St. Meinrad Welcomes Evansville-area Alumni And Friends
Hundreds of St. Meinrad Seminary and College of Theology alumni and friends gathered at The Bauerhaus in Darmstadt, Ind., on Oct. 11 for a reception and dinner. During the event, Benedictine Father Denis Robinson, President-Rector of the seminary and college, told the crowd that St. Meinrad has seminarians from across the world.
“This year, we have 115 seminarians from 30 dioceses around the world,” he said. Father Robinson also addressed the current abuse crisis in the Church, and he talked about St. Meinrad’s role now, and moving forward.
“A lot of people are hurting; a lot of people have questions,” he said. “I want you to know that St. Meinrad is a place for open and honest conversation about what is going on.
“We are committed to two things moving forward,” Father Robinson said. “One … we are working to help the Church now by training future priests, lay ministers and deacons to be assets and solutions – not the cause of problems in the future.
“Two … we are working to build the Church for the future, so that it is a safe place for all and a place for open and honest conversation at all times,” Father Robinson said. “All of us must be witnesses to buildup to kingdom of God in every place.”
St. Meinrad Archabbey Archabbot Benedictine Father Kurt Stasiak told the crowd that St. Meinrad is vibrant. “We have 80 men in the monastery from age 26 to age 100,” he said. “We have nine men in formation (for the priesthood); we are very blessed in terms of monastic vocations.”
Bishop Joseph M. Siegel spoke to the crowd before ending the evening with prayer. He told the crowd that he was confident that the seminarians and permanent deacons for the Diocese of Evansville are in good hands at St. Meinrad. “It is a blessing to have St. Meinrad available to the people of the diocese,” he said.
The evening also included brief vocation stories from Benedictine Brothers Kolbe Wolniakowski, Stanley Wagner and Simon Herrmann. Their collective message was clear – St. Meinrad is a wonderful place to grow closer to God and to answer his call.
