Saint Anselm Abbey
Encyclopedia
Saint Anselm Abbey, located in Goffstown, New Hampshire
, is a Benedictine
abbey
composed of men living under the Rule of Saint Benedict within the Catholic Church. The abbey was founded in 1889 under the patronage of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, a Benedictine monk
of Bec
and former archbishop
of Canterbury
in England. The monks are involved in the operation of Saint Anselm College
. The abbey is a member of the American-Cassinese Congregation
of the Benedictine Confederation
.
of Manchester, New Hampshire
, requested that Abbot
Boniface Wimmer
send monks to his diocese
to create a school for French
and Irish
immigrants
. The bishop thought that in order to create harmony among the people of his diocese the best educators for them should be German
. Monks from Saint Mary's Abbey in Morristown, New Jersey
, were sent to found Saint Anselm Abbey in 1889. When they arrived they founded St. Raphael's Parish in Manchester
, and they founded Saint Anselm Preparatory School, which would later become Saint Anselm College.
is a nationally ranked Catholic liberal arts college
in Goffstown, New Hampshire
. The monks of Saint Anselm Abbey are heavily involved in the life and operation of the college. Serving as administrators, as faculty/staff members, and on Saint Anselm College
's Board of Trustees, the monastery's approximately 30 monks fulfill their monastic calling in the work they do.
life is seeking God and responding to Him in a life of prayer. This inner dynamism is really a whole way of life ordered from beginning to end to facilitate habitual union with God. It is not simply a matter of praying from time to time, alternating prayer with other activities, but of directing one's whole life to this end. His sensitivity to God's presence leads the monk to gaze with wonder and gratitude upon the gracious deeds God has wrought, not only in history, but also in his own life. It is the monk's primary duty to seek God.
Everything a monk does is meant to be a prayer, a communion with God. Formal prayer, however, is a primary means of achieving this union. His day is centered around three vital elements: the Conventual Mass, a communal celebration of the Eucharist
; the Liturgy of the Hours
, the Church's singing of psalms to consecrate the morning, mid-day and evening; and lectio divina
, the ancient monastic practice of meditative reading of Sacred Scripture and other writings from a rich spiritual tradition. Lectio, which derives from one of the earliest forms of Christian prayer, is a spring refreshing the monk in his daily quest for God and reinvigorating the zeal with which he approaches his work.
. The hymn is sung a cappella
in Latin through once, then the final two lines are repeated.
Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 17,651 at the 2010 census. The compact center of town, where 3,196 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffstown census-designated place and is located at the...
, is a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
composed of men living under the Rule of Saint Benedict within the Catholic Church. The abbey was founded in 1889 under the patronage of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, a Benedictine monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
of Bec
Bec Abbey
Bec Abbey in Le Bec Hellouin, Normandy, France, once the most influential abbey in the Anglo-Norman kingdom of the twelfth century, is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure département, in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay.Like all abbeys, Bec maintained annals...
and former archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
in England. The monks are involved in the operation of Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
. The abbey is a member of the American-Cassinese Congregation
American-Cassinese Congregation
Founded 1855, the American-Cassinese Congregation is a Catholic association of Benedictine monasteries in the Benedictine ConfederationThe Congregation consists of 20 independent monasteries with houses or dependencies in 16 of the United States, Puerto Rico, and in six other countries on three...
of the Benedictine Confederation
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...
.
Foundation
In 1889, Denis M. Bradley, the first bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Manchester, New Hampshire
Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the region of New England in the United States comprising the entire state of New Hampshire...
, requested that Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
Boniface Wimmer
Boniface Wimmer
Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B. was a German monk who in 1846 founded the first Benedictine monastery in the United States, Saint Vincent Archabbey, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, forty miles southeast of Pittsburgh...
send monks to his diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
to create a school for French
French American
French Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of this descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.An additional 450,000 U.S...
and Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
immigrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
. The bishop thought that in order to create harmony among the people of his diocese the best educators for them should be German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
. Monks from Saint Mary's Abbey in Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...
, were sent to found Saint Anselm Abbey in 1889. When they arrived they founded St. Raphael's Parish in Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, and they founded Saint Anselm Preparatory School, which would later become Saint Anselm College.
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm CollegeSaint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
is a nationally ranked Catholic liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
in Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 17,651 at the 2010 census. The compact center of town, where 3,196 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffstown census-designated place and is located at the...
. The monks of Saint Anselm Abbey are heavily involved in the life and operation of the college. Serving as administrators, as faculty/staff members, and on Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
's Board of Trustees, the monastery's approximately 30 monks fulfill their monastic calling in the work they do.
Way of life
The monks of Saint Anselm Abbey follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. BenedictineBenedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
life is seeking God and responding to Him in a life of prayer. This inner dynamism is really a whole way of life ordered from beginning to end to facilitate habitual union with God. It is not simply a matter of praying from time to time, alternating prayer with other activities, but of directing one's whole life to this end. His sensitivity to God's presence leads the monk to gaze with wonder and gratitude upon the gracious deeds God has wrought, not only in history, but also in his own life. It is the monk's primary duty to seek God.
Everything a monk does is meant to be a prayer, a communion with God. Formal prayer, however, is a primary means of achieving this union. His day is centered around three vital elements: the Conventual Mass, a communal celebration of the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
; the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
, the Church's singing of psalms to consecrate the morning, mid-day and evening; and lectio divina
Lectio Divina
In Christianity, Lectio Divina is a traditional Catholic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's Word...
, the ancient monastic practice of meditative reading of Sacred Scripture and other writings from a rich spiritual tradition. Lectio, which derives from one of the earliest forms of Christian prayer, is a spring refreshing the monk in his daily quest for God and reinvigorating the zeal with which he approaches his work.
Monastic Horarium
The monks of Saint Anselm Abbey follow this schedule while college is in session: The Abbey Church is open from 6am to 11pmCelebration of the Eucharist
- Daily Mass - 5:15 PM
- Sunday Mass - 11 AM and 7 PM
- Wednesday - 5:15 PM and 10 PM
- Saturday - 11:50 AM
Liturgy of the Hours
- Sunday
- Morning Prayer 7:10 AM
- Daytime Prayer 8:30 AM
- Evening Prayer with Benediction of the Blessed SacramentBenediction of the Blessed SacramentBenediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional ceremony celebrated within the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in some Anglican and Lutheran Churches, Liberal Catholic churches, Western Rite Orthodox churches, and Latinised Eastern Catholic Churches.Benediction of the...
5:30 PM - Night Prayer 7:30 PM
- Monday through Saturday
- Morning Prayer 6:00 AM
- Daytime Prayer 12:00 PM
- Evening Prayer 7:05 PM - Vigil Saturday 7:30 PM
Abbots
- Abbot Bertrand Dolan, O.S.B. - In 1927, Saint Anselm PrioryPrioryA priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
was elevated to an abbeyAbbeyAn abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
by Pope Pius XIPope Pius XIPope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
. Abbot President Ernest Helmstetter, president of the American-Cassinese CongregationAmerican-Cassinese CongregationFounded 1855, the American-Cassinese Congregation is a Catholic association of Benedictine monasteries in the Benedictine ConfederationThe Congregation consists of 20 independent monasteries with houses or dependencies in 16 of the United States, Puerto Rico, and in six other countries on three...
, conducted the first abbatial election and the monks in solemn vows elected Fr. Bertrand Dolan, O.S.B. as first abbot of Saint Anselm Abbey.
- Abbot Gerald McCarthy, O.S.B. - Abbot Gerald was elected abbot in 1963 following the death of Abbot Bertrand. His abbatial blessing was celebrated on September 3, 1963 by Bishop Ernest John PrimeauErnest John PrimeauErnest John Primeau was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Manchester from 1960 to 1974....
of Manchester.
- Bishop Joseph John GerryJoseph John GerryJoseph John Gerry, O.S.B., is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Portland from 1989 to 2004.-Biography:...
, O.S.B. - Bishop Joseph professed first vows as a member of Saint Anselm Abbey on July 2, 1948, following his novitiate at Saint Vincent ArchabbeySaint Vincent ArchabbeySaint Vincent Archabbey, was founded in 1846 by Father Boniface Wimmer, OSB, and is the oldest Benedictine monastery in the United States.The Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey operate and teach at Saint Vincent College and Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, located ...
in Latrobe, PennsylvaniaLatrobe, PennsylvaniaLatrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States, approximately southeast of Pittsburgh.The city population was 7,634 as of the 2000 census . It is located near the Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ridge. Latrobe was incorporated as a borough in 1854, and as a city in 1999...
. He was ordained to the priesthood in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Manchester, by Bishop Matthew Francis BradyMatthew Francis BradyMatthew Francis Brady was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Burlington and Bishop of Manchester .-Biography:...
on June 12, 1954. He was named Subprior of the Abbey in 1959 and Prior in 1963, a position he held until 1971. On January 6, 1972 he was elected third abbot of Saint Anselm Abbey, a position he held until his ordination as Auxiliary BishopAuxiliary bishopAn auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Manchester. On February 21, 1989 he was installed as the 10th Bishop of Portland, MaineRoman Catholic Diocese of PortlandThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the entire state of Maine...
. The principal celebrant was Bernard Cardinal LawBernard Cardinal LawBernard Francis Law is an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Archbishop emeritus of Boston, member of the Roman Curia, archpriest emeritus of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and titular Cardinal Priest of Santa Susanna, the American Catholic church in Rome.He resigned...
, Archbishop of BostonRoman Catholic Archdiocese of BostonThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the state of Massachusetts...
. The event took place at the Cathedral of the Immaculate ConceptionCathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Portland, Maine)The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is an historic cathedral on Cumberland Avenue and Congress Streets in Portland, Maine. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. The Cathedral’s Pastor is Bishop Richard Malone, and its Rector is Father Louis Phillips.Construction began in...
in PortlandPortland, MainePortland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. Following his retirement in 2004, he returned to Saint Anselm Abbey where he currently resides.
- Abbot Matthew K. Leavy, O.S.B. - Abbot Matthew, a native of the BronxThe BronxThe Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York, took vows as a monk in 1968. Ordained to the priesthood in 1975, and having held various responsibilities in the monasteryMonasteryMonastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
and at Saint Anselm College, he was elected the fourth Abbot of Saint Anselm Abbey in 1986 after Abbot Joseph John GerryJoseph John GerryJoseph John Gerry, O.S.B., is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Portland from 1989 to 2004.-Biography:...
's elevation to Auxiliary Bishop of Manchester.
Community song
On feast days and at the burial of members of the community, the monastic community sings the hymn of the American-Cassinese CongregationAmerican-Cassinese Congregation
Founded 1855, the American-Cassinese Congregation is a Catholic association of Benedictine monasteries in the Benedictine ConfederationThe Congregation consists of 20 independent monasteries with houses or dependencies in 16 of the United States, Puerto Rico, and in six other countries on three...
. The hymn is sung a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
in Latin through once, then the final two lines are repeated.
| Latin Text | English text | German text |
|---|---|---|
| Ultima in mortis hora, Filium pro nobis ora, Bonam mortem impetra, Virgo, Mater, Domina. |
When death's hour is then upon us, To your Son pray that he grant us, Death, both holy and serene, Virgin Mary, Mother, Queen. |
Wenn wir mit dem Tode ringen, Wollst, Maria, uns beispringen, Dass wir selig scheiden hin, Jungfrau, Mutter, Königin. |