Photo : Courtesy Weston Priory<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Brother John Robert Hammond was born in 1924 in Burlington, Vermont, and ordained a priest in 1950. His path changed in 1953 when he met Abbot Leo von Rudloff, who had come to Vermont to establish a Benedictine monastery. Inspired by Abbot Leo\u2019s message, Father Robert later joined the monastic community at Weston Priory, taking the name Brother John and professing his monastic vows in 1958. To support the growing community, he studied psychology in Ottawa and eventually became the fourth Prior of Weston Priory.<\/p>\n
Brother John led with humility, insisting on remaining \u201ca brother among brothers.\u201d Though Abbot Leo had initiated the founding of the Priory, he credited Brother John as its true founder. Brother John guided the community through its early challenges and shaped its spirit of mutual brotherhood. When Abbot Leo retired in 1968 and became Brother Leo, the two shared in nurturing the community\u2019s identity rooted in prayer, simplicity, and shared life.<\/p>\n
After stepping down as Prior in 1997, Brother John continued to be a spiritual presence. Even as his hearing and memory declined, he remained deeply committed to communal life, attending daily prayers and gatherings. He passed away peacefully among his brothers on March 19, 2025. Perhaps it is fitting to end with how he finished the obituary for the founding abbot and brother Leo, \u201cHe is now among the truly living in the hands of the one God. Let us join him in prayer and praise.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>