NEWS
of the Benedictine Confederation
and the Cistercian Family

The international academic conference, “The Testimony of the Monks of Tibhirine,” will take place in Oxford on Tuesday, 30 June, and Wednesday, 1 July 2026. Hosted by the Dominican community at Blackfriars, the event will feature bilingual presentations and film screenings exploring the spiritual legacy of the martyred Algerian monks. https://www.ocso.org/uploads/general-news/documents/ColloqueTibhirine-30ans-Oxford2026-EN.pdf ocso.org

Bulletin 130, 2026 The OCSO General Chapter – The Jubilee of Benedictine Life If you would like to receive the AIM Bulletin by post, please contact us using the contact form: https://www.aimintl.org/en/contact See the articles: https://www.aimintl.org/en/communication/report/130 Contents Editorial Abbot Bernard Lorent Tayart, OSB, President of AIM On the subject of AIM • The New Statutes of AIM Abbot Bernard Lorent Tayart, OSB • Summary of the Financial Report Father

Mass on 8 May 2026 at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris (France) to mark the 30th anniversary of the murder of the seven Trappist monks of Thibirine, presided over by Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers. Mass on 10 May 2026 at Aiguebelle Abbey (France) to mark the 30th anniversary of the murder of the seven Trappist monks of Thibirine, presided over by Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers. ocso.org

The Benedictine Confederation has formally opened its global journey towards the 2029 Jubilee, which will mark 1,500 years since the foundation of Montecassino by Saint Benedict in 529. The opening celebration took place on Saturday 25 April in Norcia, the birthplace of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica, with the participation of Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder, Archbishop Renato Boccardo of Spoleto-Norcia, Abbot Benedict Nivakoff of Norcia, 100 monks and nuns from more th

Discernment in Monastic Life From Monday 4 May to Friday 5 June 2026, the latest edition of the online course in continuing monastic formation in Italian will take place, on the theme ‘Discernment in Monastic Life’, organised by the Faculty of Theology and the Monastic Institute of the Sant'Anselmo. Five new courses will be delivered, one per weekday, from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm. https://www.anselmianum.com/it/news/1722-formazione-monastica-permanente-online

"Transmitting the charism in the service of governance" is the theme of the 105th Assembly of the Union of Superiors General (USG), scheduled from May 27 to 29 in Sacrofano (Rome). The proceedings will open with contributions from two theologian-biblical scholars, Fr. Silvio Barbaglia of the Diocese of Novara and Fr. Maurizio Bevilacqua, a Claretian, on the meaning of charism and its transmission. Thursday, May 28 will be dedicated to the testimony of three Superiors Genera

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

The DIMMID Board met in Rome from 9-12 January for an in-person session. There have been few in-person meetings of the Board of Directors of DIMMID (Monastic Interreligious Dialogue) throughout our history, the last one being in the Netherlands in 2019. We do meet four times a year online, as is required of us by our corporate charter, but from the beginning of my term I had really wanted to gather as many of us as possible at Sant’Anselmo for an in-person meeting. My goal fo

aim-usa.org

Some new training projects financially supported by AIM are presented on the website: https://www.aimintl.org/en/our-projects/category-formation You can support AIM's actions in communities by making a donation via the ‘Support us’ tab at the top right of the pages. AIM can only help communities thanks to the donations it receives from religious communities and benefactors. Thank you for your support.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, This AIM newsletter announces internal developments within AIM: new statutes, new committees, etc., as well as some news from the communities. Two projects supported by AIM are presented to demonstrate its concrete support for the communities. Newsletters on the website: https://www.aimintl.org/en/communication/newsletters

The 104th Assembly of Major Superiors was held in Rome from 26 to 28 November 2025. The theme of the assembly was: ‘Connected Faith: Living Prayer in the Digital Age’. All documents are available on the USG website: https://www.usgroma.org/en/

Father Martin Neyt, a monk at Clerlande Monastery (Congregation of the Annunciation, Belgium), passed away during the night of 25 November 2025. Monk since 1963, he was president of AIM from 1997 to 2013. Father Martin was appointed president of the AIM in 1997, at a time when the new Abbot Primate, Marcel Rooney, was restructuring the AIM to better adapt it to the international service that this organisation is called upon to provide. His secretary general was Father Jacques

The members of the AIM met at Maredsous Abbey (Belgium) from 12 to 15 November 2025. Those present were: Dom Bernard Lorent Tayart, OSB, President of the AIM; Dom Charbel Pazat de Lys, OSB, Secretary General of the AIM; Dom Jeremias Schröder, OSB, Abbot Primate (via video link); Dom Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori, OCist, Abbot General of the Cistercian Order; Dom Bernardus Peeters, OCSO, Abbot General of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance; Dom Ignasi Fossas, OSB, Abbot

New Bulletin of AIM, no. 129: Communities in Areas of Conflict. https://www.aimintl.org/en/communication/report/129 Contents Editorial Dom Bernard Lorent Tayart, OSB, President of AIM Meditations • Peace in the Rule of St Benedict The Editorial Team • “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.” (Jn 14, 27) Dom Maksymilian R. Nawara, OSB • The mosaic in the apse of the basilica of St Clement in Rome Fr. Alex Echeandía, OSB Opening on the world • Map showing conflicts i

Attention: An email is in circulation, purporting to come from a bishop in Ireland; it names the Abbot General and members of his Council and seeks money for sisters in Tanzania. This is a scam; please do not respond to it. ocso.org

The following email addresses for contacting AIM are no longer active: aim.vanveswanadoo.fr aimfrmailo.com Please contact AIM using the online form on our website.

New Bulletin of AIM, no. 128: Law and Life. https://www.aimintl.org/en/communication/report/128 Contents Editorial Dom Bernard Lorent Tayart, OSB, President of AIM Perspectives • Updating Constitutions Fr. Aitor Jimenez • The revision of juridical texts in the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation Dom Étienne Ricaud, OSB • The CIB Sister Lynn McKenzy, OSB • The Federation of Notre-Dame de la Rencontre (Our Lady of the Encounter) Sister Marie-Benoît Kaboré, OSB • Statute

Authorities from Italy’s cultural heritage protection unit have asked the Benedictine Confederation for assistance in identifying a...

This article was a response to a request from Abbot Primate Jeremias, who wrote, “I wanted to do a brief tour of the war-torn areas where...