After eleven years as President of AIM, Dom Jean-Pierre Longeat has stepped down. We thank him warmly for his years of commitment: he will have left his mark on AIM through his broad and diverse vision of monastic life, his understanding of the world, his dynamic impetus in meetings and sharing, strengthening AIM not only in financial support for communities but also in fraternal support between communities, creating links between them and offering tools for reflection and discernment to help them live better and meet the challenges they face. During the Congress of Benedictine Abbots held in Rome from 9 to 19 September 2024, a new president of AIM was appointed by the Abbot Primate: the Abbot of Maredsous (Belgium), Dom Bernard Lorent Tayart , accepted this responsibility.

On 12 September 2024, the community of Stams Abbey (Austria) elected Father Cyrill Greiter as the community's 45th abbot. Until now, Father Cyrill was chaplain of the parish of Untermais in Merano. https://www.stiftstams.at/ ocist.org

On 21 September 2024, Dom Damien Debaisieux, abbot of Scourmont and Father Immediate of Orval, appointed Father Xavier Frisque as Superior ad nutum of Orval (Diocese of Namur, Belgium). Dom Xavier was born in 1967 in Ixelles (Belgium). He entered Orval in 1989, made his solemn profession in 1995 and was ordained a priest in 2024. At the time of his appointment, he was novice master of the community. ocso.org https://www.orval.be/fr/

On 14 September 2024, the Feast of the Glorious Cross, Sister Neema Adyuti Mkolokoti, Sister Hildegard John Shayo, Sister Victoria Mathias Danga and Sister Faustina Paulo Kadinde made their final profession at the Priory of Ndanda (Tanzania) in the Congregation of the Missionary Benedictines of Tutzing. Two sisters celebrated their Silver Jubilee (25 years) on the same day: Sister Tumaini Ajali and Sister Fides Msanga. The priory of Ndanda is the second oldest after that of Peramiho. Founded in 1908, it has developed in the same way as Peramiho, with hospitals, nursery, elementary and secondary schools, nursing schools, home economics schools and workshops of all kinds. osbtutzing.org

The community of Mariastern-Gwiggen elected Sr. Maria-Stella Krimmel OCist as their 8th Abbess on September 8, 2024. https://kloster-mariastern.at/ Ocist.org

On 14 September 2024, Abbot Jeremias Schröder OSB, of St. Ottilien Archabbey in Eresing, Germany, was elected abbot primate of the Benedictine Confederation at the Congress of Abbots meeting in Rome. The Congress usually is held every four years. He is the 11th abbot primate to be elected. As abbot primate of the Catholic Church’s Benedictine Confederation, Abbot Primate Jeremias will be the unifying head of the world’s 6,000 Benedictine monks and become the abbot of the monastery of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, where he will reside. Abbot Jeremias Schröder, born in 1964 in Bavaria, joined the St. Ottilien Archabbey in Eresing, Germany in 1984. He pursued studies in philosophy, theology, history, and archivistics at Sant’Anselmo and St Benet’s Hall, Oxford. After returning to St. Ottilien in 1994, he held various roles, including assistant novice master and abbot’s secretary. Elected archabbot and president of the St. Ottilien Congregation in 2000, he became its first abbot president in 2012 after separating the roles. Over his career, Abbot Jeremias has overseen growth, decline, elections, and interventions across monastic communities. Currently residing at St. Georgenberg in Austria, he is actively involved in global monasticism, having held numerous leadership roles and consultative positions, including vicar of the abbot primate. The office of abbot primate was created by Pope Leo XIII in 1893 to serve the Benedictine community as its liaison to the Vatican Holy See and civil authorities, to promote unity among the various autonomous Benedictine monasteries and congregations, and to represent the order at religious gatherings around the globe. As primate, Abbot Jeremias also will serve as the Grand Chancellor of the Benedictine Pontifical Atheneum of Sant’Anselmo located in Rome, an institution for liturgical, theological and philosophical education. The Benedictine Confederation is a loose association of autonomous monasteries that follow the 1500-year-old Rule of Saint Benedict. The abbot primate is elected by the abbots of the Benedictine Confederation and usually serves for an eight-year term. His election emphasizes his role as a “servant-leader”, rather than one with direct governing authority. osb.org

Dom Pierre-André Burton, abbot of Cîteaux and Father Immediate of Bricquebec, has appointed Father Simon-Marie Nguyen as superior ad nutum of Bricquebec (Diocese of Coutances, France). This appointment will be effective on September 14th, 2024. Dom Simon-Marie was born in 1989 in Thanh Chương (Vietnam). He entered Bricquebec in 2011, made his solemn profession in 2017 and was ordained a priest in 2021. At the time of his appointment, he was novice master. http://abbayebricquebec.fr/ ocso.org

During the Sept. 5 plenary session of the XXI General Chapter, Dom Ignasi M. Fossas, monk of Montserrat, has been elected as the new abbot president of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation. Dom Ignasi M. Fossas will take the place of Abbot Guillermo A. Tamayo, who led the congregation from 2016 to the present. https://www.benedettinisublacensicassinesi.org/news/21st-general-chapter-election-new-abbot-president/

Saint Benedict Monastery elected its twelfth Prioress, Sister Andrea Westkampf. The election process was facilitated by Sr. Elaine Fischer of Mount St. Scholastica and Sr. Lynn McKenzie the President of the Monastic Congregation of St. Scholastica. https://www.monasticcongregationss.org/ https://osbva.org/

On Aug 14, 2024 Frater Basilius was invested with the novice habit. On Aug 20, 2024 Fraters Anselm Lampelsdorfer, Abraham Maria Steuer Joachim Schraut, Johannes Maria Schoisengeier and Viktorinus Dolinar made their temporary profession. And, finally, on August 15, 2024 Father Guerricus Karl made his solemn profession. Let us pray for these men and for vocations in our Order! https://www.stift-heiligenkreuz.org/ ocist.org

The Subiaco-Cassinaise congregation is meeting for its 21st General Chapter from 30 August to 7 September 2024 at Montserrat Abbey. See the summaries of these meetings: https://www.benedettinisublacensicassinesi.org/news/21st-general-chapter-%c2%b7-day-to-day-%c2%b7-day-1/

Beginning Friday, 6 September, about 215 abbots, priors, and superiors from the worldwide Benedictine Confederation will gather for two weeks at Sant’Anselmo for their quadrennial congress, Congressus OSB 2024. Joining them will be 22 representatives from the C ommunio Internationalis Benedictinarum , representing the monasteries and institutes of Benedictine women. A meeting of the Synod of Abbots President, a 19-member council representing the congregations within the confederation, will be held at the opening of the congress. At the opening session, Abbot Primate Gregory Polan will present his report, followed by reports from the individual congregations. On Saturday, 14 September, the abbots will elect a new abbot primate, who will assume leadership of the OSB Confederation for the next eight years. osb.org