About Saint John's Abbey · Collegeville, Minnesota
Saint John's Abbey is a Benedictine monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict in Collegeville, Minnesota, affiliated with the American-Cassinese Congregation. Founded in 1856 by monks from Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, it is one of the largest Benedictine abbeys in the Western Hemisphere, home to roughly 110 professed monks living under their eleventh abbot, the Right Reverend Douglas Mullin, OSB. The monks follow the Rule of Saint Benedict in a common life of prayer, study, and work, serving the Church through education (Saint John's University and Preparatory School), publishing (Liturgical Press), pastoral ministry, and outreach to Latino immigrant communities. The Abbey Church, designed by Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer and consecrated in 1961, is a celebrated landmark of mid-century religious architecture.
- Established
- 1856
- Patron
- Saint John the Baptist (the abbey parish is Saint John the Baptist Parish, housed in the parish center on the grounds)
- Rector
- Right Reverend Douglas Mullin, OSB (Abbot)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud (within the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis)
Why belong here
Saint John's Abbey welcomes visitors of all faiths to pray with one of the largest Benedictine communities in the Western Hemisphere, where the monks of the Order of Saint Benedict gather daily for the Liturgy of the Hours in a Breuer-designed landmark church. The community serves central Minnesota through twenty nearby parishes and chaplaincies, the Saint John's University Campus Ministry, the Benedictine Volunteer Corps placing young graduates at monasteries worldwide, and the San Benito Center for Latino Ministry that accompanies immigrant families in areas such as Cold Spring, Saint Cloud, Willmar, and Montevideo. Anyone seeking to deepen a life of prayer, learn the Benedictine way of worship, study at the School of Theology, or simply experience generous monastic hospitality on 2,500 acres of woodland and lakes will find a place here.
Mass times at Saint John's Abbey
Weekly Mass schedule
History of Saint John's Abbey
In 1856, five Benedictine monks from Saint Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania answered Bishop Cretin's call to minister to the German Catholic immigrants of central Minnesota. After moves from Saint Cloud to the Schoenthal and finally to the north shore of Lake Sagatagan, the priory was raised to an abbey in 1866 with Rupert Seidenbusch as first abbot. The school chartered in 1857 grew into a college, then Saint John's University in 1883. The brick Quadrangle and Romanesque monastic church were built section by section from 1868 onward. In 1953, with some 450 monks and crowded facilities, Abbot Baldwin Dworschak commissioned a century-spanning building program and chose Marcel Breuer in 1954. The new Abbey Church was begun in May 1958 and consecrated in fall 1961, the capstone of a community now numbering around 110 monks.
- Founded 1856 from Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania
- Raised to abbey status in 1866; Abbey Church consecrated 1961
- St. John's Abbey and University Historic District added to NRHP March 23, 1979
Abbey Community and Abbot
Saint John's is a monastic community of the Order of Saint Benedict in the American-Cassinese Congregation. According to the Rule of Saint Benedict, the abbot 'is believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery' (RB Chapter 2). Right Reverend Douglas Mullin, OSB, is the eleventh abbot of Saint John's, elected by a two-thirds vote of the solemnly professed monks; he presides at the abbey's formal liturgies, takes counsel from the senior monks, and serves as spiritual father of the community. He also heads Liturgical Press and Saint John's Preparatory School.
- Abbot: Rt. Rev. Douglas Mullin, OSB (2024–present)
- Prior: Rev. Eric Hollas, OSB
- Approximately 110 professed monks
- American-Cassinese Congregation, Order of Saint Benedict
Abbey Church
The Abbey and University Church was built to serve Benedictine monks, university and seminary students, the prep school, and visitors with closer participation in liturgy. Its vast column-free trapezoidal worship space, folded-plate cast concrete construction, and free-standing 126-foot bell banner of five electronically controlled bells were designed by Marcel Breuer, a Hungarian-born Bauhaus-trained architect. Local carpenters built the forms into which the concrete was cast. Beneath the nave lies an undercroft chapel containing the relics of Saint Peregrine, plus chapels and devotional spaces.
- Architect: Marcel Breuer (1902–1981)
- Construction: May 19, 1958 – August 24, 1961
- Consecrated fall 1961
- Capacity: ~1,700 congregants
- Tower: 112–126 ft bell banner on parabolic arches, five bells, oak cross from Saint John's Arboretum
The 1961 Holtkamp Organ
Contracted in April 1960 and completed in November 1961, the Holtkamp organ is one of Walter Holtkamp Sr.'s last and most important large masterpieces, designed in consultation with Abbey organist Father Gerard Farrell OSB and with input from Belgian recitalist Flor Peeters. Originally placed behind an acoustically transparent red cloth screen chosen to suit the austere monastic interior, the instrument has been expanded to more than 6,000 pipes. It was blessed by Abbot Baldwin Dworschak on Saint Cecilia's Eve, November 21, 1961, with Peeters giving the dedicatory recital. The organ is intended primarily to support the monastic community at prayer rather than for concert use.
Mission, Prayer, and Worship
'We, the monks of Saint John's Abbey, a community of Catholic Benedictine men, seek God through a common life of prayer, study, and work, giving witness to Christ and the Gospel, in service to the church and the world.' The schedule expresses this with Morning Prayer at 7 a.m., Midday Prayer at noon, and Evening Prayer at 7 p.m., and Mass at 5 p.m. on weekdays, 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. All weekday liturgies are open to the public and are livestreamed on the Abbey website, with listening enhancement aids available for Sunday Mass.
- Morning Prayer: 7:00 am daily
- Midday Prayer: 12:00 pm Monday–Friday
- Evening Prayer: 7:00 pm Monday–Friday; 5:00 pm Sunday
- Weekday Eucharist: 5:00 pm (Sat 11:30 am); Sunday 10:30 am
- All liturgical events livestreamed
Ministry and Outreach
Ministry flows naturally from monastic life. Saint John's monks continue to minister in about twenty communities as priests and chaplains — a mission begun with the German immigrants of the 1850s and now sustained through Area Catholic Communities. The abbey supports chaplaincies in hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other religious communities, and its Center for Latino Ministry / San Benito Center provides sacramental ministry, sacramental-preparation assistance, adult ESL support, charitable aid, and scholarships to Latino/a teenagers in towns across central Minnesota.
- Pastoral Ministry (20+ communities)
- Benedictine Volunteer Corps
- SJU Office of Campus Ministry
- Benedictine Living-Learning Community
- Center for Latino Ministry / San Benito Center
Pastoral Ministry
Mindful of their original mission to German immigrants, the monks today see similar needs among new Latino immigrants in central Minnesota. Beyond sacramental care, monks at the abbey provide basic counseling and support for legal and material necessities in collaboration with the abbey's Center of Latino Ministry. The abbey's Benedictine Volunteer Corps also sends recent Saint John's University graduates to serve in Benedictine monasteries and schools around the world, mostly in developing regions.
Saint John's Abbey Center for Latino Ministry
Building on the legacy of Casa Guadalupe (1997–2014), the Center for Latino Ministry serves largely Mexican and Central American immigrants in Cold Spring, Rockville, Melrose, Willmar, Pelican Rapids, Saint Cloud, Waite Park, and Montevideo. Programs include sacramental assistance, choirs and prayer groups, ESL classes, charitable aid (clothing, food, translation, guidance), and scholarships to Saint John's Preparatory School. Contact: Fr. Efrain Rosado, OSB — [email protected], 320-761-0942.
Saint John's University Campus Ministry
Rooted in Catholic tradition and Benedictine values, SJU Campus Ministry cultivates the faith life of the campus community so that 'in all things God may be glorified' (RB 57:9). It focuses on the spiritual and religious development of undergraduate men and ministerial formation of graduate and undergraduate students, fostering discipleship through worship, pastoral care, faith formation, service, and reflection.
Publishing, Education, and Cultural Outreach
Saint John's operates Liturgical Press, one of the foremost liturgical publishers in the United States, and hosts the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML), the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, and the Episcopal House of Prayer of the Diocese of Minnesota. The monks also co-founded Minnesota Public Radio, whose original studio remains on the abbey grounds. Saint John's supports Saint John's University and its School of Theology·Seminary, Saint John's Preparatory School, and the Saint John's Arboretum across 2,500 acres of lakes, prairie, and hardwoods.
- Liturgical Press
- Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML)
- Saint John's University & School of Theology·Seminary
- Saint John's Preparatory School
- Saint John's Arboretum (2,500 acres)
- Minnesota Public Radio (co-founded)
- Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research
Past Succession of Abbots
Since 1866, eleven abbots have led Saint John's. Their lineage begins with Rupert Seidenbusch — who became the first Bishop of Northern Minnesota — and includes Jerome Theisen, who went on to be elected Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation. Douglas Mullin, OSB, the eleventh abbot, began his term in 2024.
- Seidenbusch (1866–75) • Edelbrock (75–89) • Locnikar (90–94) • Engel (94–1921)
- Deutsch (1921–50) • Dworschak (50–71) • Eidenschink (71–79)
- Theisen (79–92) → later Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation
- Kelly (92–2000) • Klassen (2000–24) • Mullin (2024–present)
Visit, Location, and Contact
The abbey and its 2,500-acre grounds lie just off Interstate 94 at exit 156, about 10 miles west of Saint Cloud and 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis/Saint Paul. Address: 2900 Abbey Plaza, Collegeville, MN 56321. Phone: (320) 363-2011. All liturgical events in the Abbey Church are livestreamed on the Abbey website, so visitors can pray with the community from anywhere.
- Address: 2900 Abbey Plaza, Collegeville, MN 56321
- Phone: (320) 363-2011
- Interstate 94, exit 156; ~70 mi NW of Minneapolis/Saint Paul
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rt. Rev. Rupert Seidenbusch, OSB1866–1875
First Abbot; later named Bishop of the Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota.
- Rt. Rev. Alexius Edelbrock, OSB1875–1889
Integrated the first brick buildings and church into the five-story Quadrangle completed in 1886.
- Rt. Rev. Bernard Locnikar, OSB1890–1894
- Rt. Rev. Peter Engel, OSB1894–1921
- Rt. Rev. Alcuin Deutsch, OSB1921–1950
- Rt. Rev. Baldwin Dworschak, OSB1950–1971
Commissioned the new church and the Breuer campus plan in the 1950s.
- Rt. Rev. John Eidenschink, OSB1971–1979
- Rt. Rev. Jerome Theisen, OSB1979–1992
Later elected Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation.
- Rt. Rev. Timothy Kelly, OSB1992–2000
- Rt. Rev. John Klassen, OSB2000–2024
- Rt. Rev. Douglas Mullin, OSB2024–present
Current eleventh Abbot.