Dev Thakur sent me a link to this story:
ST. MEINRAD, Indiana (AP) — Monks in a monastery here may have a harder time with their vows of poverty now that they’ve got $26 million in spending money.
Two women rewarded the hospitality of the Benedictine monks at the St. Meinrad Archabbey by leaving them $13 million each in their wills, according to Archabbot Lambert Reilly.
“We would consider it an extreme blessing from God,” Reilly said. “We would also see it as somehow proof that we do exercise what’s supposed to typify us, and that is hospitality.”
Both women — Bernice Davey, 90, and Virginia Basso, 91 — had spoken of contributing to the monastery northeast of Evansville. “For them, it was home,” Reilly said.
[Full Story]
Cool story, but what I thought was strange is the graphic CNN decided to show with this story.
St. Meinrad’s also has a business selling the same caskets and urns that are used by the monks. abbeycaskets.com provides some beautiful handcrafted items that seem to be very reasonable in pricing.
Update: A commenter points me to trappistcaskets.com. They also have some beautiful and some simpler and even more affordable caskets. Either way a Trappist or Benedictine is an excellent way to keep a vow of silence.
12 comments
Are you really surprised CNN would choose such a graphic?
Jeff:
My father used to attend retreats reglarly at St. Meinrad’s during the 50’s and 60’s. The order used to take a vow of silence, and when you attended a retreat, they encouraged the participants to participate in this vow for at least one day of the retreat. He spoke highly of the abbey. Good to see some money flowing that way.
Too fancy for me!
I prefer a trappist casket! —
http://www.trappistcaskets.com
They have a beautiful reflection on death and dying, and links to a trappist funeral here:
http://trappistcaskets.com/dying/simplicity.html
I’ve visited St. Meinrad’s, and it is a beautiful out-of-the-way place in rural Indiana; it’s a seminary and monastery, and they hold numerous retreats there. I’ve heard only good things about the place.
The most beautiful place at St. Meinrad’s, IMHO, is a little Marian chapel tucked inside a copse of trees on the verge of the monastery vinyard. To get there, as I recall, we had to climb a very steep dirt road. The chapel was neglected, but it was like finding a hidden city, spangled with holy decoration and golden sunlight flowing through the leaves. I will never forget it. I hope none of the money is used to “renovate” that chapel.
PS, I found what I’m looking for — the Trappist Casket in plain pine for $695.00. I was hoping for a sort of sanctified Hefty bag, but the plain pine will do and will also avoid scandalizing the relatives. Though I don’t need it for the foreseeable future, it’s a good and pious thing to plan for one’s death. Thanks!
selling caskets? i bet business is dead.
I’m a seminarian for the Diocese of Memphis, studying at St. Meinrad School of Theology. I can testify that this is a good place. The seminarians here are typical of this generation of seminarians everywhere. We are loyal to the Pope, we don’t support women’s ordination, we love the Eucharist, and we hate abortion with a perfect hate.
Most of the money was tagged for specific purposes, so I’m afraid the 9 holes of golf that some of the seminarians were hoping for is still a fantasy. The monks here are still going to live poverty, and the seminarians will still live simplicity.
I was born in St Meinrad nearly 62 yrs ago but my life there was shortened by the death of my father, Hugo Sohmer when I was 9 months old.
I have lived in Wisconsin for nearly all my life but I visit his place of rest on the hill across the highway from the Archabbey at least once a year and I can see the beautiful abbey from there and it feels so special as my dad loved the abbey and attended mass there without fail every week.
Last week when I visited there, I stopped in to see Frances Borho who will be 89 in October and she lives next to the cemetery. It was her husband who carried my father’s lifeless body out of the mine that fateful day in 1943. I was merely a child when I saw her last and she told me so many good heart warming stories and she told me about the statue of Mary which she is home to, and how it is used in the pilgrimage at Monte Casino in May and October. She is so much a part of the serenity I feel when visiting the abbey and the community. Thanks be to God for making me a part of this beautiful and inspirational corner of the world.
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