History
In 1877, the Abbot of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, Martin Marty, negotiated with an agent of the LR&FS (Little Rock and Fort Smith) Railroad Company for 640 acres (2.6 km2) in Arkansas for the establishment of a Benedictine monastery for men and an additional 100 acres (0.40 km2) for the foundation of a monastery for Benedictine women. This agreement received the support of Bishop Edward Fitzgerald of Little Rock, Arkansas, who was in need of German-speaking priests for his diocese.
The original foundation of the abbey was made on March 15, 1878, upon the arrival of three monk-missionaries from St. Meinrad Archabbey. Due to financial and personnel difficulties, St. Meinrad Archabbey requested assistance. In the fall of 1887, the Einsiedeln Abbey, Switzerland sent eight novices and a priest-monk to Subiaco. Two of these were Brother Gall D'Aujourd'hui and Father Wolfgang Schlumpf.
In 1891, the name of the abbey was changed from St. Benedict's Priory to Subiaco. The third Abbot of Subiaco, Paul Nahlen, obtained Pope Pius XII's blessing for the construction of the present church on the campus. This act is depicted in one of the 182 stained-glass frescoes in St. Benedict Abbey Church on the campus.
Over the years, the Benedictine monks at Subiaco have pursued various spiritual, agricultural, and commercial endeavors. First were missionary works, then the establishment of Subiaco Academy, a university-preparatory school.
The abbey maintained a dairy operation, but that effort was abandoned in 1964 with an open auction of the dairy cattle.
Read more about this topic: Subiaco Abbey And Academy
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