Mount Angel Abbey is a

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 ...

monastery 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 ...

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 ...

s in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

United States 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 territorie ...

, located in

St. Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Northeast of Salem, it was established in 1882 from

Engelberg Abbey Engelberg Abbey (german: Kloster Engelberg) is a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg, Canton of Obwalden, Switzerland. It was formerly in the Diocese of Constance, but is now in the Diocese of Chur. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels and ...

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 abbey, located on the top of Mount Angel, a , has its own post office separate from the city of Mt. Angel. As of 2021, the abbey is home to approximately 51 monks.

History

1882–1903: Establishment

Mount Angel Abbey was founded on October 30, 1882, by

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 ...

monks who immigrated to the United States from

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 ...

, who found the abbey's landscape to be similar to that which they had left in the

Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...

. It was conceived by Father Adelhelm Odermatt, a monk of

who was working in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. Five years after the abbey's foundation, the monks opened their school in 1887 under the name of ''Mount Angel College''. In 1889, at the request of Archbishop William Gross of Oregon City, the monks established a seminary in conjunction with their college.

1904–Present: Expansion

In 1904, the community was officially declared an abbey, which meant that it became independent from its motherhouse in Switzerland. Father Thomas Meienhofer, also a native of Switzerland, was elected the first abbot. In 1926, a second fire in the abbey's history destroyed its monastery, forcing the community into private homes and the nearby parish school and rectory. The monks began rebuilding, and in 1930 erected Aquinas Hall, and a gymnasium in 1936. In 1939, the Abbey's first daughterhouse,

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 ...

, was established in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In 1946, the college was shut down so that the Abbey could focus on its seminary and boys' preparatory school. In 1959, a retreat house was constructed on the property to serve the spiritual needs of laypeople. In the early 1950s, the monastery became one of approximately 900 locations that would serve as emergency hospitals in the event of a

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...

. In 1965, two new monasteries were started from Mount Angel Abbey: Ascension Priory in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, and Our Lady of the Angels Priory in

Cuernavaca, Mexico Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The n ...

. In 1980, Father Bonaventure Zerr was elected as the seventh abbot, establishing a new library for not only seminarians, but for the use of

scholarly research The scholarly method or scholarship is the body of principles and practices used by scholars and academics to make their claims about the subject as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public. It is the me ...

. The library at the abbey was designed by Finnish architect

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

. Though the seminary has historically been the central focus of the abbey, it has also become open to non-seminarians seeking degrees in

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 ...

. In the 1970s, the Abbey community had a total of 125 monks living on the grounds, making it one of the largest Benedictine male communities in the United States.

Abbots

The abbey's abbots since 1904 are as follows. *1904-1910 Thomas Aquinas Meienhofer *1910-1921 Placidus Fuerst *1921-1934 Bernard Murphy *1934-1950 Thomas Aquinas Meier *1950-1974 Damian Jentges *1974-1980 Anselm Galvin *1980-1988 Bonaventure Zerr *1988-1997 Peter Eberle *1997-2001 Joseph Wood *2001-2009 Nathan Zodrow *2009-2016 Gregory Duerr *2016-present Jeremy Driscoll

Seminary and School of Theology

''Mount Angel Seminary'', which was originally part of the now closed ''Mount Angel College'', serves numerous western

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s and has approximately 170 students. The college was originally composed of seven schools, but as the college turned its focus toward the seminary, the two remaining schools are the

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

and the Graduate School of Theology. The Seminary's main church has a tower that contains the largest free-swinging bells on the west coast. In 2006, a new seminary building received a Best Sustainable Award for Oregon and Washington. The following year, to commemorate the abbey's 125th anniversary, a new bell tower was erected. The seminary has undergraduate and graduate programs. The undergraduate program is devoted towards a bachelor's degree in philosophy. The four-year liberal arts curriculum, leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, may be completed with a major in Philosophy, a double major in Philosophy and Literature, or a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies. The seminary offers degrees to both lay students and those studying for the priesthood. The Graduate School of Theology offers MDiv, MA (Theology), STB, and DMin degree programs.

Library

The ''Mount Angel Library'' was designed by Finnish architect

, built in 1970, and renovated in 1980. The library is used by both seminary students and theology students and contains 240,000 physical volumes and 100,000 electronic volumes (30% religion, 10% philosophy, and 60% history, art, music, and more), offering the largest theology collection in the Northwest United States. In addition to a wide range of books, the library also has an

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

of medieval

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s dating back to the 12th century. The library has digitized multiple manuscripts, many from England, France, and Italy, through the Ethiopic Manuscripts Digitization Project.

Museum

The Mount Angel Abbey Museum is a collection of assorted artifacts, including mounted animal dioramas, rocks and minerals, serendipitous objects, antique

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

vestment Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...

s, religious items, and

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

memorabilia. The museum is also known for containing certain distinctive 'Americana' items: the largest pig hairball in the world, as well as housing a collection of deformed cows.

Benedictine Brewery

In 2018, the third monastic brewery in the United States opened at the Abbey.

Brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

is common among

Trappists The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

, but is also part of the Benedictine tradition—which is the order that occupies the Mount Angel Abbey, a monastery secluded on a wooded butte above the small farming town of Mount Angel. Abbey monks are now brewing beer as part of a six-year project helmed by Father Martin and his understudy, Father Jacob, with guidance from beer writers Jeff Alworth and Stan Hieronymus.

References

External links

* {{authority control Order of Saint Benedict 1882 establishments in Oregon Alvar Aalto buildings Benedictine monasteries in the United States Buildings and structures in Marion County, Oregon Catholic universities and colleges in Oregon Education in Marion County, Oregon Modernist architecture in Oregon Mt. Angel, Oregon Museums in Marion County, Oregon Natural history museums in Oregon Religious museums in the United States Benedictine colleges and universities Catholic seminaries in the United States Swiss-American history Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities