The Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien has elected a new Abbot President: Spanish monk Javier Aparicio Suárez OSB.
The election took place on Saturday, January 18, 2025, during the 23rd General Chapter currently underway in Waegwan, South Korea. The Chapter is being presided over by the Most Reverend Dom Michael Reepen, Abbot of Münsterschwarzach in Germany and interim President of the Congregation.
Dom Suárez succeeds Dom Jeremias Schröder, who was elected Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation last September.
Dom Javier Aparicio Suárez received the abbatial blessing on Sunday, January 19, 2025, at 4 p.m., during a Eucharistic celebration presided over by His Excellency Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-jong, Archbishop Emeritus of Gwangju.
Who is the new Abbot?
Dom Javier Aparicio Suárez was born in 1969. He was co-founder and superior for 11 years of the Monastery of San Salvador de Monte Irago in Rabanal del Camino, located along the Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago).
Since 2004, he has lived at St. Ottilien Archabbey in Germany. Until now, he has served as Procurator General of the St. Ottilien Congregation, a role that involves coordinating global projects and overseeing financial affairs. After his election on Saturday, Suárez declared his desire “to love and serve all people in Christ.”
What is the Congregation of St. Ottilien?
The Congregation of St. Ottilien, part of the Order of Saint Benedict, was founded by Andreas Amrhein (1844–1927), a monk of Beuron, with the aim of restoring the missionary work once carried out by the Benedictines during the Middle Ages. The first constitutions of the Congregation were approved by the Bishop of Augsburg in 1887.
From its founding, the Congregation was led by the Archabbot of St. Ottilien, who acted as General Superior. Since 2012, however, the Congregation elects an Abbot President.
Currently, it comprises 21 independent monasteries and 1,029 missionary monks worldwide, with a special focus on Africa. Its missionary service is centered on pastoral ministry and evangelization, education, healthcare, and the fight against poverty.
