Benedictine abbots gather to elect Abbot Primate
September 13, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: Some 215 abbots, priors, and other superiors of Benedictine monasteries have gathered at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant’Anselmo in Rome to elect the 11th abbot primate of the Order of St. Benedict.
Pope Leo XIII created the office of Abbot Primate in 1893 to help bring unity to the various Benedictine congregations. The Abbot Primate, however, has little authority compared to the superiors-general of most religious institutes.
Since 2016, Abbot Gregory Polan of Conception Abbey (Missouri) has served as Abbot Primate. The abbey is responsible for the Abbey Psalms and Canticles, which will be incorporated into the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours and will offer a more accurate translation than the Grail Psalter, used in the Liturgy of the Hours since the 1970s.
Previous Abbot Primates include the future Cardinal Benno Gut, who became prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship; the future Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who become infamous for his $450,000 settlement with an erstwhile male lover and his negligence in addressing sexual abuse; and Abbot Notker Wolf, known for his books and his playing of the electric guitar.
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