Great ideas sometimes arise within the monastic community, as the Abbey Benedictine Volunteer Corps did more than twenty years ago. Others come from friends who recognize new possibilities in our mission. 

Martin Pasi’s proposal to bring his organ-building business to Saint John’s connected craftsmanship, mentoring, and musical life. Donald Jackson’s vision for a handwritten, hand-illuminated Bible became The Saint John’s Bible. Both found a home in a community willing to imagine what might be possible. 

That spirit has a long history. The Abbey and its monks also played instrumental roles in founding Minnesota Public Radio, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, and the Collegeville Institute, opening new possibilities for public service, preservation, and dialogue. 

These ideas required both imagination and the financial strength to help them grow. Today, the monastery needs your help to remain a source of that creative energy. Thoughtful risk-taking requires a stable foundation. 

A gift to this fund strengthens that foundation, helping us sustain monastic life, respond to emerging needs, and pursue new, opportunities to build up the Church and renew our communities.