COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (OSV News) — Benedictine Abbot Douglas Mullin was blessed as the 11th abbot of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville by Bishop Patrick M. Neary of St. Cloud during a special Mass in the Abbey Church Jan. 28.
Bishop Neary conferred the blessing, recognizing the relationship between the monastery and the Diocese of St. Cloud.
After saying a prayer over Abbot Douglas, Bishop Neary presented him with the Rule of Benedict, a ring, miter and pastoral staff — symbols of fidelity to Benedictine tradition and pastoral care of the community.
“Today Bishop Neary along with everyone else here and all those present in spirit watching the livestream of this celebration have blessed me in the name of Christ and his Church,” Abbot Douglas said. “I’m deeply grateful and touched by your kindness, generosity and trust in my ability to follow and lead in the way of Christ.”
The ‘voice of God’
Abbot Douglas succeeds Abbot John Klassen, who served the community in that capacity for more than 23 years.
After months of discernment, the members of the monastic community gathered Jan. 8 to begin the process of electing a successor for Abbot John. Abbot Douglas was elected on the first vote Jan. 9.
“I believe that the election and the calling forth was truly the voice of God speaking through the community, asking if I would accept God’s will by taking up this new cross to follow Christ in the way which God was now calling me,” Abbot Douglas said. “I accepted that call, was confirmed and became abbot that very moment.”
According to the abbey website, it is the abbot’s responsibility to preside at all formal functions and liturgies of the monastery, take counsel from his senior monks when making major decisions, preside at all meetings when the monastic community assembles and serve as the spiritual father of the community.
Abbot Douglas, who made his solemn profession as a monk of St. John’s Abbey in 1992 and was ordained a priest in 2007, most recently served as a chaplain at the St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
He has a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education, master of arts in religious education and school administration, master of divinity and doctorate in educational leadership.
Abbot Douglas has taught and served as a principal at the elementary and high school levels. He also served as chair of the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University education department and served as the university’s vice president of student development. St. Benedicti is a women’s college in nearby St. Joseph and is the sister school to St. John’s University, whose campus includes the abbey.
A historic moment
In January, as soon as the new abbot was elected, the bells of the abbey church rang, signaling everyone on campus to make their way there, even the students at St. John’s Preparatory School were included.
“It was so hectic, there was a flood of people in the hallways,” Isaac Miller, a 10th-grader at Prep, told The Central Minnesota Catholic, St. Cloud’s diocesan magazine. “It’s such a historic moment.”
Once everyone was gathered, Abbot Douglas received a blessing from Benedictine Father Jonathan Licari, abbot president of the American Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine Monasteries. He was then able to speak to the assembly.
“I want to offer my sincere gratitude to everyone here and around the world, who have surrounded our monastic community with prayers for the Holy Spirit to be with us to lead us to call forth one to serve as your abbot,” Abbot Douglas said in his address during the thanksgiving service announcing his election.
“I’m deeply humbled and grateful that among all the bright, talented and faith-filled members of our community, my brother monks have chosen to call me to serve as your abbot.”
“I also need to acknowledge my feelings of grief and loss as I face saying good-bye to the amazing heroes that I’ve been serving and working with at the St. Cloud VA who’ve made their home in my heart,” Abbot Douglas said in his address.
Immediately after the service, Abbot Douglas took time to visit the abbey retirement center to meet with his brother monks that were not able to participate in the voting process in person.
“It’s been emotional for me to see his appointment,” said Tonya Miller Hougen, executive assistant to the president at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. “I was his assistant when he worked as the vice president for student development. I’m very happy for him.”
Dianne Towalski is social media manager at The Central Minnesota Catholic, magazine of the Diocese of St. Cloud.
