News
Monastic Community Elects Eleventh Abbot
With joy and thanksgiving to God our Father, the monks of Mount Angel Abbey
announce the election of their brother in Christ, PRIOR GREGORY
DUERR, O.S.B., as abbot on November 18, 2009. Abbot Gregory is the 11th
abbot of the 127-year-old monastic community of Mount Angel.
Abbot Vincent Bataille of Marmion Abbey, in the name of Abbot Peter Eberle,
the Abbot President of the Swiss-American Benedictine Congregation to which
Mount Angel belongs, presided at and confirmed the election. Abbot Gregory
succeeds Abbot Nathan Zodrow, O.S.B., who resigned August 1, having served
as abbot for eight years. Before his election the new abbot was serving the
community as prior and novice master.
Abbot Gregory was born in Pierz, Minnesota, in 1937, and in 1943 his family
moved from Minnesota to Mt. Angel, Oregon. He has seven sisters, two of
whom are deceased. His parents, Leo and Loretta Fleckenstein Duerr, are likewise
deceased. Abbot Gregory entered Mount Angel Abbey as a novice in
1957, professed temporary vows on September 8, 1958, and made his solemn
vows on September 12, 1961. He was ordained to the priesthood by Arcbishop
Edward D. Howard of Portland on May 7, 1964. He holds degrees in
classical languages (University of Washington) and in formative spirituality
(Duquesne University).
The date of Abbot Gregory’s abbatial blessing remains to be determined.
Please join the monks of Mount Angel Abbey in praying for their new abbot so
that, united in the bonds of charity and peace, they may with great devotion
and zeal continue in their pilgrimage to the heavenly homeland, witnessing to
their love of God and neighbor through lives dedicated to prayer and work.
The Monks of Mount Angel Abbey
St. Benedict, Oregon
July 6, 2009
Abbot Nathan Zodrow Resigns. Successor To Be Elected.
Abbot Nathan, the tenth abbot to lead Mount Angel Abbey, submitted his resignation to the Benedictine community he serves citing health concerns. During the past two years, he suffered heart ailments that required major surgery and impacted his ability to perform the demands of his position. His resignation is effective August 1. Abbot Nathan was elected abbot on July 6, 2001. The Mount Angel monastic community will elect a new abbot.
“It has been a privilege for me to serve the monastic community as Abbot and Mount Angel Seminary as Chancellor these past eight years,” said Abbot Nathan. “I am grateful to all those who have supported the mission of Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary.”
Abbot Nathan led Mount Angel Abbey through a period of dynamic growth. He formed The Abbey Foundation of Oregon and its board of trustees to oversee Abbey fundraising efforts. A $27 million capital campaign added new facilities, renovated existing buildings, and established endowments for the monastery, seminary and Mount Angel Abbey Library. In 2008, a second phase of the capital campaign was launched for Abbey facilities improvements and to continue building endowments.
“Mount Angel Abbey is completing a successful chapter of its history under Abbot Nathan’s leadership,” said Steve English, president of The Abbey Foundation of Oregon. “We expect the momentum he’s created to continue under the guidance of Mount Angel’s new abbot.”
Abbot Nathan also established a board of directors for Mount Angel Seminary, a major ministry of the Mount Angel monastic community. “Our seminary is more than 120 years old,” said Fr. Richard Paperini, President-Rector of the seminary. “Abbot Nathan’s leadership has helped reinvigorate our seminary, improving facilities and operations, and laying a path for another century of educating and forming men for the Roman Catholic priesthood.”
The election of the new abbot will involve a discernment process by the 60 members of the Mount Angel Abbey monastery. They will reflect on the present and future needs of their community and the leadership qualities to best meet those needs. Candidates are then nominated and discussed by members of the monastic community who vote to elect the new abbot. “It is a very prayerful and reflective process,” said Abbot Peter Eberle, OSB, President of the Swiss-American Congregations and former abbot at Mount Angel Abbey. The new abbatial election should take place within three months of when the resignation takes effect. The monastic chapter, in consultation with the Abbot President, decides on the date for election.
“Much has been accomplished during Abbot Nathan’s tenure,” said Abbot Peter, “and we are grateful for his personal sacrifices. It is unfortunate that his health issues cause this change, but we must support him in his need to fully recover from surgery.”
Most Mount Angel Abbey abbots have served an average of 8 – 10 years. Mount Angel Abbey was founded in 1882 by Benedictine monks from Engelberg, Switzerland.
June 9, 2009
Monk & Gregorian Chant Musician Dies
Father David Nicholson, OSB (89) a monk of Mount Angel Abbey, passed away on June 9, 2009.
Father David took pride in his British lineage and in classical music, especially in Gregorian Chant, for which he received recognition.
Father David was born Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1919, to British citizens John and Mary Whitfield Nicholson. This made him a British citizen, which he considered an honor. His initial elementary schooling (1926-1929) was at King George School, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Then his family moved and he studied at Balmoral Public School, Calgary, Alberta, from1929-1934. He advanced to secondary education at Crescent Heights Collegiate Institute, also in Calgary, from which he graduated in 1938. The following year, still in Calgary, he began studies to become a chartered accountant. With the development of World War II he was conscripted into the Canadian Army Medical Corps, in which he served from 1940-1941. With advice of the bishop in Calgary he appealed for a release from military service to enter a seminary and study for the priesthood. He was granted a release and entered the University of Ottawa, in Ontario, Canada, in 1941. The next year he moved west, to the Seminary of Christ the King, near Vancouver, BC, where he studied Philosophy from 1942-1945. In 1939 Mount Angel Abbey had established a community of monks to take over that seminary. This opened the possibility for Fr. David to come to Mount Angel Abbey, which he did after World War II, and made profession as a monk on September 8, 1946. He then continued his studies in preparation for ordination, completing his theological studies in 1950. In an unusual development, he made solemn profession on September 12, 1949, and only 3 months later was ordained a priest, on December 8, 1949.
After ordination his life as a monk emphasized music, primarily Gregorian Chant, which he studied at six different prestigious universities in the U.S. and in England. As well, two different times he had extended periods of study of Gregorian Chant at Solesmes Abbey in France, which is a highly-regarded center for the study of Gregorian Chant. In 1968 he earned a Master’s of Music from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Father David strove to be a scholar of music, and particularly of Gregorian Chant. Strive as he did, and going so far as to prepare a long draft of a doctoral dissertation, Father David’s goal to be a published scholar of Gregorian Chant was a goal which escaped him. However, his musical abilities were put to good use at Mount Angel. His work as a choirmaster began in 1950 at Mount Angel Seminary, and continued there to 1965. During those same years he taught Gregorian Chant to novices and seminarians. In recent years he returned to teaching Gregorian Chant to novices, as his health permitted. From 1952-1958 he also served as choirmaster at nearby Saint Mary Parish, in the town of Mt. Angel. At the Abbey he served as choirmaster from 1968-1980, except for two years when he was away for music studies, from 1974-1976. At that same time he taught Music and the History of Music (1968-1980) at Mount Angel Seminary. Before the Abbey retreat house was completed in 1960, he served as guestmaster in the monastery, from 1951-1959.
Vigils for the Dead will be held in the Abbey church on Monday, June 15 at 7:30 PM. Abbot Nathan Zodrow, OSB, will preside at the Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, at 10:00 AM, in the Abbey church.
March 9, 2009
Our Sunday Visitor, a national weekly Catholic newspaper, ran a front-page article on Stations of the Cross which included Mount Angel Abbey in their March 8, 2009 issue. The article includes pictures of 14 stations of the cross from across the U.S. Most pictures are of stations inside churches. Mount Angel Abbey's outdoor Stations of the Cross was chosen to represent the 14th station.
The images for the Mount Angel Stations of the Cross were donated by a parishioner from the town of Mt. Angel in 1889. Information about them is found in a letter written in September, 1889 from Adelhelm Odermatt to Frowin Conrad. Abbot Adelhelm Odermatt, OSB was the founder of Mount Angel Abbey. Abbot Frowin Conrad, OSB was founder of Conception Abbey in northwest Missouri. Abbot Adelhelm happily described the donated Stations of the Cross to Frowin: "As good news I can mention in conclusion a present of a new Way of the Cross from Munich [Germany], 4 feet high, 2 feet wide, of raised art work, worth $1,500 . . . ."
By Abbey tradition, the wording on each Station is in German, because the language of the original monks was German. Originally the stations led from the first monastery, which was at the base of the hill, to a pilgrimage chapel at the top of the hill. Once the monks moved up the hill in 1903 the station path remained, but it led up to the Abbey church and the monastery.
For over a century the path remained dirt and the protective shrines were placed on simple rocks, held together with a little concrete. In the mid-1990s Fr. William Hammelman, OSB cut a bulldozer path along the Stations path and the with the assistance of funding from the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest Organization added an asphalt path beside the Stations. Local friends of the Abbey, Mike & Mary Grant, who own a construction company in Mt. Angel (The Grant Company) volunteered to put the Stations on concrete bases and to electrify them. Dozens of people walk along the Stations path.
The Abbey’s Stations of the Cross continue to remind both guests and residents of the sacrifice Jesus made for us all on Good Friday.
