Photos courtesy of Sant’Anselmo, where Archabbot Jakob studied with the Faculty of Theology during the academic year 2019-20 as part of his baccalaureate program at the University of Salzburg.
On Saturday, 15 February 2025, the monks of Saint Peter’s Archabbey gathered to elect a new archabbot. New elections are normally held every twelve years, this time at the end of Archabbot Korbinian Birnbacher OSB’s term of office. It was held under the direction of Abbot President Johannes Perkmann OSB from Michaelbeuern Abbey. According to the statutes of the Benedictine Congregation, 22 monks were eligible to vote.
The electoral chapter elected Fr. Jakob Auer OSB as the 89th abbot and 7th archabbot of St Peter’s.
Fr. Jakob Auer OSB was born in Salzburg in 1991 and grew up in the municipality of Elsbethen. He joined the Archabbey of Saint Peter in 2013, took perpetual vows on 21 March 2018 and was ordained a priest on 29 June 2022. In the monastic community, he has held the office of church rector of the collegiate church since 2022 and has been prior, i.e. deputy to the archabbot, since 1 April 2024.
The elected candidate accepted the election. “This day was a big surprise for me, and I am deeply moved by it. Aware of the long continuity, I will endeavour to enter the next twelve years in a spirit of good cooperation and trust”, said the newly-elected archabbot. The inauguration and handover of office will take place on 12 April 2025. Many thanks go to the previous Archabbot Korbinian Birnbacher OSB for his service as head of the monastery. During this time, he led and shaped the monastery with foresight and commitment. “It has always been a great pleasure and honour for me to preside over the Archabbey of Saint Peter. Grateful, strengthened and well-organised, I can hand over the management of this institution into the hands of Archabbot Jakob”.
Saint Peter’s Abbey was founded in 696 by Saint Rupert. In 1927, Pope Pius XI elevated the abbey to the rank of an archabbey. For more than 1,300 years, Saint Peter’s has been a place of constant prayer and the cultivation of knowledge, as well as an important economic factor in the city and province of Salzburg. The Benedictine monastery includes several business enterprises with around 80 employees in various sectors.