Abadía de San Benito, Luján,

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, is a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of the

Cono-Sur Congregation The Cono-Sur Congregation (''Congregatio Cono-Sur'') is a congregation of monastery, monasteries within the Benedictine Confederation. Founded in 1976, the Congregation now includes ten male monasteries spread throughout four of the countries of Sou ...

. Originally established in Buenos Aires, the monastery became an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

in 1950 and later transferred to the outskirts of Luján. As of 2020, the monastery was home to 13

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s, under the leadership of Abbot P. Jorge Moran.

History

In 1914, Fr Fermín de Melchor led a number of monks from the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos, a Spanish monastery of the

Solesmes Congregation The Solesmes Congregation is an association of monasteries within the Benedictine Confederation headed by the Abbey of Solesmes. History The congregation was founded in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI as the French Benedictine Congregation, with the then ...

, to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

to establish a monastic foundation. On December 8 of that year, the monks relocated to

Bellocq Bellocq (; oc, Bètlòc) is a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. Inhabitants of Bellocq are called Bellocquais. Economy The commune is part of the wine zone ''appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) du B ...

, but by 1916 had found rural life untenable, and returned to Buenos Aires. In 1920, the monastic community began constructing a monastery. While at Buenos Aires, the work of the community included

catechetics Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

, the promotion of

Gregorian Chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

, and the publication of spiritual and liturgical literature (including sacramentaries,

missal A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a pries ...

s, and the reviews ''Pax'' and ''Revista Liturgica Argentina''). In the years preceding the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, the monks devoted particular attention to the renewal of Christian life and culture in the surrounding area. On March 28, 1938, the monastery at Buenos Aires became independent, being raised to the status of a

conventual priory The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

. On October 28, 1950, the monastery was elevated to abbatial status, and Dom Andrés Azcárate (1891-1981) was elected the first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of the community. As abbot, Azcárate became an enthusiastic propagator of liturgical reform and

Benedictine spirituality , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. In 1963, Azcárate was succeeded as abbot by Dom Lorenzo Manuel Molinero (1901-1979). Following the

, the population of the monastic community decreased. The monks were forced to consolidate their efforts, abandoning many of their previous apostolates and transferring the monastery to a rural location near Luján on April 12, 1987.

Apostolic work

Due to the small size of the monastic communities, the current apostolic work of the monks is not as wide-ranging as in the past. Nowadays, the monks support themselves with agricultural work and the production of marmalade. Additionally, philosophical and

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

studies continue at the abbey, and a trimestral review, ''Coloquio'', is published.

Personnel

As of 2000, the community at Luján included 13 monks, five of whom were ordained

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

. The monks of Abadía de San Benito are under the leadership of Abbot Fr Fernando Ricas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abadia de San Benito Benedictine monasteries in Latin America Catholic Church in Argentina Benedictine monasteries in Argentina

History

Apostolic work

Personnel

See also

References