Father Donald Adam Tauscher, O.S.B.
Monk of Saint John's Abbey
Collegeville, Minnesota
Born: September 16, 1939
Professed: July 11, 1959
Ordained: June 5, 1965
Died: August 10, 2026
Donald Adam Tauscher was born on September 16, 1939, in Milladore, Wisconsin, the ninth of twelve children of George and Dora (Haasl) Tauscher. His father was a farmer, and his mother was a homemaker. Donald attended Saint Kilian Catholic School in Blenker, Wisconsin, and Columbus High School in Marshfield, Wisconsin, graduating in 1956.
In his novitiate autobiography, Donald reflected on his call to religious life: “My parents didn’t know the details of my aspirations to the religious life. They only knew I wanted to be a priest. Shortly after I graduated from high school, I broke the news to them. My dad asked me, ‘Aren’t you crazy to go way up to Minnesota when you can go to La Crosse?’ I told him that Saint John’s was the only thing I had in mind and that I couldn’t be much of a Benedictine in La Crosse.”
In 1956, Donald entered Saint John’s University as a priesthood student in Saint Anselm Hall entering the novitiate of Saint John’s Abbey in July of 1958, and professed vows as a Benedictine monk on July 11, 1959. He graduated with a B.A. in philosophy in 1961 and began studies in Saint John’s Seminary. Father Don was ordained to the priesthood on June 5, 1965.
Following ordination, Father Don was assigned to the Saint John’s mission in Humacao, Puerto Rico, where he was an English teacher in the Colegio San Antonio Abad (1965-1969). From 1970-1973, he was appointed associate pastor at Saint Lawrence Parish, and later, Our Lady Queen of Peace both in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Returning to Minnesota, he was appointed associate pastor of Saint Bartholomew Church, Wayzata (1973-1975). In 1975, Father Don returned to Puerto Rico as an English teacher and later, principal of the school. In 1978, he enrolled in the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. and received an M.A. degree in Educational Administration.
Returning to Saint John’s, he accepted a position at the Liturgical Press as an editor. Father Don also conducted parish missions and retreats for clergy, religious and lay groups. In 1984 he founded the Saint John’s Spiritual Life Program and directed it for twenty-three years. In January 1996, he created the Benedictine Day of Prayer in which small groups of laypeople could come and spend a day once a month for spiritual direction and reflection. In a 1998 Saint Cloud Visitor profile, Father Don commented about the program: “It’s a day to pray, not talk about prayer. I want folks to leave here after the day saying they had a chance to pray in an uninterrupted place with some encouragement. I don’t know where their prayer will take them—that’s up to them and God.”
In the late 1980s, Father Don completed two years of clinical pastoral education (CPE) in hospitals in the Twin Cities with the goal of enabling him to offer spiritual direction that integrated spiritual and emotional health.
During many years, Father Don served as a spiritual director for people in many walks of life, including lay and religious men and women, and clergy of several denominations. He also served on the formation staff of Saint John’s Diocesan Seminary (1990-94) and monastic formation (1994-99). In July 2011, he was appointed Oblate Director of the Saint John’s Oblate program which allows lay people (single or married) to affiliate with a specific monastery, living out the Rule of Saint Benedict in their daily lives. Father Don also served as adjunct Spanish associate at Saint Boniface Church in Cold Spring Minnesota (1994-2000), and as a member on guesthouse committees over the years.
Father Don was a large presence in the lives of many people that he ministered to over the years and will be remembered for his generous contributions over a variety of assignments in the Saint John’s community.
Father Donald died on Monday, August 10, in the retirement center at Saint John’s Abbey. He is survived by his sister, Doris Tauscher, Saint Anthony, MN, sister-in-law, Dianne Tauscher, Elkhorn, WI, and the community of Saint John’s Abbey. The monks, family, and friends will receive the body on Monday, August 17 at 7:00 pm, and celebrate the Mass of Christian Burial for Father Donald on Tuesday, August 18 at 3:30 pm in the Saint John’s Abbey and University Church, with interment in the Abbey Cemetery. The service will be live-streamed (https://www.youtube.com/saintjohnsabbey).