Mother Maria Francesca Righi, abbess of the monastery of Nostra Signora di Valserena (diocese of Voltera, Italy) since 2019, offered her resignation to the Abbot General in the light of ST 40.A of our Constitutions. With the consent of his Council, the Abbot General accepted the resignation, which became effective on September 12th, 2026. On 29th September 2026, the community of Valserena elected Sr. Valeria Carolo as abbess for a six-year term. Mother Valeria was born in 198

On September 24, 2026, the Solemnity of Our Lady of Boa Vista, Sister Liege Zem Zancanaro made her Solemn Profession at the Monastery of Our Lady of Boa Vista (Brazil). Sister Liege was born in Cascavel, Paraná (Brazil) in 1982; she entered Boa Vista in 2017 and made her first profession in 2021. ocso.org

On Wednesday, September 23 20026, the XXII Ordinary Synod of the Cistercian Order began with the Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, presided over by the Abbot General, Dom Mauro Giuseppe Lepori. The theme of the Synod is “Truly seeking God: ad quid venisti? Living our vocation in truth.” It aims to assess the current situation in order to help prepare for the upcoming General Chapter and to reflect on the future of the Order, seeking viable paths forward. We invoke the Holy Spir

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