The Swiss-American Congregation is an association of

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 ...

monasteries 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 ...

founded in 1881 in the United States, as a part of the international Benedictine Confederation of monasteries.

History

During the 19th century, a number of Benedictine monasteries had been founded in the United States by monks coming from monasteries in the

German-speaking German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

region of

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 ...

. The fortunes of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

institutions in Switzerland were turbulent, especially in the 19th century. All were dissolved as a consequence of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

in 1798, but were restored by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

ic decree in 1803, with the exception of the

Abbey of St. Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...

, where the

Prince-Abbot A prince-abbot (german: Fürstabt) is a title for a cleric who is a Prince of the Church (like a Prince-bishop), in the sense of an ''ex officio'' temporal lord of a feudal entity, usually a State of the Holy Roman Empire. The territory ruled ...

refused to make the necessary political concessions. The anti-monastic policies of the

Swiss canton The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Co ...

s, however, later brought about the dissolution of monasteries in

Pfäfers Pfäfers is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The villages Pfäfers, St. Margrethenberg, Vadura, Valens, Vasön and Vättis belong to the municipality. History The '' ...

(1838), Muri (1841),

Fischingen Fischingen is a municipality in the district of Münchwilen in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History Fischingen is first mentioned in 1328 as ''Fischinon''. In 1972, Dussnang, Fischingen, Oberwangen and Tannegg merged with Fischinge ...

(1848) and

Rheinau Rheinau may refer to: *Rheinau, Switzerland, a town in the canton of Zürich *Rheinau Abbey, in Rheinau, Switzerland *Rheinau (Baden), a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany *a part of Mannheim, Germany {{geodis ...

(1863). The outlook for Swiss Roman Catholics during the ''

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...

'' was so bleak that the ancient Abbeys 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 ...

and

Engelberg , neighboring_municipalities = Attinghausen (UR), Gadmen (BE), Innertkirchen (BE), Isenthal (UR), Wassen (UR), Wolfenschiessen (NW) , twintowns= Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipality in the canton ...

began a program of establishing new monasteries in the United States, so that the remaining Swiss monasteries would have a refuge if they were all exiled. Those pioneer

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 also were to serve the large number of

German people , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

who had emigrated there. As their offshoots, these new communities remained a part of the

Swiss Confederation ). 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 ...

of Benedictine monasteries. By 1881 the number of such communities had grown that it was felt appropriate to separate them from the authority of the mother country. Accordingly,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

authorized the creation of this congregation on April 5, 1881, under the

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

Current Status

The Congregation, as of 2019, is composed of abbeys and priories throughout the United States,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. The Congregation numbers about 447 monks.

Current members

St. Meinrad Archabbey Saint Meinrad Archabbey is a Catholic monastery in Spencer County, Indiana, USA, was founded by monks from Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland on March 21, 1854, and is home to approximately 79 monks. The Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology ...

in St. Meinrad, Indiana *

Conception Abbey Conception Abbey, site of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, is a monastery of the Swiss-American Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation. The monastery, founded by the Swiss Engelberg Abbey in 1873 in northwest Missouri's Nodaway ...

in Conception, Missouri *

Subiaco Abbey The Abbey of Saint Scholastica, also known as Subiaco Abbey (Italian: ''Abbazia di Santa Scolastica''), is located just outside the town of Subiaco in the Province of Rome, Region of Lazio, Italy; and is still an active Benedictine abbey, ter ...

in Subiaco, Arkansas * St. Joseph Abbey in Saint Benedict, Louisiana *

Mount Angel Abbey Mount Angel Abbey is a Roman Catholic monastery of Benedictine monks in the northwest United States, located in St. Benedict, Oregon. Northeast of Salem, it was established in 1882 from Engelberg Abbey, Switzerland. The abbey, located on the to ...

in St. Benedict, Oregon * Marmion Abbey in Aurora, Illinois *

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

in Mission, British Columbia, Canada *

Mount Michael Abbey Mount Michael Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Elkhorn in Nebraska. It is located in the Archdiocese of Omaha. Origins The abbey is part of the Swiss-American Congregation and traces its roots to Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland and Imm ...

in Elkhorn, Nebraska * Our Lady of Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, Massachusetts * Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California * St. Benedict Abbey in Still River, Massachusetts * Monastery of the Ascension in Jerome, Idaho * Our Lady of the Angels Benedictine Monastery Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico * Abadia de JesuCristo Crucificado in Esquipulas, Guatemala

Dependent Priories

* Priory of St. Joseph, Guatemala: "The monastery was founded by Marmion Abbey on June 10, 1965, and raised to a dependent priory on November 24, 1967". * St. Benedict Priory in Benet Lake, Wisconsin: "The monastery was founded by Conception Abbey on March 21, 1945, was raised to a conventual priory on December 15, 1950, and to the status of an abbey on May 24, 1952. On October 23, 2014, the Chapter of St. Benedict’s Abbey voted to become dependent Priory of Conception Abbey. The petition was ratified by Conception Abbey on October 30, 2014. At that time the administration of the abbey passed to the Abbot President. Monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey had the option of transferring their stability to Conception Abbey or remaining monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey".

Former Presidents

These are the former presidents: # Rt. Rev. Fintan Mundwiler, O.S.B. (1881–1898) # Rt. Rev. Frowin Conrad, O.S.B. (1898–1922) # Rt. Rev. Philip Ruggle, O.S.B. (1922–1936) # Rt. Rev. Columban Thuis, O.S.B. (1937–1957) # Rt. Rev. Stephen Schappler, O.S.B. (1957–1961) # Rt. Rev. Gilbert Hess, O.S.B. (1961–1965) # Rt. Rev. David Melancon, O.S.B. (1965–1978) # Rt. Rev. Raphael DeSalvo, O.S.B. (1978–1984) # Rt. Rev. Jerome Hanus, O.S.B. (1984–1987) # Rt. Rev. Patrick Regan, O.S.B. (1987–1999) # Rt. Rev. Peter Eberle, O.S.B. (1999–2011)

Current President

The current Abbot President is Abbot Vincent de Paul Bataille elected in 2011. He resides at Marmion Abbey located in Aurora, Illinois.

References

{{Authority control Benedictine congregations 1881 establishments in the United States Religious organizations established in 1881