Page 67 - Priorities #74

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1. The monastic bulletin board filled with thank you notes and artwork from on campus children.
2. Class of 2020 students rang the newly restored monastery.
3. Myles Somerville and his sons Mickey and Westy pickup pizzas during the “Benedictine Take-Out”.
4. Father Maurus preps one of the many pizzas that were made for on campus families.
5. Hungarian representatives kindled a fire as part of the 100 year anniversary of the peace treaty.
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planning for later this month. We are grateful to others on campus who continue to assist us in the Take- Out project, and who have also offered a weekend meal for all to enjoy. We are also deeply appreciative of the beautiful and creative art works of gratitude that we have received from the on campus children. Myles Somerville, assisted by Sean Sullivan, has been helping out with the food distribution and has offered his own version of the Benedictine takeout. In his invitations, he always comes up with some clever word plays to describe his menu, e.g., “Benedict-In and Out burgers”, or “Benedicti-Talian Sausage”. This, of course, is totally understandable as he is a graduate of the Benedictine Prep School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Thank you, Myles and Sean.
Our seniors received a surprise innovation from the monks on the day each came to pick up caps and gowns, of course with staggered arrival times, faces masked and hands doused with Purell. For decades there has been a large bell in front of the monastery building. Originally a railroad locomotive bell, it replaced the even larger church bell that is now in the chapel tower. The cradle which held this smaller bell had deteriorated and the whole setting was in disrepair. Fr. Martin decided to refinish the bell’s surface and repair the broken parts of the cradle. Assisted by our expert physical plant crew, the bell and its surroundings were beautifully renovated and the bell was dedicated to the Class of 2020. Each senior
actually rang the bell before picking up the cap and gown. They loved it!
The bell was also put to good use on June 4th, the 100 year anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty post World War I. This signing took place at Versailles in France in the palace called Trianon. It was significant for Priory’s Hungarian heritage, as it ordered the dismemberment of the Kingdom of Hungary, as war retribution for having sided with Germany. The treaty ceded 2/3 of Hungary’s territory and 1/3 of its population to neighboring nations, the largest portion, larger than the current landmass of Hungary was given to Romania and is known as Transylvania where nearly 2 million ethnic Hungarians still live. In terms of Priory history, it is interesting that three of our Hungarian monks came from territory ceded to Slovakia, Hungary’s neighbor to the North. All over the world, diaspora Hungarian communities gathered at 11:20 to plant a commemorative tree, to kindle a fire symbolizing solidarity, and to ring a bell in remembrance of a sad day in the annals of Hungarian history. Covid-19 obviously put great limitations on our ceremonial gathering, but 18 representatives of the Hungarian Scouts, the Protestant Church and our Catholic Hungarian Church safely gathered and joined the rest of the Hungarian world, with a new tree, a new fire and a re-newed bell, symbols of solidarity and hope.
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MONASTERY NEWS