Visiting FOCUS group gathers on church steps for photo

With this issue, The Current returns to weekly publication. Coincidentally, we inaugurate the new publication year on the feast of our monastery’s patron, St. Gregory the Great. The summer has been a busy one for the community, including a number of programs offered by the Portsmouth Institute, a two-day visit from the region’s FOCUS campus ministers (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), the gathering of Portsmouth Oblates for a Day of Recollection, and the continuation of two construction projects on the grounds. Br. Sixtus also recently led Principal Sr. Josemaria Pence, O.P. and the faculty of Pius V Catholic School of Providence in a retreat day.

A substantial gathering of fifty Portsmouth Oblates and their friends arrived to spend “A Summer Day of Recollection on the Bay” on Sunday, August 20, with a full schedule divided between morning and afternoon sessions. Visitors were able to see progress on the building projects, which were idle that day, including the new Student Center on the lower campus, due to open at year’s end, and the long-awaited start of an elevator to serve all the floors of the monastery. The 9:30 a.m. Mass was celebrated by Abbot Matthew Stark, followed by brunch in the Stillman Dining Hall, both occasions for joyous reunion of folks coming together for a shared day of nourishment of body and soul, some of whom travel a distance to get here.

Greg Spiedel signs document of Oblation

Director of Oblates, Br. Sixtus Roslevich, offered a talk titled, “A Recap of the 2023 Lourdes Pilgrimage,” joined by oblate and Lourdes pilgrim Dottie Ward (see our article in this issue). The Oblates renewed their promises to Abbot Michael Brunner and were blessed by the addition of two new members, Michele Rentschler and Greg Speidel. Br. Sixtus reminded the group that The Current, serving as a source of Oblate news, was inaugurated four years ago on September 8, 2019, with its first issue of only four pages - it has since grown to include, on average, twenty pages. This newsletter, he said, “was mandated by Abbot Michael after we moved here in the summer of 2019 when he was still the Prior Administrator. Abbot Michael felt that a newsletter was necessary for outreach to Oblates who live all over New England and beyond, and to Portsmouth friends around the world.”

Dionne Larson

Br. Sixtus announced that Oblate Dionne Larson of Cumberland, Rhode Island, will be representing Portsmouth at the 5th International Oblate Congress to be held in Rome, Italy, on September 9-16, 2023. Dionne will be one of only fifteen American Oblates in attendance at the Primatial Abbey of Sant’ Anselmo atop the Aventine Hill. Due to overwhelming interest, a lottery was held in which Portsmouth was blessed to place among the fifteen. In 2017, in advance of the 4th Congress, Abbot Primate Emeritus Notker Wolf, O.S.B., wrote, “In a time when Benedictine monasteries are shrinking, Oblate numbers are growing, and Oblates increasingly support our Benedictine monasteries. Strengthening their network of communication and exchange, helping them to engage in Ora et Labora – in prayer and social justice – is more important than ever.” We look forward to hearing about Dionne’s experiences and travels once she returns.

At The Current, we hope to keep our readers apprised of our ongoing life. With our collection of “monthly features” this year, we hope to add articles on the ongoing Eucharistic Renewal, on our own experiences of Benedictine education, and on past publications from this community as found in our archives. We will also hear more from Br. Sixtus on the “Artists of the Abbey,” as seen in his piece in this issue on the recent William Congdon exhibit on campus. This maps out some of the labora to accompany our ora – St. Gregory the Great, pray for us!