Early winter moonrise over Church of St. Gregory the Great

Join a monastery, see the world.

Sounds like it might be a line from an advertisement in a parish bulletin, or maybe a phrase embroidered on a designer throw pillow. I’ve heard it repeated, tongue firmly in cheek, many times and in many contexts, after a monk tells someone that he must fly here or take a train there. While it may not be the best-selling point for any man who is considering a quiet and contemplative vocation here at Portsmouth Abbey, it is a reminder that our work and the work of those around us involves travel for many reasons, as this week’s compendium of Abbey news will bring into focus. As our ministry involves maintaining an international boarding school of high repute, certain officials are required to attend receptions, alumni gatherings and admissions events, often at a distance. St. Benedict in his Rule addresses this very point in Chapter 50. Brothers Working at a Distance or Traveling: “Brothers who work so far away that they cannot return to the oratory at the proper time are to perform the Work of God where they are, and kneel out of reverence for God. So too, those who have been sent on a journey are not to omit the prescribed hours but to observe them as best they can, not neglecting their measure of service” (RB80 translation).

For a week in September, Portsmouth Abbey was privileged to have been represented in Rome at the Fifth World Congress of Benedictine Oblates. One of our newest Oblates, Dionne Larson of Cumberland RI, stayed in the Badia Primaziale Sant’ Anselmo (St. Anselmo Primatial Abbey) atop the Aventine Hill and attended conferences, workshops, concerts, and liturgies, as well as tours of Subiaco, or Sacro Speco, and Monte Cassino Abbey. She will be the guest speaker at the Oblate Advent Day of Recollection on Sunday, December 17, when she will share with us her feelings and thoughts about having a chance to speak with Pope Francis after his delivery of remarks to the assembled group.

As this issue goes to press, the Abbot’s Reception in New York is underway, drawing many of us to Manhattan for this important annual gala. Speaking of abbots, in mid-November, Abbot Michael journeyed to Ampleforth Abbey in England for a week to attend a meeting of abbots and abbesses of the EBC, along with the local superiors of Kylemore Abbey of Ireland. The 2020 and 2021 meetings were not held because of Covid travel restrictions, and in 2022 General Chapter was held at Buckfast Abbey. Guided by a facilitator at Ampleforth, those present shared their experiences of leading monastic communities, both the good times and the difficult times, and learning from each other how to live out more fully St. Benedict’s qualities of the abbot. This was a rare opportunity to meet as Benedictine leaders, and to accomplish all this within the beautifully refurbished Grange. Abbot Michael will travel once again to Buckfast Abbey in July 2024 for additional EBC meetings.

Travel is not always away from the monastery but, in the case of Br. Benedict Maria, was a journey back to the monastery. He was home for the Thanksgiving holiday from his studies in Florida at the St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, and his 8-day stay with us reminded of us of how much we miss his joy-filled countenance (and cooking skills). After departing Kingston by train on November 27 for Philadelphia, where he made his canonical retreat, he flew south to Florida to resume studies leading to his diaconate ordination, deo volente, to take place during an all-school Mass on Friday, May 3, in our Abbey Church. Bishop Richard Henning has told me that he would be “blessed” to ordain Br. Benedict as a deacon of the Church and we look forward to that day with great anticipation.

EBC Superiors at Ampleforth Abbey, England, November, 2023

During the first week of January, I shall travel to St. Louis to attend the annual conference of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (F.O.C.U.S.) to be held for the second year in a row at the America’s Center. Branded as SEEK24, it follows on SEEK23 which attracted 17,000 participants to the arena where St. Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in 1999 in a pontifical visit to the archdiocese, between a stop in Mexico City and his return flight to Rome. While I was not at the Mass, I was already locked in by the Secret Service four miles to the west in the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, my home parish, where I participated in Solemn Vespers led by the late Pope that evening and attended by Vice-President Al Gore, Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, Rosa Parks, and Stan Musial. Closer to home, I recently visited 3 Portsmouth Oblates who have been unable to join us in person for some time due to physical limitations. I spent a morning with Mary and Albert Vitiello who shared news of their family, including a postcard from their 23-year-old grandson, A.J., traveling the world for his work. His latest mailing came from Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia, with a handwritten quote from Thomas Merton. Another visit on the First Sunday of Advent was to Newport to spend time with Oblate Jeanne Perrotti and her sister, Kathy, the day after Jeanne’s birthday.