St. Benedictusberg Abbey
St. Benedictusberg Abbey (The Abbey of Mt. St. Benedict) | |
---|---|
Mamelisabdij / Abdij va Mameles (Dutch: Abdij Sint-Benedictusberg) ( Limburgish: Abdij St. Benedictusberg) | |
General information | |
Town or city | Mamelis, Vaals, Limburg |
Country | Netherlands |
Coordinates | 50°48′5″N 5°58′21″E / 50.80139°N 5.97250°E |
St. Benedictusberg Abbey, also Mamelis Abbey, is a Benedictine monastery established in 1922 in Mamelis, a hamlet which administratively falls within Vaals, Netherlands. It is a rijksmonument.
Since 1951 St. Benedictusberg has belonged to the Solesmes Congregation, which is part of the Benedictine monastic confederation.[1]
History
As part of
A number of originally German monks remained at
The outbreak of
In 1927 Dom Romuald Walters affiliated the new Abbey to the Beuronese Congregation, which was then in a particularly dynamic phase, notable both for theological research and in respect of involvement with the modernisation of Gregorian liturgy. The Beuronese were also a relatively prosperous fulcrum of monastic revival.
The return of
The monastery buildings were occupied by the American Army, later being used to house "political delinquents" and returning Dutch refugees from Indonesia. Just one monk, having Dutch citizenship, was permitted to remain within the walls of the monastery, and he prevented the total pillage and destruction of the monastic records, but most of these nevertheless disappeared.
In 1947 the diocese began negotiations with the Benedictine congregation over revival of monasticism at Mamelis, and it was agreed that the foundation should be placed within the Benedictine Solesmes Congregation. That happened in 1951, with the arrival in November of thirteen monks from Oosterhout.
Finally a monastery church was built, and consecrated in 1962. It received abbey status in 1964.
Today
Offices are sung in Latin, with prominence given to Gregorian chant.
From 1964 tot 1996, Dom Nicolaas de Wolf (1931-2015) was abbot. He was succeeded by Dom Adrianus (Ad) Lenglet. At the moment (June 2020) about 17 monks are living in the abbey. In addition, the abbey has about 60 oblates.[2]
References
- ^ "Abdij Sint Benedictusberg". Abdijwinkel van Sint Benedictus. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "Abdij Sint Benedictusberg - Nederlanden". www.osbatlas.com. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
Further reading
- Lambertus Moonen osb, ‘Abdij St.-Benedictusberg’, in: Historische en Heemkundige Studies in en rond het Geuldal, Jaargang 14 (2004), pp. 251–345.
- Lambertus Moonen osb, ‘Ora et Labora De monniken van de abdij St. Benedictusberg, 1951–2005’, in: Historische en Heemkundige Studies in en rond het Geuldal, Jaargang 15 (2005), pp. 137–304.
- Renout Robbertz, ‘St. Benedictusberg: Architectuur voor feilbare wezens’, in: Desipienta: Zin en Waan, Jaargang 13, nr. 2 (September 2006), pp. 40–43.