Mauritius Wilde (born 27 October 1965) is a German

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 ...

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 ...

priest 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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, professor, podcaster, spiritual director, and author. He is a member of

Münsterschwarzach Abbey Münsterschwarzach Abbey (Abtei Münsterschwarzach, formerly often known as Kloster Schwarzach or Schwarzach Abbey), is a Benedictine monastery in Germany. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Schwarzach and Main in Bavaria. Carolingian ...

located in

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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, which is part of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien. In 2016 he was appointed by the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation to serve as

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 the Benedictine Primatial Abbey of the Sant'Anselmo in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Biography

Early life

Wilde was born in

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

, Germany, to Werner and Dr. Elfriede (née Brunbauer) Wilde, and he has one older brother. He attended "'' Gymnasium Josephinum Hildesheim''" from 1976 to 1985 before entering the

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 ...

life.

Monastic Life

Wilde joined

at 19 years of age and was given at his monastic profession in 1990 the name "Mauritius" in honor of

Saint Maurice Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that Ma ...

. He would later study

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

Theology 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 ...

at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg receiving a diploma in 1992. He continued his theological studies at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

where he specialized in the German Dominican mystic ''

Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart, Master EckhartSt. Egbert-Gymnasium,'' but he also worked in youth ministry and vocations. He would later be appointed as director of the Abbey's publishing house known as "'' Vier-Türme-Verlag''" serving from 1999 to 2010. In keeping with the missionary tradition of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien, he would be assigned in 2011 as

of Christ the King Priory located in Schuyler,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. During his time there he expanded his own missionary work through offering spiritual retreats, blogging, social media, and podcasting. On 23 September 2016 Abbot Primate Gregory Polan of the Benedictine Confederation, appointed Wilde as the new Prior of the Primatial Abbey of Sant'Anselmo located in

. This appointment also made him the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

College of Sant'Anselmo The College of Sant'Anselmo ( it, Collegio Sant'Anselmo) is an international Benedictine college founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1887 and located in Rome, Italy. Situated on the Aventine Hill, it is one of four Benedictine institutions that occupy the ...

, which is an ecclesiastical residential college in the Roman tradition. The "''Collegio Sant'Anselmo''" serves as both a house of formation for Benedictines, but also as a residence for over one hundred monks from around forty countries,

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

diocesan priests In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogr ...

, and lay people. It offers a monastic environment for those who study at the onsite

Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm The Anselmianum, also known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm ( it, Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo; ) is a pontifical university in Rome associated with the Benedictines. It offers courses in philosophy, theology, liturgy, monastic studi ...

or at other Roman pontifical universities. Wilde would later be appointed to additionally serve as a lecturer and professor at the

, specializing in Spiritual Theology and the

Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

. Given his proficiency in German, Italian, and English, along with his expertise in spiritual theology and the use of digital media technology, he has also been called upon to offer spiritual commentaries through the international "

Vatican News ''Vatican News'' is a Catholic news website provided by the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication that partners with Vatican Radio, ''L'Osservatore Romano'', and Vatican Media to provide multimedia pertaining to the global Catholic Church and the ...

". On 24 November 2021, Wilde was elected as the new President of the ''Association of the Rectors of Ecclesiastical Colleges of Rome''.

Bibliography

Publications

Wilde has a number of publications in German, English, Italian, Croatian, and Spanish. His works are catalogued in the KATALOG DER DEUTSCHEN NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK. Some of his publications include: * ''Ich verstehe dich nicht: Die Herzensreise des kleinen Prinzen,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (1994) () * ''Das neue Bild vom Gottesbild: Bild und Theologie bei Meister Eckhart,'' Freiburger Universitätsverlag (2000) () * ''Der spirituelle Weg: Die Entwicklung des Benedikt von Nursia,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (2001) () * ''Petrus und Paulus. Wer in Gruppen entscheidet: die Unternehmer-Verwalter-Typologie,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (2003) () * ''Respekt, Die Kunst der gegenseitigen Wertschätzung,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (2009; Revised edition 2020) () * ''Nüchternheit. Die Kunst, sich ein achtsames Herz zu bewahren,'' Vier-Türme-Verlag (2018) () * ''Be yourself!: the call of a Christian,'' Paulist Press (2019) ()

Articles in journals

* ''Der sie bei Tag und Nacht verklagte...'', Erbe und Auftrag (2019, vol. 4, pp. 375–386) * ''Formation– Ideen, Institutionen, Erfahrungen (with David Forster, Bruno Rieder, Justina Metzdorf, Paulus Koci)'', Erbe und Auftrag (2020, vol. 2, pp. 164–178)

References

External links

The Benedictine Confederation of Congregations of Monasteries of the Order of Saint Benedict

Collegio Sant'Anselmo
(in Italian and English)
Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo
(in Italian and English)

Münsterschwarzach Abbey website

Podcasts with Wilde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilde, Mauritius 1965 births Living people German Benedictines German male non-fiction writers

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

21st-century German theologians German Roman Catholic theologians