Columba Cary-Elwes

Charles Evelyn George Cary-Elwes (6 November 1903 – 22 January 1994), professed a monk as Dom Columba Cary-Elwes, OSB, of Ampleforth Abbey in York, England. As a missionary he traveled to Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya and has written books on Christianity. He was the founding Prior of the Priory of Saints Louis and Mary in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Born in London in 1903, Evelyn Cary-Elwes was one of eight children of Charles and Edythe Cary-Elwes. His father and maternal grandfather, Sir John Roper Parkington, were champagne shippers, the family all speaking fluent French. He was educated by the Jesuits at Saint Michel, Brussels, between 1913 and 1914, and then at Ampleforth College, a leading English Roman Catholic school, then worked in the family wine business until in 1923 he was clothed in the Benedictine order at Ampleforth, his abbot giving him the name of Columba. In 1925 he professed his simple vows and the following year made his solemn vows. In 1927 he matriculated at Oxford to study modern languages (French and Spanish) at the university's Benedictine foundation, St Benet's Hall. After graduating in 1930, Cary-Elwes went on to study theology at Blackfriars, London, until 1933, when he was ordained a priest. He then returned to Ampleforth, where he served as Monastic Librarian, as a language teacher in the school, and as housemaster of St. Wilfrid's House (1937–51). He led services at the chapel at Helmsley for several years.

In 1951, he was appointed Prior of Ampleforth, and four years later, was selected to be the founding prior of the new foundation at Saint Louis, where he served until June 1967.

Columba left in 1968 for East Africa to conduct spiritual retreats and inquire about establishing a monastic foundation in that region. In 1968, his travels took him to Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. During 1969, he taught at a major seminary in Nairobi. In 1970, he served as French interpreter during the Pope's visit to Uganda, after which he returned to Ampleforth.

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