St. Peter of Muenster, Abbey of
ST. PETER OF MUENSTER, ABBEY OF
Founded in 1903 in central Saskatchewan, Canada, by the members of the Benedictine priory of Cluny, Ill., augmented by several Benedictines from St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN, to provide spiritual care for the pioneer Catholic homesteaders. The priory became St. Peter's Abbey in 1911, and in 1921 an abbey nullius with territory detached from the Diocese of Prince Albert. The Benedictines serve in the parishes of the abbacy, conduct a high school (1921), and (since 1926) St. Peter's Junior College. A German weekly was published from 1904 to 1947; an English weekly began in 1922. Alfred Mayer was the prior of the original foundation. He was succeeded by Bruno Doerfler (1906), who was appointed first abbot (1911–19); Michael Ott (1919–26), who became the first abbot ordinary; Severin Gertken (1926–60); Jerome Weber (1960–96); and Peter Novecosky (1996–). In 2001, the abbey was home to 33 monks.
Bibliography: Fifty Golden Years (Münster, Sask. 1953).
[j. weber]