Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The rhythm of life at Sant’Anselmo changes profoundly during the summer. Students and professors leave for their home monasteries or for other places and only a group of monks and staff remain here on the Aventine to keep things going, do some maintenance work and also catch up on the things that we were too busy to finish during the academic year.

My personal highlight of the summer was the Synod of Abbot Presidents which took place in mid-September in Montserrat. We were hosted in one of Europe’s most famous monasteries. Our Lady of Montserrat, la Morenita as she is affectionately called, is venerated in many places of the world. The monastic community inserted our visit into the Millennium jubilee celebration. This monastery, one of Europe’s monastic beacons, provided magnificent hospitality for a Synod that coincided with a meeting of the regional delegates of the CIB, the organisation of Benedictine women. There is an article about this synod in this new edition of NEXUS.

One of the many topics discussed jointly in Montserrat was the future of the World Congresses of Benedictine Oblates. Recently, a proposal had circulated that these might be discontinued and replaced with smaller meetings. However, a serious reflection about this among the abbot presidents - some of which had been well briefed by oblates attached to monasteries of their congregations - came to the conclusion that these World Oblate Congresses were important as well as much appreciated and should continue. The Synod approved this and we are now looking for ways to implement this. We have also decided that the Monastic Summer Studium, which offers three one-week course in English here at Sant’Anselmo on monastic topics, modules that can be taken individually or as a three-week program, will be offered in a special way to oblates. If you read about this here, and are connected with oblates yourself, please do not hesitate to let them know how much the Confederation and the CIB appreciate this third branch of our order, and that we want to do all we can to enable the oblate movement to become stronger and remain connected across our monastic world.

Back to Sant’Anselmo. Those who visited Sant’Anselmo in the last few years found the arrival somewhat marred by construction work going on just outside. A few weeks ago, the renovation of the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta was finally completed. This is not just any old Roman piazza. In fact, this square and the adjacent church of the Order of Malta are rather unique. They are the only pieces of architecture realized by Giovanni B. Piranesi, the artist who became world-famous for his engravings of Roman monuments. There is something very Roman about Piranesi. In his engravings he makes Rome look even more impressive than it actually is by reducing the size of the people he depicted between the monuments. The restored Piazza in front of our house shows an aspiration to splendour, too. The monuments praise the achievements of the Order of Malta which commissioned this work. It is particularly suggestive at night when the moon shines on the white stones that are framed by (our) dark cypresses.

Just beyond that enchanted square lies our Sant’Anselmo which now, at the end of summer, feels more like a bee-hive. New residenti of the Collegio have arrived and the house is full to the brim. Over the last few months we did renew the leadership of our Ateneo. On October 6th the new Rector, Fr Jako Fehérváry of Pannonhalma, professed the creed and took the Oath of Fidelity in the presence of many guests, professors and students. With our new Dean of theology, a new head librarian and a recently re-elected Dean of Philosophy it feels like we are moving into a new chapter in the history of our house. On 11 November it will be 125 years since the dedication of the Abbey Church of Sant’Anselmo. In 1900, Pope Leo XIII – our founder and sponsor – was not able to leave the Vatican and sent a Cardinal to represent him. In 2025, Pope Leo XIV is free to move and he accepted our invitation to preside at the jubilee mass here with us. You can imagine our joy and anticipation.

Less joyful has been the experience of the Benedictine nuns and sisters teaching and studying at Sant’Anselmo. Their residence at the monastery of Tor de‘ Specchi was brutally closed down by the Pontifical Commissary of that house, causing a lot of anguish and uncertainty for our sisters for whom we had to find emergency accommodation at very short notice. We have now found a very convenient place for this group starting in late October. From there they will be able to go about their studies and research undisturbed during the entire academic year, in close proximity to Sant’Anselmo.

The first study residence for Benedictine and Cistercian nuns was established in the early 1980s under the title of Casa Santa Lioba, and it has survived all these years, if at times precariously. The current crisis is a chance, I think. It will be one of our most important tasks to give this study house for Benedictine women a more stable base during the coming 12 months. I harbour the hope that we may be able to motivate Pope Leo XIV to help us do for the women what Leo XIII did for the monks 140 years ago.

There is plenty of work here at Sant’Anselmo. And yet, the life of our Confederation really happens out there, in the many abbeys, priories and cells where men and women try to live according to the Rule of St Benedict, seeking God and trying to make the world a better place. This fall will take me to the meeting of the Benedictines of East Asia and Oceania in Vietnam, and to the Latin American Monastic Encounter in Brazil. I hope to meet some of you there, and will share some impressions on Facebook and Instagram for those who don’t travel as much as I do. Eventually NEXUS will also have a report on this, in mid-November, we hope.

In many parts of the world, October is a month of thanksgiving, for the harvest, and for all the good things God grants us. I still feel deep gratitude for the confidence which the abbots placed in me last year, and get to pray and work every morning with joy. I wish you all the same and greet you very fraternally from the Aventine!

Jeremias Schröder OSB
Abbot Primate