Abbey Banner
Magazine of Saint John's Abbey
Published by the Benedictine monks of Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, Abbey Banner presents our monastic community’s mission and values as expressed through the monks’ prayer life and spirituality, work and stewardship, art and history. Edited by Brother Robin Pierzina, O.S.B., and published three times annually (spring, fall, winter), Abbey Banner is written for oblates, employees, friends, family, and benefactors of Saint John’s. The magazine is available online in PDF format for which an Adobe Acrobat Reader is required. For a printed subscription, contact:
abbeybanner@csbsju.edu or write to
Abbey Banner, Box 2015
Collegeville, Minnesota 56321
Please include your full mailing address. Subscriptions are gratis.
The Spring 2024 issue of Abbey Banner celebrates the guidance of the Holy Spirit, inspiring the monks of Saint John’s Abbey to elect Father Douglas Mullin as their eleventh abbot. Prior Eric Hollas explores the personal qualities and job description of the one who holds “the place of Christ in the monastery” (RB 2.2), and Dr. Therese Ratliff “welcomes our abbot.” Brother Aaron Raverty introduces us to the Abbey of Montecassino, the first house of the Benedictine Order, and shares the sad story of its most recent destruction as observed by a monk of Saint John’s Abbey. Mr. John Geissler identifies special wildlife encounters that he anticipates each spring in the abbey arboretum. Father Conrad Diekmann shares his reflections on the sights, sounds, and shades of this season of growth and renewal—in poetry that outlives him.