Mount Angel, Oregon

Mount Angel Abbey church with the bell-tower

Continuing from my Journals, I go back today to 2003.......

Priests Retreat – a week after Easter, it is the custom for all the priests to gather for their annual retreat. It is a good opportunity for camaraderie among us, also to get to know each other a little better. There is another opportunity which the Baker Diocese has for priests to get together, besides of course the Chrism Mass, and that is the annual Clergy Assembly, which is held during the second week of October, a week of learning, updates, and refreshing our minds and hearts on various topics relating to our pastoral work, preaching and life in general. This was my first Retreat, which is held every year at Mount Angel Seminary, which is closer to Portland, near Salem on the west side of Oregon, situated in the Portland Diocese, the other diocese in the state, much bigger in population, but much smaller in size. I can say that our Baker Diocese has two-thirds of the state of Oregon, while the Portland diocese has the other third.  But the bulk of the population is on the west side, with the big cities of Portland, Salem, Eugene, and further south, Medford and Grants Pass. Mount Angel Abbey is run by Benedictine monks, and serves also as the Diocese of Washington State, Idaho, Alaska, Arizona, the Dakotas, Hawaii, the Samoan Islands, and the island of Guam, which is a US territory. At that time, in 2003, they had 80 monks at the Abbey, a minor Seminary of around 16 students, and a College or Seminary of about 80 students. Mount Angel accepts also a variety of religious order priests, and I saw a handful of Carmelites as well as Dominicans, other than the Diocesan, which make up the majority. Mount Angel Abbey is a community of Benedictine monks established in 1882 from the Abbey of Engelberg in Switzerland. The abbey, located on the top of Mount Angel, a 485-foot high butte, has its own post office separate from the city of Mt. Angel's, Saint Benedict. The Seminary's main church has a tower that contains the largest free-swinging bells on the west coast.

I was highly impressed by the Library, which was designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto between 1967 and 1970. And while visiting this immense library I was just as impressed by the amazing display of religious magazines and Catholic newspapers from around the world, besides of course thousands of books on everything from Scripture, Theology, Liturgy and everything related to Catholicism and spirituality. Since the Abbey is situated on a hill, one can get a good clear glimpse of the surrounding areas, including a perfect view of Mount Hood. It is said that that is the only place in the whole USA where you can get snow-skiing all year round. The sun rose exactly at the foothills of Mount Hood, and seeing the trees and fields underneath us throwing all kinds of shadows and reflections was quite awesome, especially with the low clouds stuffing themselves in the valleys, which made me seem like I was above the clouds, which I actually was. There are all kinds of statues around the lush property, with a very ornate Abbey chapel, and another chapel underneath where the students usually meet, and which is called the crypt. The monks normally meet at the main church, and we were invited to join them on a Wednesday afternoon for vespers. Then we were invited into their refectory, where they prepared for us drinks and cocktails, as well as a sumptuous meal, complete with Filet Mignon and Salmon, and veggies, other than an endless selection of pies and cakes. I asked one of the novices if this is the way they eat daily, and he kept shaking his head for two minutes, emphasizing “No, No, definitely No.” But they eat pretty good, no doubt about it. They had two Swiss chefs who were hired after they got tired of cooking in Restaurants, and wanted a change in their clientele. It was like eating in a first class Hotel, and it was a fitting tribute the Abbott gave to the priests of the Baker Diocese, including our two Bishops, Bishop Vasa and Bishop Thomas Connolly the bishop Emeritus of the Baker Diocese, who still joined us in most communal events and functions. As usual, wherever I go, I always find someone pressingly and enthusiastically interested in Malta, and I ended up with the Liturgy and Sacred Art Professor all evening, answering all kinds of questions about the history of Malta. I had no doubt that by the evening he was begging the Abbot to let him visit Malta. Since he also happens to be the Sub-Prior, third in command, he may have an advantage over the other monks.