Monastery of Saint Maurice in Bakonyb\u00e9l Elevated to Conventual Priory<\/h1><\/div>The Hungarian Benedictine Congregation has elevated the Monastery of Saint Maurice in Bakonyb\u00e9l to an independent conventual priory. Father Zsolt Izs\u00e1k Ba\u00e1n OSB is its first prior.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
![](\"https:\/\/osb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Conventus_Bakonybel.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>5 Giugno 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/i><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Press Release<\/em>
\nHungarian Benedictine Congregation<\/em><\/p>\nWe are pleased to announce that, in accordance with the decision of the Chapter of the Pannonhalma Archabbey, the General Chapter of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation elevated the Monastery of St. Maurice in Bakonyb\u00e9l to the status of a conventual priory on 29 May 2026. With this decision, the Benedictine monastery in Bakonyb\u00e9l has become an independent member of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation.<\/p>\n
On 1 June 2026, the Convent of St. Maurice Monastery elected Father Dr. Zsolt Izs\u00e1k Ba\u00e1n OSB as its first conventual prior, who was installed in office by Abbot President T. Cirill Hortob\u00e1gyi OSB.<\/p>\n
King Saint Stephen I founded the Monastery of Saint Maurice in Bakonyb\u00e9l in 1018 at the request of Saint G\u00fcnter, a hermit who had come from Bavaria. The abbey, which was of national importance during the Middle Ages, was destroyed in the mid-16th century during the Ottoman occupation. Benedictine monks returned to the monastic site around 1700, but later the Enlightenment and communist persecution of the church also led to forced interruptions in the monastic presence. In 1998, thanks to the re-founding efforts of the Pannonhalma Archabbey, Benedictine monks were able to return to the ancient walls of the monastery, which had been dissolved in 1950 under state pressure. The community first operated as a cell and has since functioned as a dependent priory.<\/p>\n
Life at the Benedictine monastery in Bakonyb\u00e9l is characterized by the primacy of prayer, a liturgy performed with dignity and care, a fraternal communal life lived in the sharing of daily life and physical work (herb garden, workshops, animal husbandry). As part of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation, the Bakonyb\u00e9l community serves God\u2019s people and proclaims the Gospel by welcoming pilgrims and guests, providing spiritual guidance, holding contemplative retreats, and translating and publishing texts of the monastic tradition into Hungarian. The monastery currently has nine monks and numerous oblates. The community is committed to ecumenical openness and the protection of creation.<\/p>\n
Father Izs\u00e1k Ba\u00e1n was born in Koml\u00f3 in 1978. He completed his studies in philosophy and theology in Budapest and Rome. He took his solemn vows in 2008 and was ordained a priest in 2012. As the prior of the formerly dependent priory, he has led the monastery in Bakonyb\u00e9l since 2019.<\/p>\n
With the elevation of the priorate in Bakonyb\u00e9l to the status of an independent monastery, the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation now comprises five independent monasteries: the Pannonhalma Archabbey, the Abbey of St. Geraldo (S\u00e3o Paulo), St. Mauritius Monastery (Bakonyb\u00e9l), St. \u00c1nyos Benedictine Priory (Tihany), and St. M\u00f3r Benedictine Priory (Gy\u0151r). The Hungarian Benedictine Congregation, second in historical order and third in order of precedence worldwide, together with eighteen other congregations, forms the Benedictine Confederation, the confederative organization of the Benedictines within the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n<\/div>
The Hungarian Benedictine Congregation has elevated the Monastery of Saint Maurice in Bakonyb\u00e9l to an independent conventual priory. Father Zsolt Izs\u00e1k Ba\u00e1n OSB is its first prior.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div>5 Giugno 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Press Release<\/em> We are pleased to announce that, in accordance with the decision of the Chapter of the Pannonhalma Archabbey, the General Chapter of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation elevated the Monastery of St. Maurice in Bakonyb\u00e9l to the status of a conventual priory on 29 May 2026. With this decision, the Benedictine monastery in Bakonyb\u00e9l has become an independent member of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation.<\/p>\n On 1 June 2026, the Convent of St. Maurice Monastery elected Father Dr. Zsolt Izs\u00e1k Ba\u00e1n OSB as its first conventual prior, who was installed in office by Abbot President T. Cirill Hortob\u00e1gyi OSB.<\/p>\n King Saint Stephen I founded the Monastery of Saint Maurice in Bakonyb\u00e9l in 1018 at the request of Saint G\u00fcnter, a hermit who had come from Bavaria. The abbey, which was of national importance during the Middle Ages, was destroyed in the mid-16th century during the Ottoman occupation. Benedictine monks returned to the monastic site around 1700, but later the Enlightenment and communist persecution of the church also led to forced interruptions in the monastic presence. In 1998, thanks to the re-founding efforts of the Pannonhalma Archabbey, Benedictine monks were able to return to the ancient walls of the monastery, which had been dissolved in 1950 under state pressure. The community first operated as a cell and has since functioned as a dependent priory.<\/p>\n Life at the Benedictine monastery in Bakonyb\u00e9l is characterized by the primacy of prayer, a liturgy performed with dignity and care, a fraternal communal life lived in the sharing of daily life and physical work (herb garden, workshops, animal husbandry). As part of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation, the Bakonyb\u00e9l community serves God\u2019s people and proclaims the Gospel by welcoming pilgrims and guests, providing spiritual guidance, holding contemplative retreats, and translating and publishing texts of the monastic tradition into Hungarian. The monastery currently has nine monks and numerous oblates. The community is committed to ecumenical openness and the protection of creation.<\/p>\n Father Izs\u00e1k Ba\u00e1n was born in Koml\u00f3 in 1978. He completed his studies in philosophy and theology in Budapest and Rome. He took his solemn vows in 2008 and was ordained a priest in 2012. As the prior of the formerly dependent priory, he has led the monastery in Bakonyb\u00e9l since 2019.<\/p>\n With the elevation of the priorate in Bakonyb\u00e9l to the status of an independent monastery, the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation now comprises five independent monasteries: the Pannonhalma Archabbey, the Abbey of St. Geraldo (S\u00e3o Paulo), St. Mauritius Monastery (Bakonyb\u00e9l), St. \u00c1nyos Benedictine Priory (Tihany), and St. M\u00f3r Benedictine Priory (Gy\u0151r). The Hungarian Benedictine Congregation, second in historical order and third in order of precedence worldwide, together with eighteen other congregations, forms the Benedictine Confederation, the confederative organization of the Benedictines within the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n<\/div>
\nHungarian Benedictine Congregation<\/em><\/p>\n