Digos Conventual Priory
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Other names | St Benedict's Conventual Priory |
| Order | Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien, Order of Saint Benedict |
| Established | June 11, 1983 |
| Dedicated to | St Benedict |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of Digos |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Abbot Emeritus Odo Haas, OSB |
| Prior | Edgar Friedman |
| Site | |
| Location | Digos, Davao del Sur, Philippines |
St Benedict's Conventual Priory, Digos, Davao del Sur, Philippines, is a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien. Established in 1983 at the request of Bishop Generoso Camiña of the Diocese of Digos, the monastery is currently home to 21 monks. Conventual Priory Fr Edgar Friedmann is the community's superior.
In 1981, Bishop Generoso Camiña of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Digos asked Archabbot Notker Wolf to establish a monastery of Missionary Benedictines on the island of Mindanao. Archabbot Wolf visited Digos in the autumn of that year, and then submitted a report to the Council of the Congregation. The Council decided that a foundation should be made, to be under the authority of the Council itself rather than a particular monastery of the Congregation.
However, the Council's decision did not meet with unanimous approval among Missionary Benedictine monks. Some monks voiced concern over the declining numbers of monks in European monasteries, questioning whether a foundation in the Philippines, not an area traditionally served by the Missionary Benedictines, was prudent. Additionally, Mindanao's tumultuous political situation provided further reason for concern.
Despite these questions, the planned foundation proceeded. In autumn 1982, Odo Haas, Abbot Emeritus of St Maurus and St Placidus Abbey, Waegwan, and two other Missionary Benedictine monks arrived in Digos. This initial team was soon joined by two Korean monks. Such a combination presented the first occasion in which monks from a European "mother abbey" and monks from a mother abbey's foundation worked together to establish a new monastic community.
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