Abbot Primate Gregory Poland OSB has appointed Fr. Julian Maria Schaumlöffel, O.S.B., from Königsmünster Abbey in Meschede, Germany, as the new President of the International Commission on Benedictine Education. Fr. Julian succeeds Abbot Elias Lorenzo OSB, who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A., in February of this year.
Fr. Julian was born on 2 August 1970 in Bremerhaven (Northern Germany). After graduating from High School he studied Law. After the final examination, he decided to become a diocesan priest and studied philosophy and theology at the Jesuit University of Sankt Georgen (Frankfurt/Main). When he finished his studies, he became a monk at the Benedictine Abbey Königsmünster in Meschede. After his perpetual profession, Father Julian was ordained priest in 2008. Since his entry Father Julian has been working at the Benedictine High School (Gymnasium) as a teacher for Catholic religious education. As a representative of the School Board he is also responsible for the administration of the school. In this context, Fr. Julian was able to participate in various meetings of the ICBE, and so he was present at the reunions in Santiago de Chile, St. Ottilien, Manila and Sydney. He also participated in several national and international student meetings in different places worldwide together with his students. Königsmünster Abbey has also hosted these meetings several times. In 2005 he organized and carried out the “Third International Benedictine Youth Congress (TIBYC)” together with some of his confreres in Meschede. Therefore Fr. Julian already has good contacts in the Benedictine school world and some participants will have met him and come to know him quite a long time ago.
In March 2020 Fr. Julian was appointed treasurer of his abbey in addition to his duties in the school. The almost simultaneous appointment as President of the ICBE is certainly a second challenge, but it offers a great opportunity to further the networking of Benedictine schools worldwide. The Rule of St. Benedict and the Holy Scriptures offer a good guideline for shaping schools also in the 21st century and to equip children and young adults for the future in a changing world: not only by teaching them professional knowledge, but also by passing on to them important human skills and Christian values.