By Dewey Weiss Kramer

In his “Rule for Monasteries” St. Benedict considers at length a crucial element of his “school of the Lord’s service” – the abbot.

He is “believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery” and is thus the monks’ father (abba=abbot) and lord (dominum=Dom). The obedience and reverence due him comes, Benedict explains, “not for any pretensions of his own but out of honor and love for Christ.”

The relationship between monks and abbot has been (and still is) subject to varying interpretation and emphasis, depending to some extent on society’s prevailing concepts of authority, and the succession of abbots at Holy Spirit during its 40 years reflects a shift of emphasis found within the church as a whole. It also shows that the community has been graced with the leadership it has needed for particular times and tasks.

The Founder

Frederic Dunne, the founding abbot of Holy Spirit, entered Gethsemani in 1894. Thus his monastic training and his abbacy were in the austere mold of de Rance. His severity was, however, tempered with love. The pioneers recall the time he addressed them in Chapter in his most stern manner: “I don’t want anybody in this monastery walking heavily,” which they interpreted as his predictable admonition concerning sins against silence, until he continued, “Because my heart’s here…and I don’t want you stepping on my heart heavily.” He held the reins tightly in his own hands, yet he was also able to assess his monks well and to draw out the best in them. Of the 20 he chose for Georgia, an extremely high percentage persevered. And he chose so wisely for their first superior, that when he died just four years later, Gethsemani would recall that man to be its own abbot.

Dom Frederic’s choice for Holy Spirit was James Fox, and when Holy Spirit became an abbey in 1946 the community elected him its first abbot. Dom James had finished Harvard at the age of 20, had served as a naval officer in World War I, then attended Harvard Business School before entering Gethsemani. Molded in the old school of Trappist monasticism, he was also a man of the twentieth century, ready and able to pursue twentieth century methods and means to further the monastery. He had, for instance, worked with the Treasury Department after World War I, and he used his Washington contacts to secure the monastery an AAA priority rating from the government. This feat both insured the monks a regular supply of building materials and raised the community greatly in the estimation of its Conyers neighbors, who recognized American ingenuity when they saw it.

A Spiritual Father

When Dom James left in 1948 and the community elected its second abbot, the choice indicated the new direction they were taking. They sought not a brilliant administrator but rather a spiritual father. Robert McGann had served for years as Novice Master, first at Gethsemani, then at Holy Trinity in Utah. Descriptions of him invariably include the words “gentle,” “kind,” “fatherly,” and one hears him referred to seriously as a saint. His concept of abbot is seen in the fact that he always asked prayers for himself, and in reading the lines from Chapter Two of the Rule always emphasized the “ought” in “what kind of man the Abbot ought to be.”

Dom Robert’s loving concern for his immediate monastic family extended also to the wider community of the Order. Once settled at Conyers he started visiting the other Strict Observance houses in the U.S., thus laying the groundwork for the unity of The American Cistercians. But death ended his abbacy abruptly in 1957. In France to attend the General Chapter of Cistercian abbots, he contracted pneumonia, then, after seeming to recover, suffered a fatal heart attack.

The monks chose as their third abbot a member of their community who had been with Dom Robert in France. Augustine Moore had spent the weeks of Dom Robert’s illness at his bedside and had heard him pour out his hopes, concerns, ideas for Holy Spirit. He received this outpouring as a testament and felt that he need only continue to work toward his predecessor’s vision for the monastery. The actual physical building begun under Robert would reach completion under Augustine. More significantly, the openness to the Spirit would continue to develop.

Community Openness

Dom Augustine’s intellectual and diplomatic gifts has been recognized first by Frederic Dunne who sent him to Conyers as professor for the seminary, then by the Order itself which appointed him Definitor for the English speaking monks. In this capacity he was able to observe diverse types of leadership and communal life, and this helped him in defining his own abbatial style. He has viewed his office not as authoritarian “dominus” but rather as the guide of his monks toward their spiritual and personal maturity. Communal decision-making replaced abbatial fiat and he encouraged initiative in his monks. He continued the dialogue with other houses of the Order; for example, he arranged for the first regional meeting of Trappist superiors which has, in turn, led to a greater role of the U.S. in the Order.

Under Augustine Holy Spirit has also supported the growth of the Diocese of North Georgia, opening its facilities, both physical and spiritual, to Georgia’s priests. The abbot’s presence at church and school dedications has been further evidence of the monastery’s concern for the whole Church. Other monks, too, who have some regular contact with the non-monastic community view their activity as an extension of their vocation of prayer and service to the Mystical Body.

Looking Ahead

Dom Augustine’s twenty-six year tenure as abbot ended in September 1983 when he welcomed Armand Veilleux as his successor and fourth abbot of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit. The transfer of office bore similarities to that from Robert to Augustine. Dom Armand had known Conyers’ abbot and his work for some years and had also given a retreat at Holy Spirit. Thus he had a sense of the community’s character. He accepted the call to this monastery because he saw there a direction he himself would want to continue.

Armand had served as abbot of his monastery of Notre-Dame de Mistassini in the province of Quebec, Canada, in the late sixties and early seventies. Under his leadership Mistassini became a force for contemplative renewal within the Church in Quebec, an instance of the “co-responsibility” which he feels monasticism can and should exercise in the world today. His experience of monastic life extends beyond that of the Order today to the very beginnings of Christian monasticism. In his internationally recognized scholarly work on the Desert Fathers, in particular Pachomius, Dom Armand has been dealing with basic questions of the monastic vocation itself. When asked if his being a monk and an abbot gives him special insight into his scholarly research, he smiles and replies that rather the reverse is true. His reply indicated that the Cistercian Order is open both to tradition and to the present moment.

(Next week: The wider community.)