Bernard Kälin (21 March 1887 – 20 October 1962) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

of Muri-Gries Abbey, an abbot of Muri-Gries Abbey, and the third Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict and the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...

Biography

Josef Martin Kälin was born in

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and Districts of Switzerland#Schwyz, district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. Histor ...

, Switzerland, on 22 March 1887. His parents were Josef Martin & Anna Verena (née Schön) Kälin. His father was a timber merchant and the family sought to educate all their children. From 1899 to 1907 he attended the high school located at

Einsiedeln Abbey Einsiedeln Abbey () is a Catholic monastery administered by the Benedictine Order in the village of Einsiedeln, Switzerland. The Abbey of Einsiedeln is one of the most important baroque monastic sites and the largest place of pilgrimage in Swit ...

. He then entered the monastic life at Muri-Gries Abbey in northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1908 and made his

religious profession In the Catholic Church, a religious profession is the solemn admission of men or women into consecrated life by means of the pronouncement of religious vows, typically the evangelical counsels. Usage The 1983 Code of Canon Law defines the ter ...

on 5 October 1909 being given the name "''Bernard''." He continued his education in the fields of

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 18 October 1912. He continued his studies at the same university receiving a doctorate in philosophy in 1918 with a dissertation on the

Epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

entitled "''Die Erkenntnislehre des hl. Augustinus''." Between the years 1913-1945 Kälin taught at Kantonsschule Obwalden overseen by the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

, serving as teacher and rector of the school. During this time, he wrote a number of philosophy textbooks that became popular. On 10 August 1945 Kälin was elected as the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Muri-Gries Abbey and received his blessing on 13 August 1945. He served in the role for only two years until he was elected as the third Abbot Primate of the

and Order of St. Benedict on 16 September 1947. As Abbot Primate he resided in Rome, Italy, while also overseeing

Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino () is a complex located on the Piazza Knights Hospitaller, Cavalieri di Malta Square on the Aventine Hill in Rome's Ripa (rione of Rome), Ripa rione and overseen by the Benedictine Confederation and the Abbot Primate. The ...

. He traveled quite extensively in his role as Abbot Primate, but was also instrumental in his work at the Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo where he founded a monastic institute, taught philosophy, and redesigned the Church of Sant'Anselmo. He served in this role until 1959 when he was not reelected as Abbot Primate, at which point he returned to Muri-Gries Abbey where he died on 20 October 1962.

Bibliography

* ''Die Erkenntnislehre des hl. Augustinus'' Sarnen: Ehrli 1921 (OCLC: 401967569) * ''Zur Philosophie der Benediktinerregel'' Sarnen: Ehrli 1929 (OCLC: 79226154) * ''Der Pädagoge Paul Häberlin'' Einsiedeln: Benziger & Co 1930 (OCLC: 77823674) * ''Hundert Jahre Kollegium Sarnen 1841–1941. Eine historisch-statistische Skizze'' Sarnen: Ehrli 1941 (OCLC: 1270689302) * ''Lehrbuch der Philosophie'' Sarnen: Selbstverlag Benediktinerkollegium 1950 (OCLC: 73484915) * ''Lehrbuch der Philosophie. Band I: Logik, Ontologie, Kosmologie, Psychologie, Kriteriologie und Theodizee'' Sarnen: Selbstverlag Benediktinerkollegium 1957 (OCLC: 832441007) * ''Lehrbuch der Philosophie. Band II: Einführung in die Ethik'' Sarnen: Selbstverlag Benediktinerkollegium 1962 (OCLC: 832441031)

References

External links

Muri-Gries Abbey
(in German and Italian)
The Benedictine Confederation of Congregations of Monasteries of the Order of Saint Benedict
(in Italian and English)
International Atlas of Benedictine Monasteries
(in English)
Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo
(in Italian and English)
Collegio Sant'Anselmo
(in Italian and English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kälin, Bernard 1887 births 1962 deaths Abbots Primate Benedictine scholars Benedictine writers 20th-century Christian abbots Benedictine abbots Swiss abbots Swiss Benedictines

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links