News
September 26, 2008
Rest In Peace
Father Stephen Hofmann, O.S.B.
At about 7:15 p.m. on the evening of September 26th Father Stephen Hofmann, O.S.B. passed peacefully to the Lord. He was 94 years old and in the 73rd year of his monastic profession. Father Stephen enjoyed 68 years as a priest.
In 1935, at 20 years of age, Father Stephen entered the Abbey. The following year he made his simple profession at the hands of Prior Jerome Wespe. It was Archbishop Edward D. Howard of Portland who ordained father Stephen to the priesthood in 1941, and after his graduate studies in philosophy at the Catholic University of America he immediately began teaching philosophy and latin at Mount Angel Seminary. From 1957 to 1966 he served as procurator of the Abbey, and his reputation as a shrewd bargainer in providing for the material needs of the monastery is legendary! Weekend parish assistance was a constant over his many years.
In the late 1960s Father Stephen was sent to the Abbey's monastic foundation in Idaho, and in 1977 he was asked to plan and superintend the construction of the present monastery of the Ascension near jerome, Idaho. IN 1980 he returned to Mount Angel, and in these later years, undeterred by physical inability, he used a golf cart to get himself from place to place.
Father loved his monastic vocation, in which her persevered faithfully for so many years; and he loved his priestly vocation and the Holy Eucharist. He could say that he offered Mass every day since his ordination–incuding the very day on which he passed to the Lord!
May Father Stephen and all the faithful departed rest in the peace of Christ.
September 8, 2008
Three Monks Make Simple Profession
The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the traditional time when monks of Mount Angel Abbey profess their first vows. This year the community is blessed to receive three new members: Brother Luke Marshall, Brother Jonah Wright and Brother Basil Lawrence.
Brother Luke Marshall is a native of Pendleton, Oregon, where he was baptized John. He is a graduate of Pendleton High School and attended the University of Portland. he graduated from Mount Angel Seminary with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 2000. After some time as a seminarian for the Diocese of Baker he entered the western province of the Discalced Carmelite Friars. With the unexpected passing of his father, Brother Luke returned to Oregon in order to assist his family. In the Fall of 2007, recalling his love for Mount Angel, Brother Luke entered the novitiate of Mount Angel Abbey. As a professed monk of the Abbey, he will attend Mount Angel Seminary where he will study Theology.
Brother Jonah Wright was baptized Christopher in his home town of New Orleans, Louisiana. He is a graduate of LaSallian High School and Our Lady of Holy Cross College there, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Biology. After traveling to India and enjoying the study of world religions, Brother Jonah entered the Society of Mary (Marists) where he continued his studies. Discerning that the Lord was calling him to some other part of His vineyard, Brother Jonah did not make final vows with the Marists, but rather went Washington, D.C., where he earned a Bachelors of Sacred Theology degree. From there he traveled to Rome, where he earned a License in Sacred Theology from the Benedictine Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo. Brother Jonah met Mount Angel's Father Jeremy Driscoll at Sant' Anselmo, where is is on the faculty. Discerning a call to the monastic way of life, Brother Jonah returned to the U.S. after graduation and entered Mount Angel Abbey as a postulant in the Spring of 2007, and the novitiate in September of the same year. In addition to living the life of a junior monk of Mount Angel, Brother Jonah will teach two courses at Mount Angel Seminary this Fall.
Brother Basil (Bradley) Lawrence was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He is the eldest of three brothers. His family moved first to Phoenix, Arizona before settling in Las Vegas, Nevada. Brother Basil graduated from Centennial High School there, and the next year entered Saint Francis Seminary in San Diego, studying for the Diocese of Las Vegas. After being transferred to Mount Angel Seminary, Brother Basil began to be called to the monastic way of life. In 2006 he became affiliated with Mount Angel Abbey, and graduated from Mount Angel Seminary with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 2006. Now, as a professed monk of Mount Angel Abbey, Brother Basil is studying Theology at Mount Angel Seminary, as well as carrying out many other duties in the monastery.
July 15, 2008
Rest In Peace
Brother Hugh Nibler, OSB
At 12:45 in the morning of July 15, 2008, Brother Hugh Nibler, OSB, a monk of Mount Angel Abbey for 51 years died peacefully in the Lord. Born March 4th 1927, Brother Hugh was 81 years old.
He was born and baptized as “William Bernard” in Gervais, Oregon, the town in which Mount Angel Abbey began in 1882. His parents, Henry Edward and Eva Marie Scheible Nibler, raised their 7 children in the central Willamette Valley in the midst of an extended family of hard workers of German heritage. One sibling was also a religious, Sr. Lucille (Eva) Nibler, of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, in Beaverton.
William’s education through his early high school years was in Gervais, beginning at the parish school, Sacred Heart School, then progressing to Gervais Union High School. Before graduating, he enlisted during World War II in the U.S. Navy, and served from March, 1944 to May, 1946. Based on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, he served on the SS Walter Colton, the USS Ascella and the SS Northeastern Victory. After the War, he finished his high school education at Mount Angel Preparatory. That same year he entered Oregon State College (now Oregon State University), from which he earned a Bachelor of Science in Fish and Game Management in 1951. For several years William worked for the Oregon Fish and Game Commission, before he entered the monastery in 1956. On September 29, 1957 he became a monk and was given the name “Hugh.”
Brother Hugh’s initial assignment was as a teacher of US history and government and science classes, which he taught for over a decade at the Prep School. In 1963 he was assigned to serve as the Abbey forester, a responsibility he managed for nearly 30 years. Brother Hugh was quite an expert in regional tree and plant species and had an extensive knowledge of forestry practices.
After retiring from forestry work, Brother Hugh worked in the Abbey Library and at a variety of tasks in the monastery building. In his latter years he introduced red squirrels to the Abbey Hilltop, where they are still thriving, to the delight of many.
Last year the Abbey celebrated his jubilee of profession, 50 years as a faithful, hard-working monk.
