August 29, 2014

Novice professes temporary vows at Saint Meinrad Archabbey

Benedictine Novice Dane DeDeckerBenedictine Novice Dane DeDecker professed temporary vows as a Benedictine monk on Aug. 6 in a liturgy at the Archabbey Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad.

His profession of temporary vows came at the end of his novitiate, a year of prayer and study of the Benedictine way of life. As is the custom during the profession of vows, he was assigned a religious name. Novice Dane will now be known as Brother André.

Brother André, 37, is from Geneseo, Ill. He attended Geneseo High School and studied for a year at St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn. He was previously a member of St. Anthony Parish in Atkinson, Ill.

Prior to entering the monastery, he had worked for 12 years as an over-the-road truck driver.

Temporary vows are typically for three years. This period offers a continuing opportunity for the monk and the monastic community to determine whether monastic life is, indeed, the right vocation for this individual.

(For more information about Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, log on to www.saintmeinrad.org.) †

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