Jeremias Schröder, the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, visited Ealing Abbey for the Feast of St Benedict. The Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation is the most senior Benedictine monk in the world. He acts as representative of Benedictine monasticism to the Vatican. The Abbot Primate is elected by the Congress of Abbots, comprising all the abbots of Benedictine monasteries.
St Benedict, Patron of Europe
After arriving on Friday, the Abbot Primate celebrated our Conventual Mass on Saturday 11th July, the Feast of St Benedict, Patron of Europe. This feast, instituted by Pope Paul VI in 1964, recognises the importance of the Benedictine monasteries for preserving European culture during the Dark Ages that followed the collapse of the western Roman Empire. Monasteries helped preserve the Christian faith as well as art and literature during this time. They were also the main centres of education.
The Bede Lecture: The Norman Conquest, Reform, and Bones of Contention
Following lunch, Abbot Jeremias gave the annual Bede Lecture in the Newman Chapel. This lecture is organised by the Benedictine Institute and covers topics loosely related to liturgy. Abbot Jeremias’ lecture was entitled ‘The Norman Conquest, Reform, and Bones of Contention.’ Abbot Dominic opened the lecture by introducing the Abbot Primate.
In the lecture, Abbot Jeremias spoke of how the Norman Conquest transformed the country, including the Church. One of the most significant upheavals was the replacement of nearly all bishops and abbots by French ones. Even churches were replaced; before the conquest, most churches were wooden, now they were built in stone.
Traditionally, one of the principal ‘bad boys’ of the changes was Lanfranc, the new Archbishop of Canterbury. He changed many customs, abolished the feasts of many Anglo-Saxon saints, and changed the chants used in the monasteries during the Divine Office. Although the Normans thought this was reform and renewal, for the people it led to dispossession and trauma. Many French-speaking monks and bishops were brought in, who could not communicate with the English-speaking laity. This, unsurprisingly, led to resentment.
However, Abbot Jeremias suggested that this has been exaggerated. Whereas the classical narrative suggests that Anselm, who succeeded Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury, led the absorption of Norman culture into English life, it now seems that the process had always been one of adaptation rather than replacement. Since the English and Norman monks and clergy had to live together, they had to learn to accept each other. This led to a process of negotiation. Even minor changes can seem significant to those affected, so it was important to get agreement.
The Benedictine Jubilee
At the end of his talk, Abbot Jeremias reminded everyone that 2029 is the 1500th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey of Monte Cassino. St Benedict founded Monte Cassino and wrote his rule there.
There are many activities planned for the Jubilee Year. One of them is the Benedictine Pilgrimage, an opportunity to visit Benedictine monasteries. This is a very open pilgrimage, having no set route; rather, people can try to visit whichever monasteries they wish. There is a list of all Benedictine monasteries in the world here.
To help with the pilgrimage, there is a Pilgrim’s Passport. This has space for 42 monastery stamps, so there should be enough spaces for most people. The audience at the Bede Lecture were the first to receive this, and so many people now have Ealing Abbey as the first stamp in their Pilgrim’s Passport.
Naturally, the very first person to receive his passport stamp was the Abbot Primate, thus ensuring the pilgrimage had the seal of approval from the highest Benedictine authority. Father Prior, who was on hand to stamp passports, placed the first stamp onto Abbot Jeremias’ Pilgrim’s Passport.
Following the lecture, we had tea, biscuits, and chat in the Benedictine Institute.
This was an opportunity for people to meet old friends and make new ones, and to discuss matters relating to the lecture, the Jubilee year, or other Benedictine matters (and the World Cup).