Conception’s Polan to lead world’s Benedictines

Abbot Primate Gregory Polan

ROME, Italy — Father Gregory Polan, 66, most recently abbot of Conception Abbey, a Benedictine institution located in Conception in eastern Nodaway County and home to Conception Seminary College, has been elected abbot primate of the Order of St. Benedict.

Gregory was chosen to lead the 1,500-year-old religious order over the weekend during the Congress of Abbots in Rome, which takes place every four years. He succeeds Abbot Notker Wolf, who had held the post since 2000.

As leader of the Benedictine Confederation, Abbot Gregory will be the “unifying head” of the world’s 7,000 Benedictine monks and become the abbot of the monastery Sant’ Anselmo in Rome, where he will reside.

The office of abbot primate was created by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 to serve the Benedictine community as a liaison to the Vatican and civil authorities. The primate is also charged with promoting unity among the various autonomous Benedictine monasteries and congregations and representing the order at religious gatherings worldwide.

In his new capacity, Polan will essentially act as a roving ambassador for the non-centralized order, writing and speaking out on issues affecting both Benedictines and the Catholic church as a whole.

He is the 10th Benedictine priest to hold the position, the fourth American, and the second abbot from Conception Abbey following Abbot Marcel Rooney’s election as abbot primate in 1996.

The other two American priests elevated to the position were Dom Rembert Weakland, now the retired archbishop of Milwaukee, and the late Abbot Jerome Theisen.

Polan has led Conception Abbey as its ninth abbot for nearly 20 years, having held the post of president-rector of Conception Seminary College for a decade before that.

The college is a four-year undergraduate liberal arts institution that educates men discerning a call to the priesthood.

An academic whose special areas of study include scripture and theology, Polan’s recent scholarly work has included translations for the New American Bible and a complete translation of the Psalms, which has resulted in a new Revised Grail Psalter that will be used in the English-language liturgy.

“Abbot Gregory brings many years of leadership experience and spiritual wisdom to the role of abbot primate,” said Father Daniel Petsche, prior of Conception Abbey. “We are happy that his gifts, which he has given so freely at Conception Abbey for many years, will now be shared with the entire order and church. I believe his gifts will reach fulfillment in this new role.”

A native of Berwyn, Illinois, Polan entered the novitiate at Conception Abbey in 1970. He professed vows as a monk on Aug. 28, 1971, and was elected abbot on Nov. 6, 1996.

According to the Proper Law governing the Confederation of Congregations of Monasteries of the Order of Saint Benedict, the ministry of the abbot primate is to “to represent the confederation and to do all he can to foster co-operation between the confederated monasteries.”

While the primate has no direct authority over the vast number of Benedictine houses, there are a number of monasteries for which Polan is now responsible. Also, as Benedictine leader, he serves as the order’s primary liaison with the Holy See. In addition, he becomes head of Benedictine University in Rome.

The Order of St. Benedict is named for Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-543 or 547), a Christian saint who founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco before moving to Monte Cassino in southern Italy.

Benedict’s main achievement is considered authorship of the “Rule of Saint Benedict,” which contains precepts for monks and nuns living under the rule of an abbot or abbess.

The rule is epitomized by the Latin phrase “ora et labora,” translated as “pray and work.”