Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At a symposium last week, Abbot Mauro Giuseppe Lepori, Abbot General of the Cistercians and our good friend, mentioned the Easter episode from the dialogues of Pope Gregory: the priest who through a vision was motivated to share his delicious food with the cave-dweller of Subiaco. We all know how the story goes. But it is worthwhile to focus on a small detail. When the priest arrived there and explained his purpose, Benedict at first did not quite get it and replied: "I know it’s Easter because I have deserved to see you." Receiving someone, or rather seeing a visitor, was already a kind of Easter for Benedict. The priest had to make it clear that this was even more - the real Easter.

Benedict sought solitude, to an extraordinary degree it seems. And in his footsteps we still call ourselves monastics because we claim to be man and women who have learned to live in a way that is both recollected and withdrawn, the "habitare secum" of the dialogues. Good Friday provides us with words and pictures that describe Christ as being very much alone, in the Garden of Gethesemane, all the way through the passion, and finally on the cross. Spanish Catholic culture has deepend this through its celebration of Our Lady of Solitude – la Virgen de la Soledad – on Holy Saturday. It is an existential grammar of the individual that goes beyond intimacy, reaches loneliness and touches on death.

The Resurrection turns all this upside down. Christ’s triumph over death is celebrated through encounters: Mary Magdalene, the disciples at Emmaus, Thomas. And during each of these encounters they learn to see and understand in a new way. We will hear about it again and again in the coming weeks.

We are cenobites, and communio is our specialty. I imagine our Easter as an eye-opening. We see the other, the neglected brother, that beggar at our front door, the desperate seeker hiding in our church. Some of us may need to allow themselves to be seen. Maybe we have to get out of our own caves and allow loving eyes to remind us that Christ is risen! Let our monasteries be places where that Easter hope is lived and experienced, within and without the walls.

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I would like to share with you some follow-up from the last Congress of Abbots. The preparations for the 2029 jubilee – 1500 years since the foundation of Montecassino - are taking shape. We were able to hire a project coordinator – Mr Adam Simon from the UK – who is going to help us get this beautiful but complex project of the ground. Jubilee activities will be held at Montecassino and here in Rome, but also throughout our Benedictine family. We also hope for other initatives, both of remembrance but also creative thinking about our future. We are working hard and expect to have a comprehensive jubilee proposal ready for you by the fall of this year. The official title should be: “Locus Iste: places of hope since 529 - a jubilee of Benedictine monasticism.”

The Congresso also voted to create a course for new abbots that should be complementary to the Leadership and Management Program we are hosting already. The first installment of this new course is scheduled for 2026 (June 22 – July 4). More information will come out in due course.

My fellow countrymen love long-term planning whereas elsewhere life is a bit more spontaneous. In any case, because of reservation requirements we already had to fix the dates for the Congress of Abbots in 2028: arrival will be Sept 7, departure Sept 17. New abbots and abbot presidents should arrive a day earlier.

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For us ecclesiastics here in Rome (and everywhere, I presume), it was a great relief when Pope Francis returned to the Vatican and became active again in his inimitable style, although he clearly is still reconvalescing.

Some media reports seem to be suggesting that the jubilee "is not happening", based on reports from taxi drivers and hotels. A very different message comes from confessors, however, who anecdotally speak of a five-fold increase in demand and long queues, something I can attest to myself. So maybe tourists and pilgrims aren’t quite the same after all? That may be disappointment for the Roman hoteliers, but it is not bad news for the church.

A reminder: if you or groups associated with your monastery plan to come to Sant’Anselmo during your Holy Year pilgrimage: let our guest master know - guestmaster@anselmianum.com. We are happy to organize a tour of "our" Benedictine house in Rome and invite you to participate in our prayers.

You may not necessarily meet me, though, when you come. The month of May is filled with several short trips around Europe. I will also participate in the Confederation Assembly of the Benedictine Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a commitment I accepted years ago. And in late June and early July I will go on a road-trip to visit a number of communities, mainly in France. We have dubbed it the "Tour de France", but will use a car, not the bicycle. I will meet some of you during that tour and look forward to it greatly.

Wishing you all an Easter tide filled with joy, I remain,

yours very fraternally

Jeremias Schröder OSB
Abbot Primate

N.B. NEXUS comes out in many languages. As you probably can tell, some of these translations are produced with the help of modern AI tools. If you find the language of your version slightly stilted are awkward, this is probably the reason. Thanks for being patient and forbearing!