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New Retreat Center Example of Anglican-Roman Catholic Cooperation

Episcopal News Service. October 17, 1989 [89191]

COLLEGEVILLE, Minnesota, Oct. 23 -- Minnesota Episcopalians have begun building a retreat center on the grounds of St. John's Benedictine Abbey here in what is being hailed as one of the most notable examples of Anglican-Roman Catholic collaboration since King Henry VIII of England broke ties with the papacy in 1533.

Ground for the center, to be called the House of Prayer, was broken on September 16. It consists of five acres leased by the monastery for 75 years at no cost to the Episcopalians. The site overlooks a lake and is near the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, which has pioneered in several ecumenical projects.

Minnesota Episcopal Bishop Robert M. Anderson, who presided at the ceremony, said, "The offer of land by the Benedictine community is a providential invitation that Episcopalians now respond to and build on." He had said earlier, "It's an exciting thing to be invited onto the grounds of a famous abbey, and I think it is a sign of hope and friendship between Christians who are on the same journey of hope."

Dr. R. William Franklin, an Episcopal layman who teaches at Bendictine-operated St. John's University here and is chair of the board of the House of Prayer, predicted that the presence of the House of Prayer at the abbey will help strengthen the bonds between the Episcopal and Roman Catholic communions.

Dr. Franklin recalled that the roots of Anglicanism are in the Benedictine order, which nurtured it. Canterbury Cathedral, the mother church of the Anglican Communion, was a Benedictine church, he pointed out, and Benedictines exerted "a very pronounced influence" on English Christianity for a thousand years.

By placing their prayer center on the St. John's grounds, Dr. Franklin said, Episcopalians are saying they want to share their spiritual lives with the Benedictine monks of St. John's Abbey and the Benedictine sisters of the nearby St. Benedict's Convent and their colleges here and in neighboring St. Joseph.

Both Abbot Jerome Theisen of the abbey and Sister Mary Reuter, prioress of the convent, responded to the day's events on behalf of their institutions.

"We want to share St. Benedict's purifying and relentless norm of authentic monastic life, that through and in the community each person seeks God," the abbot said.

About 40 monks and about 10 sisters, including the presidents of St. John's University and of the College of St. Benedict, were among the 300 persons who attended the ceremonies, which, besides a liturgy of the Word, included a procession to the site of the new center and an agape meal served by central Minnesota Episcopal parishes.

In addition to those given by Bishop Anderson and Dr. Franklin, parts of the homily were given by John Cunningham, architect for the center; Ollie Rose Olsen, program chair for the House of Prayer; and the Rev. George Richmond, a member of the center's board.

The first project involves construction of a guest house to accommodate 15 people and an eating, living, and dining area for 45 to 50. Later phases will add a chapel and more sleeping units.

The first phase will cost about $850,000 for the structure and an operating endowment, Dr. Franklin said. About $550,000 has been raised so far from among the 40,000 Episcopalians in the Diocese of Minnesota.

Bishop Anderson said the idea for the center dates from a conversation he had with Abbot Theisen in 1978. Friendship between Roman Catholics of the abbey and Minnesota Episcopalians has grown steadily, he said, and in the past half-dozen years hundreds of Episcopal clergy and laity have visited St. John's and St. Benedict's for retreats and seminars.

"The center is at the heart of my dream for this diocese," Bishop Anderson said. "It tops my list of needs and will provide a gathering place and spiritual home for every Episcopalian in Minnesota, a focal point for spiritual renewal."

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