the observance of Lent to the individual's discretion. However, he organized the Lenten reading communally and entrusted the allocation to the abbot. This is handled differently in our monasteries, as is almost everything, but I find the emphasis on actual books to be a very good recommendation, one I intend to follow faithfully this year.* It's a way to cultivate the small world of our souls.

And then, of course, there are our monasteries, each a world unto itself. For a year now, we have been working intensively on preparations for the Benedictine Jubilee of 2029 – 1500 years since the founding of Monte Cassino. In about four weeks, for the Feast of Saint Benedict in March, we plan to launch the website that will stimulate and coordinate jubilee initiatives worldwide. The motto is “Places of Hope since 529.” That the great is reflected in the small is very Benedictine: the cosmos in the layout of our monasteries, cloisters, and gardens; the globe in Benedict's vision; the love of God in our compassionate fraternity; and eternal hope in a joy of life that moves toward Easter.

I wish you all the same from Rome and remain warmly connected.

Yours,

Jeremias Schröder, OSB

Abbot Primate

*For those interested: Richard Southern's book about Anselm of Canterbury (or “of Aosta”, as he is known in Italy), a quarter of a century old but still not outdated.

osb.org