Resignation of Abbot Leonard

Subiaco is an abbey in Arkansas of approximately 1,500 acres originally founded in 1878 by Benedictine monks who continued their life of “prayer and work” in Arkansas. Benedictine monasticism began in the Catholic Church with Saint Benedict who wrote in the 6th century a "Rule" to serve as a way of life for his monks. 1,500 years later, both male and female Benedictine monastics continue their way of life throughout the world with three such communities in Arkansas: Subiaco Abbey for men and for women there is St. Scholastica in Fort Smith and Holy Angels in Jonesboro. In addition to our primary work of prayer (private prayer and communal prayer with chant six times a day), the monks of Subiaco also maintain apostolates of: education (our college-prep Subiaco Academy); parishes; retreat ministry; commercial sale of candles, calligraphy, urns, brittle, soap, hot sauce, craft beer, and wood products; publication of books; and sawmill operations.
 

To fully understand the gravity of an election of an abbot to the life of a Benedictine monastic community, we copy here the words from the American-Cassinese congregation that beautifully lays out the role of abbot for Benedictine monks: 
 

The election of an abbot constitutes one of the most important acts of a monastic community, for it ordinarily involves the transfer of authority from one abbot to another. The election process brings the cenobium to a time of decision, which is both a danger and an opportunity. The election is a danger if taken lightly by the community; it is an opportunity if approached as a moment of enrichment.

Members of the monastic community look to the Holy Spirit to be their guide in an abbatial election, but they must also approach the event with willingness to sacrifice time and energy. Moreover, they need courage and humility to acknowledge the kind of abbot required for the future of their monastery.

The monks believe in the presence of Christ whose sacrament they are about to elect in the person of the abbot. Christ is present in the gathering of the monks; he is vitally interested in a worthy representative of himself as the good shepherd. Faith leads the monks to discern the abiding presence of an involved and interested Lord. Faith leads them to put forth effort and care as they allow themselves to be guided by the strength of Jesus and his Spirit.

The institution of cenobitic monasticism depends on the central role of the abbot. Monks group together in communities, not to live isolated lives with little reference to other monks, but to place themselves in a Christian and monastic milieu and to receive the guidance of others, most especially the direction of an abbot. Cenobites belong to a monastery and desire to live under a rule and an abbot (RB 1:2).

The abbot does not create the monastic tradition. He himself enters the tradition at one point in his life and lives its values in the midst of his brothers. He is selected from the number of his brothers to lead them forward in the ever old yet ever new and changing life of the monastery. Thus, the abbot is himself a monk, one tested and trained in the gospel and in the monastic tradition of a particular house. He forever retains the imprint of the community that guided his beginning steps in monastic life. Upon election he does not cease to be a monk; in fact he must be even more zealous in pursuing the monastic life. But he is given the added task of guiding the life of a monastery and its monks.

The abbot both represents and embodies the monastic tradition of a specific monastery. He sums up the tradition, interprets its thrust, and guides its expression for today. The abbot is not a law unto himself since he must be guided by the sacred Scriptures, the Rule of Saint Benedict, the tradition of monasticism, the ecclesiastical norms of the church today, and the yearnings of his own monastic community. Within this context the Rule accords much discretion in the manner in which he shapes the direction of his own community. Thus the crucial importance of the person of the abbot.

The abbot functions first of all as the spiritual father of each monk. This does not necessarily imply that he is the monk's spiritual director in the contemporary sense of the term, but it means that the abbot must judge with keen insight what promotes the spiritual progress of each particular monk and what is best for him in matters of assignment, education, and way of life. The abbot cannot function as spiritual father without the guidance of the Holy Spirit and without a knowledge of the monk and an interest in his spiritual progress. Conversely the monk will not find a spiritual father in his abbot unless he allows himself to be known and guided by the abbot.

The abbot serves the community as a personal center of unity. He fosters and preserves unity by relating to each and every member of the community, by eliciting and summing up their legitimate aspirations, and by expressing the spirit of the community. He serves the cause of unity by presiding at liturgies, chapters, and community meals. Indeed, the monastic community forms the abbot, forms around the abbot, and is formed by the abbot.

The Rule of Saint Benedict uses many titles and images to depict the person and the work of the abbot. He is the pastor who is charged with the task of protecting, guiding, and nourishing the flock. He is the teacher who is conversant with the biblical and monastic tradition and is able to instruct the monks in the best of godly teachings. He is the chief steward who oversees the goods and property of the monastery, the administrator who knows how to work with others for the protection and proper use of the patrimony of the monastery. He is the father of the monks, fostering a milieu conducive to life and growth. He is the physician, healing wounds and promoting the health of the monks. He is the servant seeking to profit the brothers and making himself available to their needs.

The abbot is also a brother, a confrere to the members of the community. He lives in the community with his brothers, not in a house by himself. He interacts with his brothers in all the ways that constitute common life. His brotherly relationships abide even as he moves into the abbatial office.

The abbot's task today includes discernment with regard to the way in which the monastery supports itself and serves the church in various apostolates. Here especially the abbot needs to be the kind of person who can seek counsel and work with others in forming a sustainable plan for the monastery's work of self-support and service.

When the abbot is chosen from the membership of the community, he takes with him into the office the marks of the community. He should in a real sense be the most characteristic monk of the monastery. He articulates the life of his monastery and embodies it for the monks as well as for outsiders.

The monks who enter the election process must look for an abbot to lead their community. The abbot is elected for a particular house and for a particular time. The circumstances of a particular monastery, e.g., its need for someone with special skills as a teacher or an administrator, will dictate their choice of an abbot.

The election of an abbot brings the monastery to a crucial juncture of its life. The monastic community needs a leader and it normally looks within its own membership to find candidates. By way of exception the monastery may find it necessary to look to some other monastic community for a suitable candidate, especially when the monastery is small or when serious divisions render a community incapable of discovering a leader it can follow.

 In the end the monks need to trust the Holy Spirit and the election process itself to present the best candidates for the office of abbot. The monks should not assume that their candidates will be without fault or limitations. The community needs to assess the limitations of the candidates to discover whether their shortcomings preclude their ability to lead the monastery. The community needs to assess the strengths of the candidates to see whether their talents are sufficient to support the demands of the office.

The monks will be enriched if they achieve a consensus and shift their allegiance to a brother who is selected to bear the burden of office. The monks will be rewarded if their choice falls upon a fellow monk of faith and love, a man of vision, compassion, and common sense.

Service as an abbot of a monastic community in the Swiss-American congregation is for an "indefinite period" of time. It is left to the abbot, or the abbot in consultation with the community and the Swiss-American Abbot President, to determine when the Holy Spirit is calling for new leadership. Abbot Leonard has chosen to announce his resignation on the seventh anniversary of his election--March 24. Various factors such as health, age, and a desire to cultivate new leadership are the normal reasons for the transition of abbots.

No. 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. Here is a small biography of our abbot:

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.

As noted in his statement, Abbot Leonard is resigning as abbot and NOT retiring. He wrote: While I may be resigning as abbot, I am not retiring from monastic life. The practical differences are that I will be moving to a new room, returning to my rank in community according to my profession of vows, and instead of giving assignments I will be receiving them from the new abbot.

The election process begins July 6, 2022, with the election on July 7, 2022. Procedures for elections in the Catholic Church are governed by the Code of Canon Law, canons 164 through 179. The Swiss-American Congregation, to which Subiaco Abbey belongs, applies these canons to the election of an abbot in its Constitutions and Statutes, specifically the section entitled “Of the Abbot.” Number 13 of the Constitution states: “When the abbatial office becomes vacant, ordinary jurisdiction passes to the claustral prior as administrator.” Even though Abbot Leonard announced his intention to resign, he will not actually resign until July 7, 2022. On that date, the Abbot President of the Swiss-American Congregation, Abbot Vincent Bataille, the retired abbot of Marmion Abbey in Aurora, IL, will conduct the election of the new abbot of Subiaco Abbey.

A formal letter of notification will now go to all perpetually professed members of the monastic community advising them of the abbot’s resignation and telling them of the date for the election of the new abbot. Each monk notified must give written notice that he has received this letter and that he will attend the election or, for good reason, designate a proxy. All chapter members who are ordained to the priesthood, who are at least 35 years of age, and who have been perpetually professed for 5 years are candidates for the election. There are currently 12 chapter members (if we include the resigning abbot and the previously resigned abbot before him)  who meet these qualifications. Electors are all chapter members, i.e., those in perpetual vows. There are 31 chapter members at this time.

A preliminary meeting on July 6 will be held to determine whether all eligible voting members are in attendance, and to ascertain that no one is present who is not a voting member. On the day of the election, up to 9 secret ballots may be held. Individual ballots will be counted by two tellers who have been selected especially for this task. The results are presented to the Abbot President. On the first three ballots, a two-thirds majority is required for election. On the next six, an absolute majority (50% plus one) is required. If no one is elected after nine ballots, the Abbot President must appoint an administrator and determine how long this person will serve. When a monk is elected, the Abbot President asks him whether he consents to be abbot. If he accepts, the Abbot President declares him elected and confirms the election orally and in writing. But if the person elected refuses, the process begins again with the first ballot. When an abbot has been elected and confirmed, he immediately assumes full jurisdiction and powers of government of the abbey. He is to receive the Abbatial Blessing within three months. After the election, the electors are joined by other community members and all process to church to sing the Te Deum, a hymn of praise to God. The new abbot blesses the community. He may then address the community if he wishes. Then all members receive the Kiss of Peace, and each one individually pledges obedience to the new abbot.

Subiaco Abbey has thirty-one solemnly professed monks and four men in formation for a total of thirty-five men in all. Of that total, we have twenty-two monastic brothers, one novice, and twelve monastic priests.

All chapter members who are ordained to the priesthood, who are at least 35 years of age, and who have been perpetually professed for 5 years are candidates for the election. There are currently 12 chapter members (if we include the resigning abbot and the previously resigned abbot before him) who meet these qualifications.

As noted in his statement, Abbot Leonard will resume his place in community and make himself available to the new abbot for an assignment. 

No. In the Swiss-American Congregation an abbot serves for an "indefinite period" of time.