Wilhering – This morning, the Austrian Cistercian Congregation elected its new Abbot President: Pius Martin Maurer OCist.
The election comes at a particularly delicate moment for the Congregation. The predecessor, Maximilian Heinrich Josef Heim OCist, had previously submitted his resignation early — as Silere non possum had already reported — citing health reasons. Behind this decision, however, lie internal tensions and external pressures that have for some time affected the Abbey of Heiligenkreuz, making it necessary for Abbot Heim to step back from some of the responsibilities he had assumed in recent years. It was also decided that Abbot Reinhold Dessl of Wilhering Abbey will continue to serve as First Assistant, while Fr. Meinrad Tomann of Heiligenkreuz Abbey will remain Second Assistant.
Who is Pius Martin Maurer
Pius Martin Maurer was born on 30 April 1971 in Eggenburg, Lower Austria, into a farming family. In 1989, he entered the Cistercian Abbey of Lilienfeld as a novice, beginning a monastic journey that would shape his entire life. He studied philosophy and theology at the Heiligenkreuz University, later specializing at the Pontifical Atheneum of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, where in 2002 he obtained a Doctorate in Sacred Liturgy. He was ordained priest on 22 June 1996 in Vienna by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Over the years, he has held numerous roles within the Order: he has guided novices, taught liturgy in several theological institutes, and served as Prior of Lilienfeld Abbey from 2005 to 2019. In 2019, he was elected Abbot of the same abbey, a role for which he was reconfirmed in April 2025 for a second six-year term. Alongside his monastic commitment, Maurer has promoted several cultural and pastoral initiatives, including the restoration of the Lilienfeld Calvary, and he chairs various committees linked to the monastery. His abbatial coat of arms features a wall still under construction, symbolizing a work in continuous progress and alluding to his surname itself — Maurer meaning “mason” in German. His motto, taken from Psalm 25:2, reads: «Deus meus, in te confido» — “My God, in You I trust.”
G.M.
Silere non possum