NEWS
of the Benedictine Confederation
and the Cistercian Family

The community of Brialmont (Belgium) has been aware for some time of its situation of fragility. The superior, M. Marie-Pascale Dran, and the sisters, with the help of the Father Immediate (Dom Xavier Frisque13, superior ad nutum of Orval) and the Commission for the future, after serious consideration, have judged that it is not possible for the community to recover from this situation, and that it must be closed. The Abbot General and his Council have followed the situation

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

On 14 February, Richard Moth was installed as Archbishop of Westminster, England. He is an Oblate of Pluscarden (Subiaco Cassinese Congregation). On 2 February, Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder established an International Secretariat for the Benedictine Secular Oblates and appointed Dr. Roberto Lomolino, Oblate of Sant’Anselmo, as its Secretary General. He works closely with Abbot Jean-Pierre Longeat, the Abbot Primate's Delegate for the Oblates. The Secretariat's main tasks

Diocese press release (17 February 2026) Since 1969, at the Merci-Dieu monastery in Saint-Jean-d'Assé, near Le Mans (France), sisters have been living a life of prayer, hospitality and craftsmanship, weaving and making liturgical vestments (chasubles, stoles, albs, etc.). Their life is governed by the Rule of Saint Benedict. The nuns have realised that the buildings are now unsuitable due to their age and condition. Therefore, after a year of communal discernment, in consulta

On the afternoon of Ash Wednesday, 18 February 2026, the Primatial Abbey of Sant’Anselmo welcomed Pope Leo to the Aventine Hill to begin the Church’s “campaign of Christian service.” Received by Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder OSB and the Prior of Sant’Anselmo, Brendan Coffey OSB, the Holy Father joined the two major religious communities residing in Rome for the commencement of the Statio prayers. In the late afternoon, the assembly began its penitential procession to the B

The annual pre-Lenten “Abbots Workshop” was held at Tepeyac Abbey in Mexico City. From 2-6 February, 25 superiors of monastic communities met to hear presentations by David Schellenberger, president and chief executive of the Saint John Vianney Behavioral Health Center in Pennsylvania on “Caring for Yourself as You Care for Your Brothers”. Mr. Schellenberger provided a series of presentations that engaged those present on perspectives regarding the care of spirit, mind and bo

On February 11, 2026, Dom Malachias Huijink, abbot of Echt and Father Immediate ad interim of Nunraw, (Scotland) appointed Fr. Benedict Okakpu , monk of Nsugbe, as superior ad nutum of Nunraw. Dom Benedict was born in Abatete, Nigeria in 1966. He was a diocesan priest in Onitsha, Nigeria before entered the community of Nsugbe in 2006, where he made his solemn profession in 2012. This appointment brings to an end the service of Dom Mark Caira, abbot of Nunraw from 2009 and su

Dear Oblates, Dear brothers and sisters in the Benedictine family, Warm greetings from Rome! For us monks, the last few decades have been outwardly quite stable. Among the Benedictine nuns, however, there have been significant developments, and we expect further steps toward consolidation in the near future. The oblate movement also has developed considerably. Impressive oblate communities have emerged in Asia and Africa, and five World Congresses since 2005 have fostered an

On February 13, 2026, Sister Maria Caritas Pham Thi Sen made solemn profession at the monastery of Our Lady of Imari (Japan). Sister Caritas was born in 1992 in Vinh (Vietnam); she entered Imari in 2014 and made first profession in 2019. ocso.org https://www.imari-trappistines.org/

On Sunday, 15 February 2026, on the anniversary of the dedication of the church of the monastery of Our Lady of Koubri (Burkina Faso), Sister Nok-Wende Judith Maria Laetitia will make her solemn profession during the Eucharist presided over by Archbishop Prosper Kontiebo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Ouagadougou, at 9 a.m.

The monastic community and the metropolitan city of Turin are celebrating the 1,300th anniversary of the founding of Novalesa Abbey (Italy). It was on 30 January 726, in the middle of winter, when Abbone launched the foundation of the abbey: 1300 years have passed, and the Benedictine monastery has experienced periods of varying importance in the history of the Alps, until 1972, when the province of Turin bought it from Convitto Umberto I in order to prevent it from falling i

The monastic community of São Geraldo Abbey in São Paulo, Brazil, has elected Dom Geraldo González y Lima, OSB, as its fourth abbot. The election took place on 15 January 2026, coinciding with the liturgical memorial of Saints Maurus and Placid, the first disciples of Saint Benedict. Dom Geraldo succeeds to the abbatial chair of this community, a member of the Hungarian Congregation, after two decades of distinguished service to the wider confederation in Rome. Born in Hava

Twice a year, three Benedictine finance experts meet in Rome to oversee and evaluate Sant’Anselmo's financial situation, offering feedback and recommendations. On 2 February, the outgoing Finance Commission met with the new members and our in-house administrative staff. Abbot emeritus Norberto Villa of Praglia (Italy) and Br. Ansgar Stüfe of Münsterschwarzach (Germany) took their leave after many years of service on the commission. Fr. Luke Turner of Atchison (USA) will remai

On 31 January 2026, under the chairmanship of the Abbot General and in the presence of the superiors of the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception, the community of Lérins (France) elected Dom Jean-Marie Gervais as its new abbot. Dom Gervais thus becomes president of the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception. Born in 1960, Father Jean-Marie entered the monastery of Lérins in 1981 and has held various positions of responsibility in the service of monastic life. In 1997

On behalf of the Benedictine Confederation, Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder congratulates Bishop Manuel Nin Güell on his appointment as Exarch of the Territorial Abbey of Grottaferrata. Grottaferrata is the only monastery of the Order of Basilian Monks in Italy. It is a territorial abbey and an exarchical monastery—that is, the superior holds episcopal rank. The monks follow the Rule of Saint Basil the Great, who was greatly admired and quoted by Saint Benedict. Pope Leo XIII