Brother Aelred Michael Woodard, O.S.B., passed peacefully into the loving embrace of God on the morning of Monday, October 20, 2025, in the fifty-first year of his monastic profession, following a period of ill health. Born in New York City in 1944, Brother Aelred’s life was shaped from the beginning by a profound love of music. As a boy, he sang with the renowned Paulist Boys’ Choir, and before entering the Abbey, he was a district winner of New York’s Metropolitan Opera auditions in Seattle. His angelic voice often graced the Abbey Church, where for many years he sang the moving In paradisum from Fauré’s Requiem at the close of funeral Masses, ushering souls heavenward with reverence and grace.
After completing his studies in theology and philosophy in Baltimore, Hartford, and Ottawa, Brother Aelred was drafted into the United States Army in 1968. His extraordinary singing voice earned him the affectionate nickname “the Colonel’s Thrush,” and he was awarded First Prize several times as a Classical Vocal Soloist. Following his military service, he answered the divine call to monastic life and entered Saint Martin’s Abbey. As a postulant and later a monk, he became a beloved teacher, sharing his passion for music and faith with students at Saint Martin’s College and the Abbey school. He earned his M.A. in theology with honors from Saint John’s University in Collegeville and went on to teach religion with the same devotion he brought to his music.
Throughout his monastic life, Brother Aelred served faithfully as choirmaster, organist, and teacher. He founded an annual sacred music concert before Midnight Mass, enriching the Abbey’s worship through beauty and song. His voice carried across continents during the Benedictine sesquimillennial tour of Europe in 1980, where he sang alongside fellow monastics from around the world. Known for his warmth, intellect, and gentle humor, Brother Aelred was both gregarious and contemplative, cherishing friendship and solitude alike. A man of deep prayer and wisdom, he spent his final months in quiet communion with God, embodying the peace and faith he had shared so abundantly throughout his life. May his soul rest in the eternal harmony of the Lord he so faithfully served.