November 7, 2010

On the first Sunday in November, the month dedicated to remembrance of All Souls, the monks process to the graveyard after conventual Mass joined by the oblates and friends in the congregation. The Litany of the Saints and hymns are sung along the way. At the cemetery the graves, decorated with wreaths, are blessed with holy water and incense. The roster is read of the names of the monks buried or memorialized there.

The weather, clear but chilly, cooperated this year to make this annual ritual possible. Fr. Boniface von Nell, the Mass celebrant, performed the blessing on the markers of the thirty monks honored there, who are held in fond memory for their contribution to the life and continuity of the monastic community for its eighty-six years.