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NEWS
of the Benedictine Confederation
and of the Cistercian Family
Here we give recent news from the different Orders of the Benedictine Family
or other news related to the life of our communities
In February 2026 the Abbot General, assisted by M. Fiachra Nutty (abbess of Glencairn), carried out the special visitation at Bethlehem Abbey (Northern Ireland) requested by the General Chapter of September 2025 (vote 49). On 27 February 2026, the Abbot General, with the consent of his Council and in the name of the General Chapter, suspended the exercise of autonomy of the community of Bethlehem and appointed Fr. Joseph Tedesco of Mepkin Abbey as monastic commissary of the c
After the death of Mother Mechthild, M. Lucia Kienzler was appointed Prioress Administrator of the Cistercian Monastery of St. Joseph in Thyrnau (Germany). May God bless her service for the benefit of her community. ocist.org
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 supe
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
On 3 October 2025, Father Mauritius Wilde has been appointed by the Holy See as the new Abbot of Maria Laach. We congratulate the new abbot and also the community of Maria Laach. From 2016 to 2025, Fr. Mauritius served as prior of our house community of more than 100 monks, students, and professors. Abbot Mauritius is 59 years old. He comes from Münsterschwarzach Abbey in Franconia, which belongs to the Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien. Before his ser
