Bede Lackner (December 19, 1927 – November 10, 2020) was a Hungarian-American, Catholic priest and monk of the

Cistercian Order The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

. He was a theologian and historian.

Biography

Flight from Hungary, theological studies, and priestly ordination

Fr. Bede was born Károly (Karl) János Lackner in Vaskút, in southern Hungary, to Stefan Lackner and Elisabeth Rutscher. They were so-called

Danube Swabians The Danube Swabians (german: Donauschwaben ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in various countries of central-eastern Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in grea ...

who had been brought into Hungary mainly in the eighteenth century to repopulate it after the expulsion of the Ottoman Turks. He entered the Cistercian Order in 1947 at the Abbey of Zirc after attending a school run by Cistercians in Baja for eight years. He studied philosophy and theology in Zirc in the years immediately before its dissolution by the Communist regime on October 15, 1950. Facing violent persecution, many of his confreres went to Rome; others moved to the US and eventually founded Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey. Fr. Bede left Hungary for

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

with his parents on November 17, 1950, because it was in the

American zone Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...

of West Germany. His parents remaining in

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...

, Karl departed for Rome a month later and enrolled at the Anselmianum. In January 1953 he was called to join his brother monks in the United States. First, he was ordained a priest in the Capuchin church of St. Fidelis in

Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to: Places * Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria ** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria * Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the munici ...

, sponsored by the Cistercian monks of

Mehrerau Abbey Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is a Cistercian territorial abbey and cathedral located at Mehrerau on the outskirts of Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Austria. Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is directly subordinate to the Holy See and thus forms no part of the Catho ...

. He emigrated to the United States a few weeks later, arriving first in the monastery at Spring Bank, Wisconsin, and then moving on to join the new foundation in the Dallas suburb of

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, ...

Doctoral studies and university teaching

Fr. Bede finished his M.A. at Marquette in 1959, writing a thesis on “Abbot

Stephen Harding Stephen Harding (french: Étienne Harding) ( 106028 March 1134) was an English-born monk and abbot, who was one of the founders of the Cistercian Order. He is honoured as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Life There is little archival ev ...

and the Rise of Cîteaux.” In 1961, he enrolled in doctoral studies in history at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in New York and wrote his dissertation on ''The Eleventh-Century Background of Cîteaux'', which was published in 1972. Writing in ''The Catholic Historical Review'', Edward C. Bock called it "masterful": The author's precision and methodology allowed him to "weave a magnificent path from Benedict of Aniane to Cîteaux." Fr. Bede's academic career moved quickly. Along with lecturing at the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas. Established in 1956, it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university comprises four academi ...

and assisting at the Cistercian Prep School, in 1967 he began teaching Church history at

Holy Trinity Seminary Holy Trinity Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary residence in Irving, Texas, United States, in the Diocese of Dallas, Texas that is located within the University of Dallas campus, founded in 1964. It is headed by Rector Vincent Anyama, S.T.D ...

. He taught there for fifteen years and was admired by many as a teacher, spiritual director, confessor, and friend for many alumni. In 1969 he was hired as a professor of history at the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...

; after three years, in 1972, he was granted

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

there. He continued to teach full-time until his retirement in 2001, but even in retirement taught for another ten years. Lackner wrote, contributed to, or edited a dozen books, and produced a steady stream of essays, translations, book reviews, and conference papers. Although his focus was medieval and monastic history,Joseph F. Conwell: ''Impelling Spirit: Revisiting a Founding Experience, 1539, Ignatius of Loyola and His Companions'' (Chicago: Loyola Press, 1997), p. 447. his work covered many aspects of early modern history. Fr. Bede suffered a stroke on 20 November 2019. Although he recovered remarkably, he died almost a year afterward as a result of kidney failure.

Publications (a selection)

*
A Cistercian of royal blood
Blessed Teresa of Portugal", in ''Vox Benedictina: A Journal of Translations from Monastic Sources'' 6.2 (1989): 100–19. * as editor with Gary D. Stark: ''Essays on Culture and Society in Modern Germany.'' Foreword by Leonard Krieger. (Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures, number 15.) College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1982. * Entries in th
''Regesta Imperii''
bibliography.

References

External links

Obituary
on Cistercian Order's homepage, several photos, accessed 12 Nov 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lackner, Bede 1927 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests Cistercians Hungarian theologians 21st-century American Roman Catholic theologians 20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians University of Dallas faculty University of Texas at Arlington faculty Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm alumni Fordham University alumni Marquette University alumni Hungarian emigrants to the United States People from Bács-Kiskun County 21st-century American Roman Catholic priests