Abbot Martin Marty was a native of Switzerland who had come to America in 1862 to assist in the establishment of the monastic foundation undertaken by the Abbey of Maria Einsiedeln in southern Indiana. This abbey would become known as St. Meinrad Abbey. Martin Marty became its first Abbot. Eventually the burden of seeing the Arkansas foundation through devolved upon the famous Swiss Abbey.

Subiaco owes its existence to the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad Company’s interest in settling German immigrants in Logan County, Arkansas. They had approached Abbot Martin and inquired about establishing a presence in Arkansas. What we know today as Subiaco Abbey resulted directly from the contract made between the Abbey of St. Meinrad and the railroad company.

The man chosen to go to Arkansas and establish the Benedictines in Logan County was the Rev. Wolfgang Schlumpf. Born on a farm near the beautiful lake of Zug in Switzerland, Father Wolfgang made his monastic vows in the Abbey of Maria Einsiedeln in 1853. Ordained a priest in 1857, he taught in the college conducted by the Abbey until 1862 when he was sent to Indiana. He worked as a missionary among the Indians, served as a sub-prior of the monastery, and especially distinguished himself by introducing American agricultural methods on the Abbey’s farm.

It was another monk, Father Isidor Hobi, who made the first inspection tour with the railroad agent due to the illness of Father Wolfgang and chose the location for the Arkansas foundation. Father Wolfgang did not find the choice a happy one. In one letter he refers a bit ironically to Father Isidor’s description of the location as a “paradise fallen from heaven.”

It was on March 6, 1878, that Father Wolfgang set out from St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana for Logan County, Arkansas. He was accompanied by two religious brothers, Casper and Hilarin, who were to assist in the pioneering work. A description of the journey, the arrival at the chosen location, and of their reception by settlers, are to be found in the letter written by Father Wolfgang on March 17, 1878, only a short time after he had set foot in Logan County.

Fast forward to 1926 when the Abbey was looking to display our own heraldic shield that might reflect our history. Pierre de Chaigon la Rose of Harvard University was commissioned to design our coat of arms. In Subiaco’s coat of arms the two ravens are taken from the coat of arms of the Benedictine abbeys of Maria Einsiedeln in Switzerland and of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. The two ravens are associated with the life and death of St. Meinrad and they also represent the two monasteries that cooperated in founding Subiaco Abbey.

According to the rule of heraldry, Subiaco’s coat of arms could not be an exact replica of Einsiedeln’s coat of arms. The two black ravens on a field of gold followed the Einsiedeln coat of arms. The rose emblem on the shoulder of each of the ravens denotes Subiaco in Italy, where St. Benedict began monasticism and where he resolved a major crisis in his vocation by casting himself into a thorn bush (traditionally a rose bush) to overcome a temptation of the flesh. The yellow/gold rose is the distinctive badge of Subiaco Abbey. Likewise, the gold crosier is placed to recognize that Subiaco is an independent abbey with its own "Ordinary" in the person of the Abbot. To show that Subiaco Abbey is a daughter of Einsiedeln Abbey, a straight narrow edge of black border is used, and to show that Subiaco Abbey is also a daughter of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, the black border is engrailed, with the inner line cusped. You will see our coat of arms above the main Presider’s chair in the church choir area, as well as in numerous other places around the Abbey.

Provided below are some of our documents that may be of interest to those who enjoy history.