This past September, our abbey celebrated an historic occasion: the blessing of our new abbot, the Right Reverend John Caronan, O.Praem.

The days surrounding the Abbatial Blessing were marked by magnificent celebrations of the Church’s sacred liturgy. From the Pontifical Mass of the Abbatial Blessing celebrated by His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, to the solemn celebration of Michaelmas with Father Abbot John’s first Pontifical Mass, and the great Te Deum sung before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, these were days we will long remember.

It was a great joy to see our abbey church filled with so many of the faithful, united in the worship of Almighty God. The solemn ceremonies, the sacred music, and the devotion of those present gave us a wonderful vision of the glory of the Church and the beauty of our holy Catholic religion.

In these celebrations, we were given something of a foretaste of Heaven, where the angels and saints sing the praises of God without end. This is the very heart of our vocation as Norbertine canons: to offer Almighty God the solemn worship that is His due, with all the beauty and reverence we can muster. And it is the ultimate end for which every baptized Christian has been created: to know, love, and worship God, and one day to join in the eternal liturgy of Heaven.

This special video commemorates these historic celebrations and some of the most beautiful moments in the life of our abbey.

Above all, these celebrations were an occasion to give thanks to God for our new Father Abbot. As the third abbot of St. Michael’s Abbey, Father Abbot John has been entrusted with the spiritual care of our community, the formation of our younger confreres, and the preservation of the religious life handed down to us by our fathers.

We have every reason to look to the years ahead with gratitude and hope. Please keep Father Abbot John in your prayers, that Our Lord may grant him the wisdom, strength, and grace to lead our community faithfully and fruitfully in His service.

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