About Subiaco Abbey · Subiaco, Arkansas
Subiaco Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Subiaco, Arkansas, home to a community of monks in the Swiss-American Congregation of the worldwide Benedictine Confederation. Founded in 1878 by three monks from St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana to serve German-Catholic settlers in the Arkansas River Valley, the abbey was raised to abbey status by Pope Leo XIII in 1891. Today the monks balance their primary work of praying the Divine Office five times daily with secondary works of education (the all-boys Subiaco Academy, founded 1887, grades 7–12) and hospitality (the Coury Guest House Retreat Center, opened 1963). The community is led by Abbot Elijah Owens, O.S.B., elected in 2022 as the eighth abbot of Subiaco.
- Established
- 1878
- Patron
- St. Benedict of Nursia
- Rector
- Abbot Elijah Owens, O.S.B. (8th Abbot of Subiaco Abbey)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (River Valley Deanery)
Why belong here
A visit to Subiaco Abbey offers a rare opportunity to step into the rhythm of a 1,500-year-old Benedictine tradition still alive in the Arkansas River Valley. Guests are welcomed as Christ in the spirit of St. Benedict's Rule, joining the monks in praying the Divine Office five times a day, attending daily Mass in the 1959 sandstone abbey church with its 182 stained-glass windows, and finding silence and solitude on more than 1,600 acres of forest, farmland, and trails. Beyond prayer, the community sustains a celebrated all-boys boarding academy (grades 7–12), a retreat ministry for groups and individuals of all faiths, monastic vocations, and the abbey's working farm, vineyard, apiary, and brewery — making Subiaco both a place of deep spiritual encounter and a living witness of ora et labora.
Mass times at Subiaco Abbey
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Adoration chapel available in the Coury Guest House for retreatants
Our Monastery
Subiaco Abbey, originally St. Benedict Priory, is a member of the Swiss-American Congregation of the worldwide Benedictine Confederation. Founded by three monks from St. Meinrad Abbey, Indiana — Fr. Wolfgang Schlumpf, Br. Kaspar Hildesheim, and Br. Hilarin Benetz — and supported by the motherhouse of Maria Einsiedeln in Switzerland, the abbey has served the Arkansas River Valley since 1878. After the original wooden priory burned in 1901, a new stone abbey of local "Subiaco" sandstone was occupied on the present hilltop site. Today the community lives the Benedictine ora et labora, praying the Divine Office five times daily in choir while serving the Church through education, hospitality, retreats, and parish work.
- Founded 1878 as St. Benedict's Priory
- Raised to abbey status by Pope Leo XIII in 1891
- First abbot: Fr. Ignatius Conrad, O.S.B. (1892)
- Member of the Swiss-American Congregation of Benedictines
- More than 50 monks from diverse backgrounds currently in residence
Abbots of Subiaco
Subiaco has had eight abbots since the priory was raised to abbey status in 1891 and Ignatius Conrad was elected the first abbot in March 1892. The succession has spanned Swiss founders, native Arkansans, and a period of significant building, expansion, and later downsizing. The current abbot, Elijah Owens, was elected on July 7, 2022, the eighth to hold the office.
- Ignatius Conrad (1892–1926)
- Edward Burgert (1926–1939)
- Paul Nahlen (1939–1957)
- Michael Lensing (1957–1974)
- Raphael DeSalvo (1974–1989)
- Jerome Kodell (1989–2015)
- Leonard Wangler (2015–2022)
- Elijah Owens (2022–present)
Our Abbot — Fr. Elijah Owens, O.S.B.
Abbot Elijah is a former diocesan priest who, after a period of monastic formation, professed his vows as a monk of Subiaco on September 8, 2011. His many assignments have included vocation work, social media outreach, teaching in the academy, Novice Master and Director of Formation, Custos (House Manager), Director of the Abbey Museum, founding Director of the Office of Child Protection, and Abbey apiarist (beekeeper). He studied at institutions across North America and Europe, including the Pontificio Sant'Anselmo in Rome, and has taught at Oxford and King's College London. His areas of expertise are Liturgy and Monastic Spirituality (particularly the Celtic "insular" regions, 5th–10th centuries) and the monastic military orders. He was elected the eighth abbot of Subiaco on July 7, 2022.
Meet Our Monks
The abbey is currently home to approximately 30–50 professed Benedictine monks — both ordained fathers and brothers — who serve in prayer, teaching, parish ministry, retreat work, and the abbey's many agricultural and commercial enterprises. Br. Roch McClellan serves as subprior and Fr. Richard Walz serves as prior of the community.
- Fr. Richard Walz, O.S.B. — Prior
- Br. Roch McClellan, O.S.B. — Subprior
- Benedictine Fathers: Fr. Cassian Elkins, Fr. Leonard Wangler, Fr. Eugene Luke, Fr. Gregory Pilcher, Fr. Jerome Kodell, Fr. Mark Stengel, Fr. Patrick Boland, Fr. Reginald Udouj, Fr. William Wewers, Fr. Raban Heyer
- Benedictine Brothers: Br. Adrian Strobel, Br. André Bedore, Br. Anselm Allen, Br. Anthony Pierce, Br. Augustine DeFoore, Br. Benoît Stelly, Br. Damien Cafaro, Br. Ephrem O'Bryan, Br. Francis Kirchner, Br. James Lindsey, Br. José Rios, Br. Joseph Heath, Br. Joseph Koehler, Br. Jude Schmitt, Br. Matthias Hagge, Br. Mel Stinson, Br. Pio Do, Br. Sebastian Richey
Prayer and the Divine Office
The monks' primary work is prayer. Following the Rule of St. Benedict, the community gathers five times a day in choir to pray the Opus Dei — the Work of God — chanting the psalms and using Gregorian chant for which the abbey is known. The day is structured first around prayer and only secondarily around work, eating, and recreation, giving the monks an "eschatological" orientation always aimed at God. Monks also cultivate personal prayer through Lectio Divina, biblical study, the Holy Hour, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and other devotional reading. Visitors are warmly welcomed to join the monks in their liturgy, where psalms are recited or chanted, silence is embraced, and Scripture is proclaimed.
- Public chanting of the Divine Office five times daily
- Gregorian chant at the Liturgy of the Hours
- Daily celebration of the Eucharist
- Lectio Divina and biblical study throughout the day
- Holy Hour, Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet among monastic devotionals
Subiaco Academy
Subiaco Academy is an all-boys Roman Catholic day and boarding school for grades 7–12, founded in 1887 as St. Benedict's College and reorganized into a college-preparatory program shortly thereafter. Set on more than 1,600 acres of forests, farmland, trails, lakes, and open land in the Arkansas River Valley, the academy is one of the oldest Catholic boarding schools in the country and was named by Architectural Digest in 2024 as one of the "World's 9 Most Beautiful Boarding Schools." Subiaco Academy was the first high school in Arkansas to racially integrate. Current enrollment is about 150 students from 15 states and 9 countries, with a student-to-teacher ratio of 8.2:1 and a 95% college-enrollment rate. The headmaster is David W. Wright, and Deacon Roy Goetz serves as chaplain.
- Founded 1887 (originally St. Benedict's College)
- Grades 7–12, all-male, boarding and day
- Patron: St. Benedict
- Mascot: Subiaco Trojans ("Onward Trojans!")
- Colors: Blue and orange
- Athletics: football, basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, cross country, golf, track
- Headmaster: David W. Wright
- Chaplain: Deacon Roy Goetz
- Newspaper: Periscope; Yearbook: Pax
Hospitality & Retreats — Coury Guest House
St. Benedict taught that all guests are to be received as Christ. The Coury Guest House (originally Coury House Retreat Center, opened in 1963) embodies this hospitality, offering group and personal retreats to people of all religious beliefs and denominations. The facility is dedicated to the Holy Family as a sign that guests are members of the Subiaco Family. Retreatants may attend prayer with the monks, tour the church and grounds, or simply enjoy the peace and quiet away from daily life.
- Thirty-five guest rooms with private bathrooms
- On-site chapel, meeting rooms, and adoration chapel
- Benedictine Oblate Retreats and Grandparent Weekend retreats offered annually
- Private and group retreats; events and venue rentals
- Day visits available by contacting the monastery in advance
Subiaco Retreat House (Youth Retreats)
A separate youth-focused retreat house staffed by experienced Benedictine monks and lay people, the Subiaco Retreat House offers weekend and weekday retreats for parish youth groups and high schools. The facility is also available for rent to religious and educational organizations seeking a venue for their own programs, as well as to community organizations and families.
Visit Us — How to Visit a Monastery
Visitors are encouraged to contact the monastery in advance to inquire about day visits, overnight stays, or longer accommodations. The abbey's "Plan Your Visit" page invites guests to participate mindfully in the simplicity of monastic life — joining the liturgy, eating meals in silence or quiet conversation, spending time before the Blessed Sacrament, arranging confession if needed, and respecting the monastery's customs.
Camp Subiaco
Since 1941, the Benedictine monks of Subiaco Abbey have operated Camp Subiaco for boys ages 9 to 13, hosted on the abbey's extensive grounds.
Monastic Work & Industries
Beyond prayer, education, and hospitality, the monks maintain the abbey's extensive farmlands, vineyard, apiary, and sawmill, and produce a line of Monk Sauce habanero pepper sauce. In 2018, the abbey opened a brewery and tasting room to the public, with production temporarily halted in late 2023. These "work of the hands" apostolates put into practice the Benedictine ideal of ora et labora — prayer and work — that has sustained the community since 1878.
- Black Angus cattle, vineyard, and produce farm
- Abbey apiary (honey; Abbot Elijah is apiarist)
- Monk Sauce habanero pepper sauce
- Abbey Brewery and tasting room (opened 2018; production paused late 2023)
- On-site sawmill
History Highlights
Subiaco's story is one of resilience and growth: founded by three Swiss-trained monks from St. Meinrad to serve German-Catholic immigrants, it grew quickly, lost its original wooden priory to fire in 1901, lost three-quarters of its stone abbey to fire in 1927, recovered through the Great Depression, and built the present abbey church in 1959. In its modern era the abbey has expanded its retreat and education ministries while downsizing some parish and school work as the community's size has changed.
- 1877: Railroad offers land to Abbot Martin Marty of St. Meinrad
- 1878: Three founding monks arrive in Logan County; first Mass on March 19
- 1887: Eight Swiss novices ("Eight Beatitudes") arrive; St. Benedict's College opens (later Subiaco Academy)
- 1891: Pope Leo XIII raises priory to abbey; renamed Subiaco
- 1892: First abbot, Ignatius Conrad, elected
- 1898: Construction begins on the present sandstone abbey
- 1901: Original wooden priory burns down
- 1902: Academy opens as high school for boys
- 1927: Three-quarters of abbey destroyed by fire
- 1959: Present abbey church completed under Abbot Paul Nahlen
- 1963: Coury House Retreat Center opens
- 1964–1968: Foundation in Nigeria (lost in Biafran War)
- 1971: Santa Familia Priory founded in Belize
- 1978: Centennial of the abbey and academy
- 2003: Santa Familia Priory transferred to Diocese of Belize
- 2018: Abbey Brewery opens to public
- 2022: Fr. Elijah Owens elected eighth abbot
Diocese of Little Rock
Subiaco Abbey is listed in the Diocese of Little Rock's parish directory within the River Valley Deanery. The abbey operates as an independent Benedictine monastery (not a diocesan parish) but provides Mass for the public daily and serves surrounding Catholic communities pastorally.
- Diocese of Little Rock
- River Valley Deanery
- Diocesan Vocations contact: [email protected]
- Diocese directory: https://www.dolr.org/parishes/subiaco-abbey-subiaco
Contact & Visit
Subiaco Abbey is located in the town of Subiaco in Logan County, in the Arkansas River Valley south of the Arkansas River, with easy access from Paris, Arkansas. The main switchboard number is (479) 934-1001 and the abbey can also be reached at (479) 934-4328.
- Address: 405 N. Subiaco Avenue, Subiaco, AR 72865
- Phone: (479) 934-1001
- Alt. Phone: (479) 934-4328
- Email (Abbot): [email protected]
- Email (Vocations): [email protected]
- Website: https://abbey.subi.org
- Academy website: https://academy.subi.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rt. Rev. Ignatius Conrad, O.S.B.1892–1926
First abbot; monk of Einsiedeln Abbey; oversaw construction of the new sandstone abbey begun in 1898.
- Rt. Rev. Edward Burgert, O.S.B.1926–1939
Second abbot; native Arkansan; presided over 1927 fire that destroyed three-quarters of the abbey.
- Rt. Rev. Paul Nahlen, O.S.B.1939–1957
Third abbot; obtained Pope Pius XII's blessing for the abbey church completed in 1959.
- Rt. Rev. Michael Lensing, O.S.B.1957–1974
Fourth abbot; oversaw building boom, Coury House Retreat Center (1963), and missions in Nigeria and Belize.
- Rt. Rev. Raphael DeSalvo, O.S.B.1974–1989
Fifth abbot; led renewal and modernization in the 1970s and 1980s.
- Rt. Rev. Jerome Kodell, O.S.B.1989–2015
Sixth abbot; oversaw downsizing of parish and school work.
- Rt. Rev. Leonard Wangler, O.S.B.2015–2022
Seventh abbot.
- Rt. Rev. Elijah Owens, O.S.B.2022–present
Eighth abbot; former diocesan priest; professed vows at Subiaco in 2011; areas of expertise in Liturgy and Monastic Spirituality.