By Abbot President Javier Aparicio Suarez, Ottilien Congregation Once a year, the Abbot Primate convenes all the Presidents of the Benedictine Confederation for the Synod. This last week we met in a rather different setting from Sant’Anselmo: at the Benedictine Monastery of Gihindamuyaga in Rwanda, of the Annunciation Congregation. Perhaps the familiar expression primus inter pares could be slightly adapted for the occasion: “Primas… inter pares.” Primas is also the title tra

September 2026 Anna Brennan, OSB, Abbess, Stanbrook Abbey, UK Every meeting of the Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum is, of course, important, but this year’s meeting, at Sant’Anselmo in September, was especially significant, for three reasons: 1) the conference of delegates voted to seek the approval of the Holy See to restructure CIB and to accept the new statutes which give form the restructuring; 2) the conference voted for a new moderator, assistant moderator and c

From 17 to 20 November 2026, a colloquium entitled “Governing Oneself, Governing Others: Bernard of Clairvaux’s On Consideration” will be held at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo in Rome. The colloquium will explore St Bernard’s De consideratione, addressed to Pope Eugene III, and its reflections on authority, self-knowledge, service, and governance in the Church. The conferences will also be available online. The connection link will be provided later by Sant’Anselmo...

We inform you of a new scam attempt of fake mails. This is obviously a scam. Please be careful. Below we present the emails that some Superiors have received: De: Sr. Isabelle Thouin OSB <srlisethouinosb@gmail.com> Enviat: dilluns, 14 de setembre de 2026 16:27 Per a:- -------- Tema: Re: Monasterio de Poblet Estimado padre: Buenos días, Soy la hermana Isabelle Thouin, OSB, madre abadesa de la Abadía de Sainte-Marie des Deux-Montagnes, en Canadá. Para obtener más información s

At the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Fidélité in Jouques (France), Mother Abbess Marie-Monique Guttin has stepped down from her post having reached the age limit of 75. On 15 September 2026, the conventual chapter elected Mother Marie-Noël Pelletier as the community’s new abbess. She will receive the abbatial blessing from Monsignor Christian Delarbre, Archbishop of Aix-en-Provence and Arles, on Thursday 22 October 2026 at 10.00 am, on the feast day of Saint John Paul II. https://ww

On 29 August 2026, Sister Marie-Lys made her perpetual profession with the Benedictine Servants of the Poor, whose mother house is in Angers (France). The celebration was presided over by Dom Bertrand de Hédouville, abbot of Randol Monastery. The Congregation of the Servants of the Poor, Regular Oblates of the Order of Saint Benedict, is a religious institute dedicated to the apostolic life. It was founded by Dom Leduc, a monk of Solesmes, in 1872. Under the patronage of Sain

On September 12, 2026, under the presidency of the Abbot General, Mother Pilar Avellaneda Ruiz, a nun of the Abbey of La Encarnación in Córdoba and Promotrix of the General Chapter of the Cistercian Congregation of St. Bernard (CCSB), was elected Abbess President of the Congregation. She succeeds Mother Angelines de Frutos Benito as Abbess President. She has served as Abbess President since 2013. The Brothers and Sisters of the Order wish God’s blessing upon the new Abbess Pr

On September 8, 2026, Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sister Annina Satta made solemn profession at the monastery of Our Lady of Valserena (Italy). Sister Annina was born in Cecina (Italy) in 1981; she entered Valserena in 2018 and made first profession in 2021. ocso.org

On 26 September 2026, Sisters Maurícia Wimbo Jaime and Ermelinda L. Mbimbi António will take their monastic vows at the Priory of Saint Benedict in Huambo (Angola).

On Sunday, August 16th, three brothers, Brs. Sebastian, Pascal and David, made temporary vows and one brother, Br. Barnabas, made his solemn profession at Our Lady of Dallas. May we pray for these prayers and lift them up to the intercession of Our Lady! ocist.org

The General Chapter of September 2025 recommended (Vote 92) that the community of Victoria (diocese of Masaka, Uganda) consider the possibility of affiliation to Tilburg. The possibility was studied in Victoria and in Tilburg, and both communities rejected the idea. After a further special Visitation by two superiors of the Order, and in the light of the ongoing situation in the community, Dom Isaac Majoor, abbot of Tilburg and Father Immediate of Victoria, asked the Abbot Ge

The General Chapter of September 2025 voted (Vote 14) in support of the request to the Holy See by Dom Roberto DE LA IGLESIA, Apostolic Commissary of Viaceli (diocese of Santander, Spain) since 2020, to end the regime of Apostolic Commissary in that community. On 25 June 2026 the Holy See accepted Dom Roberto’s resignation as Apostolic Commissary. P. José Luis GALIANA HERRERO, monk of Cardeña, has been appointed Superior of Viaceli. Dom José Luis was born in Burgos, Spain in

In early September 2026, the Chapter of the Congregation of the Annunciation met at Tyniec Abbey (Poland). On 5 September, Father Maksymilian Nawara was re-elected President of the Congregation for a four-year term. First Councillor (appointed by the President): Fr Brendan Coffey (Prior of Sant’Anselmo); Second Councillor (elected by the Chapter): Father Abbot Bernard Lorent Tayart (President of AIM); Third Councillor (appointed by the President): Sister Immaculée Umubyeyi (P

Maredsous Abbey, a Benedictine abbey located in Denée, in the municipality of Anhée in the Province of Namur, is one of Belgium's leading spiritual and tourist destinations. The site employs more than 200 people during the high season and is also home to a school and a visitor centre. The Maredsous Sound Festival is organised by the monastic community in partnership with the Diocese of Namur. For its very first edition, held on 28 and 29 August 2026, the Maredsous Sound Festi

The Good Samaritan Inn marked a significant milestone in August this year with the turning of the sod for the construction of the Good Samaritan Village, a purpose-built crisis accommodation facility in Melbourne for women, children and gender-diverse people escaping family violence. By Debra Vermeer Supported by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan and funded through a $6.9 million Australian Government Safe Places Inclusion Round grant, the Good Samaritan Village represents th