Search results

The General Chapter of September 2025 asked for a special visitation at the community of Rochefort (vote 42). This visitation was carried out and, on the recommendation of the visitors, the Abbot General with the consent of his Council suspended the exercise of autonomy of the community of Rochefort and appointed Dom Xavier Frisque , superior ad nutum of Orval, as monastic commissary of Rochefort. This nomination became effective on 28 October, 2025. 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. ocso.org

New Bulletin of AIM, no. 129: Communities in Areas of Conflict. https://www.aimintl.org/en/communication/report/129 Contents   Editorial Dom Bernard Lorent Tayart, OSB, President of AIM   Meditations • Peace in the Rule of St Benedict The Editorial Team   • “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.” (Jn 14, 27) Dom Maksymilian R. Nawara, OSB   • The mosaic in the apse of the basilica of St Clement in Rome Fr. Alex Echeandía, OSB   Opening on the world • Map showing conflicts in the world   • Wars of always, Wars of today Summary of an article   Witnesses • The monastery of Santa Maria de la Paz: from Nicaragua to Panama The nuns of Sorá, OCSO   • The Abbey of Mokoto (DRC) Dom Bernard Oberlin, OCSO   • Living in a culture of violence – the Nigerian experience Fr. Peter Eghwrudjakpor, OSB   • The monastery of Bethlehem: a monastery at the foot of the wall Monastery of the Emmanuel, OSB   • Fons Pacis Monastery: peace in insecurity and uncertainty Mother Marta Luisa Fagnani, OCSO   • The silent cries of Madhya Pradesh Sr. Asha Thayyil, OSB   • Seeds of Hope Amid Suffering Sr. Maria Liudmyla Kukharyk, OSB   • The hardest war… Patriarch Athanagoras   Liturgy “Vision of peace” - Liturgy and architecture Father Gérard Gally   Great figures of monastic life • Mother Máire Hickey, OSB Website of Kylemore Abbey   • Dom Mamerto Menapace, OSB Cuadernos monásticos 234   News • The new AIM secretariat The editing team   • Extract from the report of DIM-MID to the Congress of Abbots Fr. William Skudlarek, OSB   • The new Secretary General of DIM-MID Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, OSB   Projects supported by AIM Mahitsy, Umkon, EMLA

October 27, 2025 During the Audience granted to His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the Supreme Pontiff authorized the same Dicastery to promulgate the Decrees regarding, among others, the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Maria Evangelista Quintero Malfaz (born Maria), a professed nun of the Cistercian Order, born on 6 January 1591 in Cigales (Spain) and died on 27 November 1648 in Casarrubios del Monte (Spain). ocist.org

Dom Joseph Wittstock (abbot of Berryville), who has been monastic commissary of New Melleray since December 2024, offered his resignation as monastic commissary of New Melleray. The Abbot General, with the consent of his Council, accepted the resignation, which became effective on 21st October 2025. On the same date, the Abbot General with the consent of his Council appointed Fr Jerome Machar , monk of Genesee, as monastic commissary of New Melleray. Dom Jerome was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA in 1949. He entered Genesee in 1986 and made his solemn profession in 1991. He had been helping at New Melleray since 2024. ocso.org https://newmelleray.org/

On November 01, 2025, Solemnity of All Saints, S ister Marie Jitka Heřmana Gregorovičová made solemn profession at the monastery of Naši Paní (Czech Rep.). Sister Marie Heřmana was born in 1982 in Brno (Czech Rep.). She was a transitus, entered Naši Paní in 2019 and received her habit in 2020. ocso.org https://www.trapistky.cz/

On November 01, 2025, Solemnity of All Saints, Father Basilio Masashi Goto made solemn profession at the monastery of Phare (Japan). Father Basilio was born in 1954 in Hokkaido (Japan). He was a diocesan priest, entered Phare in 2020 and made his first profession in 2022. ocso.org https://www.trappist.or.jp/home/index-English.html

On 1 November 2025, All Saints' Day, During the celebration presided over by Bishop Dom Celso Antônio Marchiori at 10 a.m., the community of Benedictine nuns at the monastery of Encontro (Mandirituba, Brazil) will have the joy of celebrating the 60th anniversary of the monastery's foundation and the golden jubilee of Mother Teresa Paula Dias Perdigão's monastic profession. The Encontro community is part of the Benedictine congregation ‘Queen of Apostles’. It was founded in 1965 in Curitiba and moved to Mandirituba in 1999. https://www.mosteirodoencontro.org.br/

After more than two centuries of Cistercian presence, the community of monks at Port du Salut (diocese of Laval, Mayenne, France) has decided, after much prayer and discernment, to leave the abbey. Due to a lack of new vocations, the brothers felt that it was becoming difficult to maintain a sustainable monastic life at this site. On Sunday, 19 October 2025, the monks of the Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Port-du-Salut handed over responsibility for their abbey to a team of volunteers, working closely with the Diocese of Laval. The team is committed to carrying out various projects based on the concepts of hospitality and transmission. For more information: https://www.abbaye-portdusalut.fr/un-souffle-nouveau-pour-labbaye-notre-dame-du-port-du-salut/

Great joy for the Sisters of the Servants of the Poor in Brive-la-Gaillarde (France): On 16 September 2025, Bishop Eric Bidot of Tulle came to bless the first stone of the chapel! After three years in Brive-la-Gaillarde, this blessing further roots the Servants of the Poor in this beautiful diocese of Tulle. They give thanks to God and pray with great gratitude for the benefactors who made the construction of this chapel possible. In addition to the members of the clergy who came to surround their bishop, many faithful from the Brive missionary area were present for this happy event, as well as patients cared for by the sisters and representatives of the companies involved in the construction. This blessing of the first stone is a response to Dom Camille Leduc's request to begin by building a chapel in each of their foundations. ‘The presence of the Blessed Sacrament at the heart of the house reminds the Servants of the Poor that Our Lord is both the Master of the house, their first Superior and their constant confidant.’ As living stones of the Church, the sisters will be faithful in visiting him and will pray to him especially for the sick. https://servantesdespauvres-osb.org/benediction-de-la-premiere-pierre-de-la-chapelle-a-brive/

Benedictines from across East Asia and Oceania gathered this October at Thien Binh Monastery near Ho Chi Minh City for their biennial meeting. The event brought together leaders and delegates from monasteries in Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam—representing a thousand monks, nuns and sisters from across the region. The Benedictine presence in this part of the world stretches back nearly two centuries. It began in 1835 when Bishop John Bede Polding OSB arrived in Sydney. The first monastery was established in 1848. From these beginnings, monastic life gradually took root across the Pacific and East Asia, often through bold missionary endeavours, and sometimes through profound suffering and martyrdom. The BEAO meetings, held roughly every two years, serve to deepen collaboration between these diverse communities, particularly in formation and education, and to strengthen the bonds of fraternity within the wider Benedictine family. At this year’s gathering, Sr. Meg Kahler of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan in Australia was elected to succeed Br. Nicholas Koss of Wimmer Priory in Taiwan, who has guided the network with commitment and insight since its beginnings 30 years ago. The meeting’s programme combined presentations from member communities with times of prayer, reflection and shared discussion on the challenges and opportunities common in Benedictine life. Among the contributors were Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder OSB, who spoke about the relationship between the male and female branches of the order and promoted the 2029 jubilee, and Fr. Cyprian Consiglio OSBCam, Secretary General of the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue. Abbot Bernard Lorent Tayart, President of the Alliance for International Monasticism, also addressed the assembly, as did Fr. Joseph Nguyễn Văn Ấm SDB on the life of the Church in Vietnam. Two abbot presidents of international congregations—the Subiaco-Cassinese and Ottilien—, made the journey from Europe to take part. The Apostolic Nuncio to Vietnam, Archbishop Marek Zalewski, presided at the opening Mass. Throughout the week, participants shared in the daily rhythm of prayer with the monastic community of Thien Binh. The gathering concluded with a day in Ho Chi Minh City, former Saigon, where participants visited the cathedral and the archdiocesan pastoral centre, home to an impressive formation institute for the laity. The day ended in characteristically fraternal style, with a seafood lunch and a lively cultural evening that celebrated the diversity and unity of the Benedictine family in East Asia and Oceania. osb.org

For several years, the Cistercian community of Bellefontaine (France) has been questioning its future. Initially, it sought to adapt its community premises to accommodate a smaller number of brothers, but over time it realised that the brothers could not continue to live alone on this 19th-century property covering 120 hectares, which had become too large for a small group of monks whose average age had reached 80. So it explored the possibility of partnering with associations with which it could share its living space. Various obstacles arose, forcing it to abandon this project. It was a great disappointment and also a great trial for the brothers, as well as for the two associations with which the community had worked so closely. The Trappist brothers are joining other communities and some are moving to a retirement home run by the Sisters of the Congregation of Saint Mary of Torfou. But the abbey will continue to live on! Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Barroux (France) will be able to take up the torch of monastic life and settle in Bellefontaine in 2026. So, on 13 November, the feast of All Saints' Day, Bellefontaine Abbey will temporarily close its doors. There will no longer be services open to the public, but two brothers from the community will continue to live on site. With the help of the employees present on the site, they will maintain economic activities, in particular the production of apples and kiwis. They will also, of course, ensure the smooth running of the shop, while awaiting the arrival of a new monastic community at the end of spring. http://bellefontaine-abbaye.com/ ocso.org

Attention: An email is in circulation, purporting to come from a bishop in Ireland; it names the Abbot General and members of his Council and seeks money for sisters in Tanzania. This is a scam; please do not respond to it. ocso.org