German Trappists who went Old Rite close monastery for lack of novices

Once new applicants were actually confronted with the stricter rule, most of the aspiring monks left Mariawald Abbey

(Photo by Fr James Bradley)

Germany's only Trappist monastery — which attempted to revert to the grueling, pre-Vatican II monastic schedule and worshipped exclusively in the Tridentine Rite — is to be closed by the end of the year.

The Vatican congregation that deals with religious orders said Mariawald Abbey, located in Westphalia near the today's border with Belgium, had dwindled to just ten monks. With an average age of 84, the congregation said the monks could no longer look after themselves.

Mariawald was founded in the 15th century and, like other Benedictine orders of strict observance, had adapted to the monastic reforms implemented in the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

But things began to change in 2007 when Dom Josef Vollberg was elected abbot for life. He was 44 years old at the time and had been ordained to the priesthood just a year earlier.

In 2008 he wrote Pope Benedict XVI with a request that Mariawald be allowed to celebrate the liturgy solely in the Tridentine Rite and return to the Latin liturgical books that all Cistercians had used until after Vatican II.

The request was granted and Abbot Vollberg predicted that the changes would lead to a renewal and re-flourishing of the Trappist abbey.

"Ever since the (Summorum Pontificum) reform of 2008/9… Mariawald has had a special place in Germany's Catholic Church," he said in a 2012 interview with Paix Liturgique.

"It is fulfilling the pope's [i.e. Benedict's] wish – a wish that he has repeatedly expressed since he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – namely, to preserve the more than 1,500-year old tradition in the face of subjectivist self-dissolution of the faith and the failure to remember our spiritual roots," Abbot Vollberg said.

But when he was asked how the return to the pre-Vatican II liturgy and monastic customs had effected the life of the community, Abbot Vollberg admitted that the switch was proving "very difficult," particularly for the older monks. He said that after 40 years of celebrating the "altered" rite, putting the reform into practice was "like trying to turn an ocean liner at full speed round 180 degrees." He called for patience and prayer.

Abbot Vollberg, in that same 2012 interview, pointed out that reverting to the pre-Vatican II monastic horarium had made the monks' spiritual life far more demanding. The Old Rite, which was actually new for the monks, required an appropriate learning process.

"Singing Gregorian chant is an art that demands a specific formation," he said.

He also admitted that "attention to Latin as the proper language of worship demands willpower and diligence." And he pointed out that "reciting the Breviary takes longer and starting the office (prayers) at 3 a.m. demands a true willingness to surrender oneself."

Immediately following its reversion to being an exclusively Old Rite community, Mariawald Abbey attracted some 40 to 50 new applicants. But Abbot Vollberg admitted that, once they were actually confronted with the stricter rule, most of the aspiring monks left.

He complained that part of the problem was that many people in the church were doing nothing to promote Summorum Pontificum, the "motu proprio" Benedict XVI issued in 2007 to allow practically unfettered use of the Tridentine Rite.

"A positive reaction to the Holy Father's wish to integrate elements of tradition into the 'Novus Ordo' (New Rite) is not recognizable," Abbot Vollberg said.

"On the contrary, an obstinate refusal attitude and continued discrimination against the Holy Father, plus disregard for the Council's clear statements regarding the liturgy, prevail," he said.

By 2016, it had become obvious that the return to the Old Rite had led to a deep split in the Mariawald community. No novices had joined and the number of monks had sunk to below the required number of twelve.

In May of that year Abbot Bernardus Peeters of Koningshoeven Abbey in the Netherlands conducted his regular visitation of Mariawald. He was accompanied by Abbot Erik Varden of Mount St Bernard in Leicestershire (England). Five months later Abbot Vollberg resigned, though he remained as prior. Mariawald was put under the supervision of Koningshoeven.

At the time Vollberg insisted that his resignation did not mean attempts to return to the Old Rite at Mariawald had ended.

"Through Dom Bernardus, we now have the possibility of providing more help for the older brethren. The younger ones have his express blessing and permission to continue on our way with me as prior," he said.

But at the end of January this year, the closure of Mariawald was announced. The remaining ten monks will either be moved to other Trappist abbeys or to retirement homes in the region. A solution for the monastic buildings and its church is being sought and a redundancy plan for the twelve employees has been set up.