The Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation is the body into which the Benedictine Congregations and monasteries of the Catholic Church are gathered. It was established in 1893 by Pope Leo XIII with his brief Summum Semper.
Membership
The Congregations of monks are the ordinary members of the Benedictine Confederation. A few single monasteries that for particular reasons have remained outside a Congregation have been admitted as extraordinary members.
Monasteries and Institutes of Benedictine Women are associated with the Benedictine Confederation and constitute the Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB).
Abbot Primate
The Abbot Primate is the head of the Benedictine Confederation. He is elected by the Congress of Abbots.
Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder OSB
born in December 1964;
professed Erzabtei Sankt Ottilien 14 September 1985;
ordained 7 June 1992;
elected sixth archabbot of Erzabtei Sankt Ottilien 5 Oct 2000 and blessed 28 Oct 2000;
elected and confirmed abbot president of Ottilien Congregation 13 Oct 2012;
appointed administrator of Sankt Georgenberg 2021-2025;
re-elected abbot president of Ottilien Congregation 2022-2024;
elected abbot primate and abbot of Sant’Anselmo 14 September 2024
Curia Abbatis Primatis (General Secretariat)
curiaosb@anselmianum.com
Tel: +39 06 5791.267;
Fax: +39 06 5791.374
Governance
The Benedictine Confederation is governed by a Proper Law (Lex Propria, Latin version) and other regulations. Every four years a Congress of Abbots is held, bringing together all major superiors of monasteries of monks and representatives of other organizations. The Congress elects the abbot primate. Every year, the Abbots President of the 19 Congregations of men meet for a Synod where they discuss current matters affecting the Confederation.
Sant’Anselmo
The abbot primate resides at Sant’Anselmo in Rome. Sant’Anselmo hosts the Curia of the abbot primate, a Pontifical Athenaeum and the Collegio, a residential community of monks who teach, study or work in the institutions of the Confederation or elsewhere in Rome.
Sant’Anselmo Contacts
| Sant’Anselmo General Information | Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta 5 00153 Rome, Italy Tel +39 06 5791 1 Fax +39 06 5746 863 |
info@anselmianum.com |
| Curia of the Abbot Primate | curiaosb@anselmianum.com +39 06 5791 267 |
|
| Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo | www.anselmianum.com ufficiorettore@anselmianum.com +39 06 5791 1 |
more Athenaeum contacts here |
| Collegio Sant’Anselmo | www.collegiosantanselmo.com info@anselmianum.com +39 06 5791 1 |
more Collegio contacts here |
Curia Contacts
| TITLE | NAME | CONTACT |
|---|---|---|
| Abbot Primate | Rmus P. Jeremias Schröder OSB | curiaosb@anselmianum.com +39 06 5791 267 |
| Procurator General | P. Mauritius Wilde OSB | priore@anselmianum.com +39 06 5791 252 |
| Secretary to the Abbot Primate | Sig. Walter del Gaiso | curiaosb@anselmianum.com +39 06 5791 319 |
| Treasurer | P. Geraldo Gonzalez y Lima OSB | tesoriere@anselmianum.com +39 06 5791 336 |
| Archivist | P. Edmund Power OSB | +39 06 5791 266 |
International Organizations
The Benedictine Confederation maintains international monastic organisations to foster certain goals. These organisations also involve the Cistercian Order and the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, whose way of life is also based on the Rule of St Benedict.
The Alliance for International Monasticism (AIM) promotes the human, cultural, and religious development of monasteries throughout the world, and of their surrounding populations. It facilitates reflection amongst communities living under the Rule of St. Benedict.
Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique / Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID) promotes and supports dialogue between Christian monastic men and women and followers of other religions, especially dialogue at the level of religious experience and practice.
The International Commission on Benedictine Education (ICBE) promotes schools in the Benedictine tradition around the world.
Regional Cooperation
In order to foster cooperation on a regional level, monastic communities have formed numerous associations, differing widely in scope and institutional depth.
ABECCA – Asociacion Benedictino-Cisterciense del Caribe y de los Andes
BEAOA – Benedictines of East Asia, Oceania and Australia
BECAN – Benedictine and Cistercian Association of Nigeria
BECOSA – Benedictine Communities of South Africa
BUANZ – The Benedictine Union of Australia and New Zealand
BUT – Benedictine Union of Tanzania
CIMBRA – Conferencia de Intercambio Monastico do Brasil (Brasil – Benedictine and Cistercian men and women)
CMF – Conférence Monastique de France
ISBF – Indian and Sri Lankan Benedictine Federation
SÄK – Salzburger Äbtekonferenz (Germany, Switzerland, Austria – Benedictine men)
SURCO – Conferencia de Comunidades Monasticas del Cono Sur (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay – Benedictine and Cistercian men and women)
VBD – Vereinigung Benediktinischer Frauenklöster im deutschen Sprachgebiet. (Germany, Switzerland, Austria – Benedictine women)