Struggle and Ascent: The History of Mount Angel Abbey by Joel Rippinger, OSB (review)

Reviewed by: Struggle and Ascent: The History of Mount Angel Abbey by Joel Rippinger, OSB Steven M. Avella Struggle and Ascent: The History of Mount Angel Abbey. By Joel Rippinger, OSB. (Collegeville: Liturgical Press. 2020. Pp. ix, 208. 29. 95. ISBN 978-0-814-66503-9. ) There is no more capable chronicler of American Benedictine monasticism than Father Joel Rippinger of Marmion Abbey, Aurora, Illinois. His well-received work, The Benedictine Order in the United States: An Interpretive History (1990), has End Page 432 laid out the diverse organizational and regional histories of the male Order of St. Benedict in America. This book is a history of Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon, founded in 1882 as part of the chain of monasteries spearheaded by the Abbey of Engelberg, Switzerland. Mount Angel was raised to abbatial status in 1904. Mount Angel's origins began with the work of Father Adelhelm Odermatt. The foundation was substantially assisted by the spiritual guidance of Father Frowin Conrad. Rippinger argues that both monks embodied two very important strands of Benedictine monasticism. Odermatt was focused on apostolic work and envisioned the foundation as a base to work in the German parishes of the Pacific Northwest. Conrad was more intent on preserving a more contained and observant form of monastic life. Odermatt was the pioneer, scouting land and opportunities in California's Napa Valley, but also on the lush side of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Encouraged by bishops from both areas, Odermatt chose the Oregon site and established a very close connection with the Archbishop of Oregon City (later Portland), Charles Seghers. He purchased a tract of heavily timbered land in western Oregon, hoping that this would provide reliable revenue and solid work for the monks. To start the foundation, he assembled a community of priests, seminarians, and brothers from Engelberg. There were enough German-speaking inhabitants around the site who offered support for the work of the monks. Mount Angel's first years were ones of struggle and financial problems. However, by 1887, the monks had already opened a seminary and a college. Mount Angel came to be known as a place where individual men could "seek God" according to the Benedictine Rule, but also a literal school of the Lord's service especially for young men seeking the priesthood. Today, it still has one of the few seminaries in the American West. Mount Angel was afflicted by the scourge of fire in 1892 and again in 1926. But the monastery emerged from the ashes with renewed energies and resolution. Eventually Engelberg relinquished direct control over the Mount Angel foundation and turned over its governance to Abbot Conrad, then the head of Conception Abbey in Missouri. Rippinger argues that Conrad's oversight proved to be a wise move in the abbey's history. Conrad's "observant" thrust produced stability and growth for the monastery. The monastery grew in size and adapted its educational and parochial missions to keep up with changing conditions in western Oregon. The school program at one point included a high school, college, and seminary. It continued to cherish a warm relationship with archdiocesan officials in Portland. Numerous figures of prominence, including Fulton Sheen, came to the hilltop abbey to speak to the community and students. Eventually the community closed the college, sold the high school to the archdiocese, and focused all its attention on its still active seminary. Rippinger's own monastic-insider perspective is a unique strength of this book. He is conversant with things that are important to monastics (e. g. , visitation, monastic discipline, abbatial policies. ) It also works to the good for those who only End Page 433 see the life and activities of the Benedictines from the outside (e. g. , at a retreat or a celebration). Yet his "insider" view always reflects his reputation as a scholar and his estimations of the leadership of Mount Angel ruggedly honest. For example, he describes the rocky tenure of the first abbot, Thomas Meienhofer. While he singles out the positive aspects of his leadership (e. g. , his choices for subordinates and his support of the abbey's popular German-speaking press), he also does not flinch from describing Meienhofer's. . .