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Abbot Leonard Wangler was elected by the Chapter of solemnly professed monks of Subiaco as the seventh Abbot of Subiaco Abbey on March 24, 2015. He was blessed as Abbot of Subiaco on May 7, 2015, by Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock.
John E. Wangler was born September 16, 1943, in Forth Worth, Texas, to the late John H. Wangler Sr. and Anna Hartman Wangler. He has one sister and two brothers. John E. Wangler received his elementary education at Mount Carmel Academy, Fort Worth, Texas, and his secondary education at Laneri High School, Fort Worth, graduating with the Class of 1961.
John entered Subiaco Abbey as a candidate on August 25, 1961. He was received into the novitiate on September 7, 1962, and made his first profession of vows on September 8, 1963, receiving the name Leonard. His undergraduate studies toward a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy were completed by attending St. Joseph's Abbey Seminary, Covington, Louisiana, (1961-1962); St. Bernard College, Cullman, Alabama, (1963-1964); and Immaculate Conception Abbey Seminary, Conception, Missouri, (1964-1966). In the fall of 1966, Frater Leonard began his studies in theology at Subiaco Abbey Seminary (1966-1967) and concluded them at St. Louis University in 1970. Frater Leonard professed his final vows as a monk of Subiaco Abbey on September 8, 1967 and was ordained to the priesthood at Subiaco Abbey by Bishop Albert Fletcher of Little Rock on June 6, 1970.
Following ordination, Father Leonard was assigned to Sacred Heart Church, Muenster, Texas, where he served as associate pastor and taught religion in Sacred Heart School. Father Leonard returned to Subiaco in the summer of 1973 and was assigned to work in Subiaco Academy where he served many years as a Residence Hall Dean and teacher of mathematics, science, and religion. From 1975-1981, he was Abbey and Academy Infirmarian, while still teaching and deaning in the Academy. During the summers of 1981-1983, Father Leonard worked toward earning his Master's Degree in Educational Administration at St. Louis University. Upon completion of his Master's, Father Leonard was assigned as Dean of Men in the Academy, a service he devoted himself to zealously during the years 1983-1986, 1988-1989, 1991-1999, in addition to his teaching duties. Father Leonard also served as Academy Headmaster from 1986-1988, and was the school's Interim Headmaster from 2010-2011. He served as Academy Store Manager (1988-1990), Academy Chaplain (1990-1991), and for many years as a school bus driver.
Father Leonard's eagerness to be of help and service to the community showed in his willingness to take on temporary assignments in the Abbey Development Office and as Socius of Monastic Formation during the years 1990-1991. At various times of a given year, Father Leonard regularly volunteered on his own initiative in attending to various custodial needs of the monks' cloister and outdoor facilities. He'd often be seen doing extra cleaning jobs, buffing and waxing in the common areas of the house, helping to maintain the order of the abbey storage facilities, or volunteering to work on the abbey farm and grounds. Father Leonard also helped regularly with pastoral parish ministry on weekends, and took several pastoral assignments in the abbey's parishes in Texas during the summers of the 1990's.
In August 1999, Father Leonard was appointed Director of Monastic Formation by Abbot Jerome Kodell. Father Leonard served in this ministry until 2007, while teaching part-time in the Academy. Father Leonard's care for the postulants, novices, and junior monks in his charge was punctuated in his living the exhortation of Psalm 100: "Serve the Lord with gladness." He continued on teaching mathematics and religion in the Academy, was appointed Prior in 2012 serving till his election as Abbot in 2015, all the while still devoting time to custodial house work, farm work, and regular weekend pastoral assistance. Cheerful, friendly, and devoted to duty, Abbot Leonard in his spare time enjoys recreating with his confreres, watching sports, and reading.