The Gospel as a way of life

On Saturday 14 September, the Congress of Benedictine Abbots, gathered in the primatial Abbey of Sant’Anselmo, elected 60-year old German monk, Jeremias Schröder, as new Abbot Primate of the Confederation. The new Primate, former Abbot Primate of Saint Ottilien in Bavaria, spoke to L’Osservatore Romano about his election. A challenging journey of re-evaluation of the monastic option in a profoundly changed world is beginning. Monasticism has had a decisive function in history, ensuring permanence in continuity, at the same time welcoming the new, as occurred in the transition from the Roman era to the Middle Ages. Do you think this is still possible today? First of all, we have to remember that the Benedictine Order is not very centralized. Each monastery and congregation is fundamentally autonomous. Thus, my role is essentially ...