Fintan Mundwiler (12 July 1835 at
Dietikon
Dietikon is the fifth biggest city of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, after Zürich, Winterthur, Uster and Dübendorf. It is the capital of the same-named district of Dietikon and part of the Zürich metropolitan area.
Geography
The ind ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
– 14 February 1898 at St. Meinrad's Abbey) was a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
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* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
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*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
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 ...
, who became Abbot of
St. Meinrad Abbey,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
.
Life
Andreas Mundwiler was born 12 July 1835 at Dietikon, Switzerland, the son of Jakob and Anna Maria Seiler Mundwiler. He studied at the monastic school of
Einsiedeln
Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century.
History Early history
There was no permanent settlement in the area p ...
in Switzerland, where he took the Benedictine habit in 1854, made profession on 14 October 1855, and was raised to the priesthood on 11 September 1859.
In 1852 Father Joseph Kundek, Vicar-General for Bishop
Jacques-Maurice De Saint Palais
Jacques-Maurice des Landes d’Aussac de Saint Palais (November 15, 1811 – June 28, 1877) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth Bishop of Vincennes, from 1848 until his death.
Biography
De Saint Palais ...
of the
Diocese of Vincennes
The Diocese of Vincennes (in Latin, Vincennapolis), the first Roman Catholic diocese in Indiana, was erected 6 May 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI. Its initial ecclesiastical jurisdiction encompassed Indiana as well as the eastern third of Illinois. In 18 ...
approached the Abbot off
Einsiedeln Abbey
Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...
for assistance in addressing the pastoral needs of the growing German-speaking Catholic population and to prepare local men for the priesthood. The first monks set out in late 1852 for Vincennes, and established a priory and school at Harrison Township, in Spencer County, Indiana.
[Alerding, Herman Joseph. "St. Meinrad's Benedictine Abbey", ''A History of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Vincennes'', 1888]
/ref>
In 1860 Mundwiler accompanied his confrère, Martin Marty
Martin Emil Marty (born on February 5, 1928) is an American Lutheran religious scholar who has written extensively on religion in the United States.
Early life and education
Marty was born on February 5, 1928, in West Point
The United Sta ...
, afterwards Bishop of St. Cloud
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Clodoaldi) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota, United States. This diocese covers Benton, Douglas, Grant, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Pope, Sher ...
, to the newly founded monastery of St. Meinrad in Indiana.["Abbot Fintan Mundwiler", Subiaco Abbey]
/ref> Father Martin took charge of the philosophical and theological departments at the college, while Father Fintan handled the classical department.
Mundwiler also attended a few neighbouring missions. While stationed at Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
(1864), he organized the German Catholic Congregation of St. Benedict, for which he built a church in 1865. In 1866 he was back at St. Meinrad as prefect of the college. In 1869, when St. Meinrad was raised to an abbey and Father Marty became its first abbot, Father Fintan was appointed prior and master of novices, and the following year commissioned to raise funds for the construction of a new monastery to replace the original log house.[
While Abbot Marty worked among the Native Americans in ]Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, a ...
(1876–80), Prior Fintan was administrator of the abbey, and, upon the resignation of the former, who had meanwhile been appointed Vicar Apostolic of Dakota, Fintan was elected Abbot of St. Meinrad on 3 February 1880,[ and received abbatial benediction from ]Silas Chatard
Silas Francis Marean Chatard (December 13, 1834 – September 7, 1918) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Indianapolis in the United States.
Life
He was born Silas Francis Marean Chatard in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 13, 1834, to Ferdinand E. ...
, Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana on 16 May 1880.
He enlarged the college, founded the Priory of Subiaco in Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
and the Priory of St. Joseph in Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and obtained from Rome the permission to erect the Helvetico-American Congregation of Benedictines, of which he became the first president.[ When St. Meinrad's Abbey was destroyed by fire on 2 September 1887, he rebuilt the monastery on an even greater scale, founded a commercial college at ]Jasper, Indiana
Jasper is a city in, and the county seat of, Dubois County, Indiana, United States, located along the Patoka River. The population was 16,703 at the 2020 census making it the 48th largest city in Indiana. On November 4, 2007, Dubois County returne ...
, and assisted in the foundation of the Priory of St. Gall in North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
. As abbot, Mundwiler sought to balance the need to maintain monastic spirit and discipline with the obligations of missionary commitments.
He was a fervent promoter of the Priests' Eucharistic League
The Priests' Eucharistic League (''Confraternitas sacerdotalis adorationis Sanctissimi Sacramenti'') was a Roman Catholic confraternity set up in the nineteenth century, with primary object the frequent and prolonged worship of the Blessed Sacramen ...
. In October 1885 he returned to Europe, where he stayed until 1886. In 1893 he took part in the Eucharistic Congress held at Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Abbot Fintan was known for his learning and piety, and for his calm disposition.[ Abbot Mundwiler died at the abbey on 14 February 1898.
]
References
;Attribution
* The entry cites:
**''Necrologies'' in ''Paradiesesfrüchte'', III (St. Meinrad, Indiana, 1898), 65-8;
**''St. John's University Record'', IX (Collegeville, Minnesota, 1898), 31-2;
**''Revue Bénédictine'', XV (Maredsous, 1898), 188-90.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mundwiler, Fintan
1835 births
1898 deaths
Swiss Benedictines
Swiss abbots
Benedictine abbots
Swiss Christian monks
19th-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests