Bernardin Schellenberger (born 11 February 1944) is a German

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

theologian, priest and former Trappist. He has worked as a writer and translator, focused on spiritual topics and the monastic tradition.

Life

Bernd Schellenberger was born in Ellwangen, and grew up in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. He completed school in 1963 with the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

at the . He then became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

at the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

, taking the monastic name Bernardin. He studied philosophy at the Hochschule der Bayerischen Franziskaner in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

from 1964 to 1966, when he moved to

Mariawald Abbey Mariawald Abbey (german: link=no, Abtei Mariawald) was a monastery of the Trappists (formally known as the Cistercians of the Strict Observance), located above the village of Heimbach, in the district of Düren in the Eifel, in the forests ar ...

, a monastery of Trappists in

Heimbach Heimbach is a town in the district of Düren of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 20 km south of Düren. Heimbach has the smallest population of any town in North Rhin ...

. Two years later, he studied monastic theology at the . He continued theology studies at the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (german: Universität Salzburg), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university A public university or public college is a univ ...

in 1969/70 and at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

from 1969 to 1972, graduating with the Diplom. Schellenberger was ordained as a priest in 1972. In 1975, he became

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of Mariawald. He published books and translated from 1978, first translating

Henri Nouwen Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen (January 24, 1932 – September 21, 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and commu ...

's ''The Genesee Diary – Report from a Trappist Monastery''. He translated more works by Nouwen, Richard Rohr and many other American, French and Irish authors, with topics such as Zen meditation, Jewish mysticism, Church history, dealing with illness, improving health, family affairs,

enneagram Enneagram is a compound word derived from the Greek neoclassical stems for "nine" (''ennea'') and something "written" or "drawn" (''gramma''). Enneagram may refer to: * Enneagram (geometry), a nine-sided star polygon with various configurations ...

and social criticism. In 1981, Schellenberger and two other friars left Mariawald and tried a community in an empty parish house in Donzdorf, but failed. He lived in the

Abbey of the Genesee The Abbey of the Genesee is a community of more than two dozen contemplative monks located near Piffard in the town of York, New York. They are a member of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly known as the Trappists. They we ...

in Genesee County, New York from 1982, returning to Donzdorf in 1983, where he lived as a freelance writer. Beginning in 1988, he has lived and worked at times in Togo, helping Africans. In 1991, he married a woman with two children, for whom he cared. They separated in 1998. He has lived in

Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany and the administrative center of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. History Archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tö ...

from 2006.

Publications

Works by Schellenberger are held by the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

, including:

Translator

* * *

Author

* * * * * * * * * *

Collaboration

* with Max Taucher: ''Krypten, Ursprung der Hoffnung.'' Echter, Würzburg 1985 * with Ines Baumgarth: ''Treppen, Stufen des Lebens.'' Echter, Würzburg 1989 * with : ''Glaubens A und O.'' Patmos, Düsseldorf 1995 * with Albus: ''Der Zauber des Alltäglichen.'' Kreuz, Stuttgart 2001 * with Albus: ''Worte aus der Wüste.'' Kreuz, Stuttgart 2003 * with (eds.): ''Feiertage einmal anders betrachtet. Gespräche mit Prof. K.-J. Kuschel über den Sinn von Weihnachten, Ostern und Pfingsten.'' Echter, Würzburg 2004 * with D. Weber, , , and : ''Feuerwerke – Gebete am Himmel: Lebensfragen und Einsichten.'' (texts of a radio series of

Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting, public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ...

2004). Echter, Würzburg 2005 * with : ''Ein Lied, das froh im Herzen jubelt. Texte der spirituellen Erfahrung der frühen Zisterzienser.'' Be&Be, Heiligenkreuz im Wienerwald 2010

Hymn

Schellenberger wrote the text of the hymn " Selig, wem Christus auf dem Weg begegnet" (Blessed who is met by Christ on the way), which was included in the 2013 German Catholic hymnal '' Gotteslob'', coupled with a 17th-century melody from Paris.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schellenberger, Bernardin 20th-century German philosophers 21st-century German non-fiction writers Trappists 20th-century German translators 21st-century German translators University of Salzburg alumni University of Freiburg alumni 1944 births Living people