Mount Angel Abbey facts for kids
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 Location in the United States
Location in Oregon
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| Monastery information | |
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| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | October 30, 1882 |
| Mother house | Engelberg Abbey |
| Diocese | Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon |
| Abbot | The Right Rev. Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B. |
| Prior | Rev. Teresio Caldwell, O.S.B. |
| Archbishop | The Most Rev. Alexander Sample |
| Site | |
| Coordinates | 45°03′25″N 122°46′30″W / 45.057°N 122.775°W |
Mount Angel Abbey is a Catholic monastery where Benedictine monks live and pray. It is located in Saint Benedict, Oregon, which is northeast of Salem. The abbey was started in 1882 by monks from Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland.
The abbey sits on top of Mount Angel, a hill about 485 feet (148 meters) high. It even has its own post office! As of 2021, about 51 monks live at Mount Angel Abbey.
Contents
History of Mount Angel Abbey
How Mount Angel Abbey Started (1882–1903)
Mount Angel Abbey began on October 30, 1882. It was founded by Benedictine monks who came to the United States from Engelberg, Switzerland. Father Adelhelm Odermatt, a monk from Engelberg Abbey, had the idea to start it. He was working in Missouri at the time.
Five years after the abbey was founded, the monks opened a school. This school was called Mount Angel College and started in 1887. In 1889, the monks also started a seminary. A seminary is a special school that trains people to become priests. They did this because Archbishop William Gross of Oregon City asked them to.
Growing and Changing Over Time (1904–Present)
In 1904, the community at Mount Angel was officially named an "abbey." This meant it became independent from its original monastery in Switzerland. Thomas Meienhofer, who was also from Switzerland, became the first abbot. An abbot is the leader of an abbey.
In 1926, a big fire destroyed the monastery building. The monks had to live in private homes and nearby church buildings. But they started rebuilding right away! In 1930, they built Aquinas Hall. A gymnasium was added in 1936.
In 1939, Mount Angel Abbey started its first "daughterhouse." This is like a new monastery started by the original one. It was called Westminster Abbey (British Columbia) and was in Mission, British Columbia.
In 1946, the college closed, and the monks focused on their seminary. They also had a school for boys who were preparing for college. In 1959, a retreat house was built. This is a place where people can go for spiritual reflection and quiet time. In the early 1950s, the monastery was even chosen as an emergency hospital location in case of a nuclear war.
In 1965, two more monasteries were started from Mount Angel Abbey. These were Ascension Priory in Idaho and Our Lady of the Angels Abbey in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
In 1980, Father Bonaventure Zerr became the seventh abbot. He helped create a new library. This library was for seminary students and also for people doing scholarly research. The famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto designed the library building.
Even though the seminary is very important, the abbey also welcomes other students. People who are not studying to be priests can also get degrees in philosophy and theology there. In the 1970s, about 125 monks lived at the abbey. This made it one of the largest Benedictine communities for men in the United States.
Leaders of the Abbey: The Abbots
Since 1904, these are the abbots who have led Mount Angel Abbey:
- 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
Mount Angel Seminary and School of Theology
Mount Angel Seminary was once part of the college that is now closed. It serves many Catholic areas in the western United States. About 170 students attend the seminary.
The seminary's main church has a tall tower. This tower holds the largest free-swinging bells on the West Coast! In 2006, a new seminary building won an award for being very eco-friendly. The next year, in 2007, a new bell tower was built to celebrate the abbey's 125th birthday.
The seminary offers different study programs. Students can earn a bachelor's degree in philosophy. They can also get a double major in Philosophy and Literature, or Philosophy and Religious Studies. The seminary offers degrees to both students studying for the priesthood and other students. The Graduate School of Theology offers advanced degrees like MDiv, MA (Theology), STB, and DMin.
Mount Angel Abbey Library
The Mount Angel Library was designed by a famous Finnish architect named Alvar Aalto. It was built in 1970 and updated in 1980. The library is used by students studying to be priests and other theology students.
It has a huge collection of books, about 240,000 physical books and 100,000 electronic books. About 30% of the books are about religion, 10% about philosophy, and 60% cover history, art, music, and more. It has the largest collection of theology books in the Northwest United States.
Besides books, the library also has a special collection of old manuscripts. These are handwritten documents that date back to the 12th century! The library has even made digital copies of many of these old manuscripts. Many are from England, France, and Italy, thanks to the Ethiopic Manuscripts Digitization Project.
Mount Angel Abbey Museum
The Mount Angel Abbey Museum is a fun place to explore. It has many different kinds of items. You can see displays of mounted animals, cool rocks and minerals, and unique objects. There are also old church clothes called liturgical vestments. You can find other religious items and things from the Civil War there too.
Benedictine Brewery
In 2018, a special brewery opened at the abbey. It was the third monastic brewery in the United States. Monks have a long tradition of brewing, especially Trappists and Benedictines. The Mount Angel Abbey is a Benedictine monastery. It covers about 350 acres (1.4 km2) on a wooded hill above the town of Mount Angel. Now, the monks at the abbey brew their own beer!
See also
- Engelberg Abbey, the original abbey that started Mount Angel
- Westminster Abbey (British Columbia)
