Abbot Pennington dies; was known worldwide for writings, ministry

Published: 2005-06-09

WORCESTER, Mass. (CNS) -- Abbot M. Basil Pennington, the Trappist monk known worldwide for his books and ministry on centering prayer, died June 3 at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester from injuries he sustained in a car accident 67 days earlier. He would have turned 74 in July. A June 10 funeral Mass was to be celebrated for the abbot at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, followed by burial in the abbey cemetery. Born in the New York borough of Queens on July 28, 1931, he attended Cathedral Prep High School and the Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception in Brooklyn from 1945 to 1950. He entered the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly called the Trappists, in 1951 at St. Joseph's Abbey, his lifelong community. He was consecrated as a monk in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1957. He later studied in Rome at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas and Gregorian University, obtaining a licentiate in theology and another degree in canon law. Over his lifetime, he wrote 57 books and 1,000 articles, particularly on centering prayer.

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