The community of Trappist monks at Mont-des-Cats (France) is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its foundation this year (1826–2026). Saturday 20 June was a day of celebration with families and loved ones: a Mass presided over by the Abbot; a festive meal in the refectory; and a talk by Mr Jean-Pascal Vanhove on ‘The History of the Abbey’. On 11 July, a celebration was held with monks and nuns and the Abbot General of the Order, Dom Bernardus Peeters. montdescats.fr ocso.org

On 23 July 2026, Dom Vincent Rogers completed his six-year mandate as abbot of St Joseph’s Abbey, Spencer (diocese of Worcester, USA). On the same date the community elected Fr. Timothy Scott as abbot of Spencer for a six-year term. Dom Timothy was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA in 1960. He entered Spencer in 1988 and made his solemn profession in 1994. At the time of his election he was novice master in the community. ocso.org

June 8, 2026: A strong earthquake struck the southern Philippines at around 7:30 a.m. local time today. Our monastery in Matutum has been affected. According to Mother Giovana, the sisters are safe. Please keep the sisters and all the people in the region in your prayers. ocso.org

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 before the Great Schism of 1054 and the shared experience of the monastic way of life facilitate these relations. Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica, his sister, are venerated in the churches of both the East and the West. In addition to visiting several monasteries and convents, the delegation established contacts with institutions of higher education of the Russian Orthodox Church, which are generally led by monks. A solemn service in the Catholic Cathedral of Moscow concluded the visit. The delegation was led by Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder OSB. Participants included Archabbot Luca Fallica OSB of Montecassino, Archabbot Cirill Hortobágyi OSB of Pannonhalma, Abbot Urban Federer OSB of Einsiedeln, Abbess Noemi Scarpa OSB of Sant‘Anna in Bastia Umbra as the representative of all Italian Benedictine sisters, as well as Sister Rafaela Kołodziejak OSB and Father Sebastian Hacker OSB from Vienna, Professor Sister Manuela Scheiba OSB from Alexanderdorf near Berlin and Father Adalberto Piovano OSB from Dumenza near Milan. As a sign of spiritual communion, the Benedictines presented a relic of Saint Andrew the Apostle and a facsimile edition of the letter Pacis Nuntius issued by Pope Paul VI in 1964, in which the Pope declared Saint Benedict the patron saint of Europe. All members of the delegation were presented with an icon depicting Saint Benedict of Nursia together with Saint Sergius of Radonezh, whose life and work bear a close resemblance to those of Saint Benedict as the patriarch of Western monasticism. Both offer to Christ the monasteries they founded and which still exist today – the Archabbey of Montecassino and the Trinity Lavra in Sergiev Posad. Christ holds the word of the Gospel in His hands in Latin and Church Slavonic: “that they may be one” (John 17:21). osb.org

On July 11, 2026, at the end of his third term as Abbot, Dom Elias Dietz was re-elected Abbot of Gethsemani (USA) for a new six-year term. ocso.org

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 Priory developed highly distinctive monastic forms, both in its liturgy, which was strongly influenced by North American folk music, and in its fraternal life, which emphasised daily spiritual exchange and the search for consensus within the community. The community has remained faithful to these traditions to this day, even though the convent has since become older and smaller. The monastery has a very rural character and has no external apostolates. Its lifestyle is predominantly contemplative. Crafts such as pottery and weaving play a major role, alongside gardening, agriculture and the welcoming of guests. Since its foundation Weston shared the legal status of its motherhouse in the Middle East, which was directly subject to the respective Abbot Primate. When the Dormition Abbey finally entered the Congregation of the Annunciation in 2012, Weston remained under the Abbot Primate. This is actually an anomaly. Benedictine canon law stipulates that all monasteries must belong to a congregation. Within congregations there are efficient mechanisms for supervision and accompaniment. Close contact with other communities strengthens the monasteries and in times of crisis communities within a congregation can support one another. Monks of Weston with the Abbot Primate. For all these reasons the Weston community finally requested a trial incorporation into the Swiss-American Congregation. The latter did not take the decision lightly, but after a prolonged period of getting to know each other, the General Chapter of the Swiss-American Congregation finally voted overwhelmingly in favour of this step in June 2026. As a result there are now only five monasteries directly subject to the Abbot Primate. And what will become of Weston's unique characteristics? The Swiss-American Congregation lives out the reconciled diversity of our communities in a relaxed manner. Contacts so far have alleviated the monks' anxieties about having to abandon their own traditions. Entering the congregation is an act of freedom. osb.org https://www.westonpriory.org/p/welcome.html

On July 11, 2026, The Solemnity of Saint Benedict, Sister Beatrice Brady made solemn profession at St Mary’s Abbey of Glencairn (Ireland). Sister Beatrice was born in Cavan (Ireland) in 1995. She entered Glencairn in 2018 and made first profession in 2021. ocso.org

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 since 1816, are thus making way for the Benedictine monks. The Benedictines are thus returning to Bellefontaine, which they had left in 1642. https://www.abbaye-bellefontaine.org/ ©Vincent Basile:

On July 11, 2026, The Solemnity of Saint Benedict, Brother Dominic Quan made solemn profession at the Our Lady of Joy Abbey (Hong Kong). Brother Dominic was born in Qing Hai, China in 1963. He entered Lantao in 2019 and made first profession in 2020. ocso.org

On June 7, 2026, we celebrated with joy and great thanksgiving the opening of the jubilee year of our monastery. In this jubilee, we mark 75 years since the transfer of the Abbey of Hardehausen to Brazil, in Itatinga — a milestone completed on May 28 — as well as the 100th anniversary of the restoration of the Abbey of Hardehausen, which we will complete on the same date next year. Representatives from several houses were present: the Abbey of Itaporanga, Itararé, Campo Grande, and Santa Cruz de Monte Castelo, as well as from the Monastery of Claraval of our Order, and from the Benedictine Abbeys of São Bento in São Paulo, São Geraldo also in São Paulo, and Nossa Senhora da Paz in Itapecerica da Serra. The Holy Mass was presided over by Dom Bento de Oliveira, Abbot of Itaporanga and President Abbot of the Brazilian Congregation. The homily was delivered by Dom Luis Alberto. ocist.org https://www.abadiadeitatinga.org/

On 29 June 2026, the Primatial Abbey of Sant'Anselmo and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C., signed a cooperation agreement to preserve and make accessible archival sources relating to the Second World War and the Holocaust. The agreement was signed at Sant'Anselmo by Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder OSB and Mr Zachary Levine, Director of Archival and Curatorial Affairs of the David M. Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation at the USHMM. The collaboration is the result of several months of discussion following an initial visit of Museum representatives to Sant'Anselmo in January 2026. The partnership forms part of the Museum's international programme to identify, preserve and provide scholarly access to archival documentation held by religious institutions that sheds light on the persecution of Jews and other victims of National Socialism, as well as on efforts undertaken to assist and rescue those in danger. During a preliminary survey of the archives of Sant'Anselmo, researchers identified approximately 1,000 pages of historically significant documentation. These include correspondence of Abbot Primate Fidelius von Stotzingen, notes prepared for his wartime audiences with Pope Pius XII, correspondence with Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli and Cardinal Luigi Maglione, wartime letters from Benedictine monasteries across Europe, the certificate recognizing Sant'Anselmo's extraterritorial status under Vatican protection during the German occupation of Rome, and reports describing the effects of the Second World War on the Benedictine College. Under the terms of the agreement, the Museum will digitize selected archival materials, provide Sant'Anselmo with a complete digital copy of the reproductions, and preserve the material within its own archival collections, where it will be available to researchers in accordance with established archival policies. Ownership of the original documents and their legal custody remain entirely with Sant'Anselmo. The agreement also provides for continuing cooperation between the two institutions and establishes a framework for future scholarly collaboration. The agreement is concluded on behalf of the Primatial Abbey of Sant'Anselmo rather than the Benedictine Confederation as a whole, reflecting the autonomy of individual monasteries. Nevertheless, it is hoped that this initiative may encourage further collaboration between the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and other Benedictine archives whose collections may contribute to a deeper understanding of the history of the Holocaust and of the varied responses of monastic communities during those tragic years. The preservation and critical study of historical sources remain an essential service to truth. By making these documents accessible to international scholarship, Sant'Anselmo seeks to contribute to a more complete understanding of this difficult chapter of European history while honouring the memory of those who suffered persecution and those who, often quietly and at considerable personal risk, sought to defend human dignity. osb.org https://www.ushmm.org/

Since 28 June, the President of the Subiaco-Montecassino Congregation, Father Ignaci M. Fossas, has been in Togo, where he will remain until 9 July 2026. This trip provides an opportunity to travel to Dzogbégan to visit the monks of the Abbey of the Ascension, which is part of the Subiaco-Montecassino Congregation, as well as the nuns of the Abbey of the Assumption, belonging to the Federation of Our Lady of the Encounter. See more photos on the Congregation’s website: https://www.benedettinisublacensicassinesi.org/news/visita-dellabate-presidente-in-togo/