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

The community at the General House of the Benedictine Missionary Sisters of Tutzing, in Rome, joyfully celebrated the feast day of their Superior General, Mother Rosann, on 23 August 2026. The day began with a Eucharistic celebration, giving thanks to God for the gift of her life and her Benedictine religious vocation. This celebration was followed by warm greetings and festive meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) shared by the community. In the evening, the community gathered

On 6 August 2026, Father Ignasi Fossas, President of the Congregation of Subiaco-Montecassino, was appointed consultant to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Official text: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2026/08/06/0624/01161.html#vita In addition, Father Giordano Rota, Abbot of Pontida, has been reappointed to his post for a further five years. https://www.benedettinisublacensicassinesi.org

On 29 July 2026, bells rang out across the campus of Saint Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama, to announce the election of the Right Reverend Brendan J. Seipel, OSB, as the eleventh abbot in the community’s 135-year history. The election chapter was presided over by the Right Reverend Jonathan R. Licari, OSB, Abbot President of the American-Cassinese Congregation. The proceedings commenced on 15 June with a Mass of the Holy Spirit and were temporarily recessed for canonical re

On 11 July 2026, Sister Paz Vital made her perpetual monastic profession before the community, the oblates and friends of Saint Placid Priory (USA). The ceremony was streamed on Zoom for those who were unable to attend in person. A dinner and a celebration followed. https://fedstben.org/2026/07/16/perpetual-monastic-profession-at-saint-placid-priory/ https://stplacid.org/

This morning at 11:00 a.m., Pope Leo XIV arrived at the Abbey . It was a private visit, requiring the utmost confidentiality. From the early hours of the morning, the arrival of an illustrious figure was evident. A Head of State was suspected, a presence to which the Monastery of San Benedetto has always been accustomed. The emotion was intense when, from the dark car that had driven up to the entrance door, the white robe, symbolizing the leader of the Catholic Church, desce

On Sunday 19 July 2026, at the Sanctuary of the Sacro Speco in Subiaco (Italy), the Abbot President of the Congregation of Subiaco-Montecassino, Father Ignasi M. Fossas, presided over the Eucharistic celebration to mark the feast of Saint Benedict, abbot and patron saint of Europe. Following the celebration, a Eucharistic procession took place, culminating in the blessing of the town. https://www.benedettinisublacensicassinesi.org/news/a-subiaco-per-i-festeggiamenti-di-san-be

From 6 to 13 July 2026, a group of Vietnamese monks and nuns from monasteries belonging to the Congregation of Subiaco-Montecassino undertook a pilgrimage to Rome and to the main Benedictine sites in Lazio. These monks and nuns, who are living in France whilst pursuing their studies, were welcomed by the Abbot President, Father Ignaci M. Fossas, at the Curia of Saint Ambrose. During this pilgrimage, they visited the Abbey of St Paul Outside the Walls, the Abbey of Subiaco and

On 11 July 2026, the Feast of Saint Benedict, Patron of Europe, the monastic community of Montecassino marked a significant transition in its spiritual preparation for the abbey’s 1,500th anniversary in 2029. To mark this occasion, Abbot Luca Antonio Fallica, OSB, has shared an address with the Benedictine Confederation. In his address, entitled By Your Light We See the Light, Abbot Luca reflects on the famous vision of Saint Benedict recorded by Saint Gregory the Great, in w

General Chapter of Monastic Congregation of Saint Scholastica: June 25 - July 1, 2026, at Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center, Marriottsville, MD (USA). The Monastic Congregation of St Scholastica is happy to announce the election of Sr Kimberly Porter as Congregation President. Sr Kimberly is a member of St Walburga Monastery in Covington, Kentucky. The Congregation Council was also elected. They are Sr Andrea Westkamp (Bistow, Virginia), Sr Charlotte Zalot (Erie, Penns

Press Release Conception Abbey Communications Department On Saturday, 11 July 2026, the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey, in Conception, Missouri, elected Fr Paul Sheller OSB, as their new abbot. He becomes the 11th abbot in Conception Abbey’s 153-year history, succeeding Abbot Benedict Neenan OSB, who has retired after 10 years of abbatial service. The election of Abbot Paul took place within a private meeting of the monks of Conception Abbey on Saturday, 11 July. Befor

On the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a significant step forward was taken in building our global network for the Jubilee via a shared Zoom call. For the first time, Regional Promoters (monks and nuns leading the process) and Coordinators (monks, nuns, or laypeople in support roles) gathered to align on their shared mission: “To animate, connect and support regional contribution to the Benedictine Jubilee 2029, helping monasteries, congregations and Benedictine-inspired comm

On 11 July, the Abbot of Le Barroux established a new dependent priory at Bellefontaine Abbey. Bellefontaine was previously inhabited by a Trappist community that has now left the monastery and made it available to the Benedictines. In a message, Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder thanked the Trappists for their generosity and emphasised the clear witness of the monks of Le Barroux, who live out their attachment to the traditional liturgy in clear fidelity and obedience to the H

The lockdowns and most of the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic were over, but Benedictine monasteries across the United States were left with a new problem. They could gather in groups inside their monasteries again, but travel and gathering in larger groups with sisters from other monasteries was still not safe, so they needed to hold hybrid meetings, where some participants were face-to-face and others joined by video conferencing. The pandemic made almost all of us

A few months ago, in response to the Jubilee theme "Places of Hope Since 529", I received an email from confreres asking me to write about "hope without hope". They were hoping for a word for those communities whose history is foreseeably coming to an end. And indeed, there are quite a few of them in our Order. The decline of monastic communities is part of history. We know this, of course, but we sometimes push it aside. Recently, I was leafing through the Monasticon Italiae

At the beginning of July 2026 a Benedictine delegation visited several Russian Orthodox monasteries in the greater Moscow area. The programme was organised in cooperation with the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. The journey followed the tradition of Benedictine relations with the Eastern Churches, a mandate given to the oldest monastic order of the Catholic Church by Popes Leo XIII and Pius XI. The emergence of Benedictine monasticism befo

Weston Priory Enters the Swiss-American Congregation. Among the more unconventional monasteries of our Order is Weston Priory in the state of Vermont, located in the part of the USA known as New England. It was founded in 1952 as a dependent house of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem. The visionary founder Abbot Leo von Rudloff OSB, originally a monk of Gerleve (Beuron Congregation), divided his time between the Holy Land and Vermont and eventually settled in America. Weston P

On Saturday 11 July 2026, on the Solemnity of Saint Benedict, monks from Le Barroux will take up residence at Bellefontaine Abbey. • 10.00 am: Solemn Mass celebrated by Dom Louis-Marie de Geyer d’Orth, Abbot of Le Barroux, in the presence of Bishop Emmanuel Delmas of Angers; • around 12.30 pm: buffet open to all; • from 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm: open house for a tour of the cloister; • 4.30 pm: Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Trappist monks, who have been here