Father Manel Gasch i Hurios, new abbot of Montserrat

(translated with permission from Abadia de Montserrat web site)

Father Manel Gasch i Hurios is the new abbot of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat. The Benedictine community chose him as abbot on 15 September and he is already in charge of the monastery, awaiting the abbatial blessing, which will take place in the Basilica of Santa Maria on an undetermined date in the coming weeks. The election was held at a chapter meeting attended by the solemnly-professed monks of the community, presided over by the Most Reverend Father Guillermo Arboleda, Abbot President of the Subiaco-Cassinese Benedictine Congregation, who has confirmed him in office.

Father Abbot Manel Gasch wanted to thank the service of Father Abbot Josep M. Soler, “who, over the course of 21 years has guided our community with a spirit of wisdom and generosity”. The new abbot of Montserrat has stated that he puts “the future of our community and of this abbey at the foot of La Moreneta, together with the land of Catalonia, of which she is the patron saint”, while recalling “the importance of the ministry of intercession by the monastic community of Montserrat in favor of the Church and the world”.

Finally, Fr. Abbot Manel Gasch highlighted “the challenge of celebrating the next millennium of the foundation of the monastery, in 2025, as an opportunity to bring Montserrat and monastic life closer to our current society; a millennium that will be the starting point for the Montserrat of the future”. He also asked to be included in prayers for his new abbey service.

The day’s Vespers prayer on Wednesday, at 6:45 pm, was presided over by the new Fr. Abbot and was featured on Montserrat TV.

Father Abbot Manel Gasch

Father Manel Gasch i Hurios (Barcelona, 1970) has a degree in Law from the University of Barcelona (1993). In 1996 he entered the monastery, where he made simple monastic profession on 5 September 1998 and solemn profession on 3 February 2002. On 23 June 2011 he was ordained a priest.

Father Manel began his training in theology in Montserrat, which he completed with a degree in theology, a dogmatic specialty, at the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome (2005). Since 2005 he has been a professor of theology at the Estudi Filosòfic i Teològic de Montserrat.

From 2005 to 2010, Fr. Abbot Manel Gasch was prefect of the Escolania de Montserrat, and from 2011 to the present he has been the majordomo-administrator of the monastery.