Tower Topics ~ Winter 2002

Eight monks celebrate lives of service

60 years ordination

Fr. Malachy Riley

St. Louis native Father Malachy Riley celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination this year.

Born Thomas Riley Oct. 5, 1914, Father Malachy attended Kenrick Preparatory School until 1935 when his pastor asked him to drive a
family to Conception for a solemn profession.

After the visit “I went home, packed a suitcase and returned to Conception,” he recalls. “I never had such a good feeling in my life as I did with those young monks.” After a year at Conception Seminary, Thomas entered the monastery in 1936 and made his profession the following year. He was ordained Sept. 19, 1942.

Father Malachy’s service through the past six decades has been largely pastoral. Among his many assignments were St. Joseph parish, Springfield, Mo.; St. Aloysius parish, Kansas City, Mo.; St. Columba parish, Conception Junction, Mo.; St. Rose of Lima parish, Savannah, Mo.; and St. Columban parish, Chillicothe, Mo.

Father Malachy also worked many years at the Indian Mission on Standing Rock Reservation, Fort Yates, N.D., and served as chaplain at Mother of God Priory in Pierre, S.D., St. Mary Priory in Nauvoo, Ill., and LaVerna Heights and LaVerna Village nursing care facilities in Savannah, Mo.

His duties at Conception Abbey included business manager and abbey kitchen master. He served as state chaplain for the Missouri Knights of Columbus from 1967 to 1970. He currently lives in St. Stephen Infirmary, where he is engaged in the Ministry of Prayer.

“Man proposes and God disposes,” he says. “You never know what you’re going to be doing. But I can tell you this, I’ve never been happier in my life than right here in this room at home.”

50 years ordination

Fr. Norbert Schappler

Father Norbert Schappler, who celebrated the golden jubilee of priesthood this year, comes from a long line of religious vocations. A sister and six cousins entered convents. Four other cousins were ordained to the priesthood, and his uncle Father Stephen Schappler was the third abbot of Conception.

Born July 23, 1926, in Atchison, Kan., young Maurice Schappler came to know the Benedictines of St. Benedict Abbey at an early age, but he chose to follow his uncle to Conception, where he graduated from high school in 1944. Two years later he made his profession, taking the name Norbert, and in the ensuing years earned his bachelor’s and theology degrees from Conception Seminary. On May 29, 1952, he was ordained to the priesthood.

After completing his theological studies, he was enrolled in the library school of Rosary College in River Forest, Ill. After earning his master’s degree in library studies, he was appointed head librarian of Conception’s abbey and seminary library.

Father Norbert immersed himself in Conception Seminary from 1954 through 1965, serving as college prefect and professor, head librarian and assistant spiritual director. He also was art editor for Altar and Home, a liturgical magazine, and spiritual director of the abbey’s Latin Summer School for several years.

From 1964 through 1967 he was spiritual director of the seminary. In 1964 he was also appointed manager of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, a post he would hold until 1980.

In 1982 Father Norbert, an amateur calligrapher, was appointed assistant director of the Printery House, followed in 1984 by appointment as manager of art and product development, a post he held until 1998.

Father Norbert is currently living in the abbey infirmary as he recovers from injuries from the shooting of June 10. He is looking forward to resuming life in the monastery and his work as Printery House archivist.

Fr. Edgar Probstfield

Father Edgar Probstfield, 75, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood earlier this year.

Born Jan. 9, 1927, in Verona, Mo., Victor Probstfield was the ninth of 11 children. He learned of the Benedictines through his pastor, who was a monk of Conception Abbey. Victor later attended Conception High School and Conception Seminary. He entered the novitiate in 1945 and was professed the following year, taking the religious name Edgar. He was later joined at Conception by his younger brother Vernon (Father Regis).

He was ordained May 29, 1952. Following a brief stint as a seminary professor, Father Edgar was assigned for six years to Conception Abbey’s foundation at Elkhorn, Neb. In 1959 he entered into pastoral ministry as assistant pastor of St. Joseph parish in Springfield, Mo. In 1962 he became pastor at St. Columba parish in Conception Junction, Mo., only to return to Springfield two years later. From 1966 to 1970 he was pastor of the Catholic Indian Mission in Fort Yates, N.D.

For the first six years of the 1970s he was back home at the abbey, serving as business manager. But in 1976, he returned to his old haunts at St. Joseph parish in Springfield, this time as pastor. Eight years later he moved closer to home, assigned as pastor of St. Paul the Apostle parish, in Tarkio, Mo., and St. Benedict parish in Burlington Junction, Mo.

In 1987 he returned to Fort Yates as assistant pastor, and a year later was named pastor. He served there until 1995 when Conception turned over ministry of the mission to the Diocese of Bismarck. He then received his current assignment, pastor of St. Joseph parish in Trenton, Mo.

50 years profession

Fr. Denis Dougherty

Father Denis Dougherty – pastor, counselor, teacher – celebrated the 50th anniversary of his profession to monastic life this year.

Born in Sioux City, Iowa, Feb. 27, 1929, Donald Dougherty graduated from Trinity High School and attended Creighton University before coming to Conception Abbey. He was professed Sept. 8, 1952, taking the name Denis, and ordained to the priesthood May 26, 1956. He is currently pastor of St. Joseph parish in Springfield, Mo., one in a long line of Conception monks who have pastored the parish since 1892.

Following ordination, Father Denis served for a year as assistant pastor at the Catholic Indian Mission in Fort Yates, N.D., before earning a master’s degree in Sociology from St. Louis University in 1959. He returned to Conception to teach sociology and psychology in the seminary and theology school. From 1960 to 1964 Father Denis earned another master’s degree and a doctorate in education psychology from the University of Missouri. He counseled students and taught psychology and sociology at Conception from 1963 to 1972. While there, he combined the two disciplines into a Department of Behavioral Sciences. In 1968, he founded the Apostolic Program, which he directed until 1972.

Following the closing of the theology school in 1972, Father Denis moved to Rockhurst College in Kansas City, where for six years he taught psychology and served, first as an assistant and then as director, in the college’s counseling center.

He returned to the Conception area in 1978 to accept his first pastorate, at St. Columba parish in Conception Junction. He remained there for eight years, during which the church was remodeled. In that time he also founded and directed the Benedictine Counseling and Consulting Institute, first in St. Joseph and later at St. Francis Hospital in Maryville.

In 1986, Father Denis was appointed pastor of St. Gabriel parish in Kansas City, Mo., where he served for the next 13 years.

Fr. Regis Probstfield
Perhaps one of Conception Abbey’s most diverse monks, Father Regis Probstfield celebrates the 50th anniversary of his profession of monastic life this year.

A cheerful man, prone to spontaneous recitations of poetry, Father Regis, 71, has been a pastor, administrator, counselor, seminary professor, subprior, kitchen master, missionary and editor of Tower Topics.

Born Vernon Probstfield, Father Regis first met the Benedictines soon after his birth. The pastor who baptized him in 1931 at his hometown parish in Verona, Mo., was a monk of Conception Abbey. Young Vernon later followed his older brother, Father Edgar, to Conception High School, Conception Seminary and, in 1951, into the abbey’s novitiate. He professed monastic vows on Sept. 8, 1952, and was ordained to the priesthood April 6, 1957.

Father Regis received his licentiate in sacred theology from the Catholic University of America in 1958, followed by a year in the seminary as prefect and professor. He returned to academia in 1959, earning a master’s degree in Latin from Fordham University in New York, and pursuing graduate studies at the Institute of Linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Father Regis taught Latin language and literature in the seminary throughout the 1960s. He also served as vice rector, director of the summer Latin School, socius for clerics, editor of Tower Topics and student counselor.

From 1969 to 1970, Father Regis participated in clinical pastoral education at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Kansas City and at Osawatomie State Hospital in Kansas. He also was assistant director and later director of the Pastoral Formation Center in Kansas City.

He received his first pastorate in 1972 at St. Bernard parish in McLaughlin, S.D. On his return to the abbey the following year, he was named kitchen master. In the next six years he would be master of novices and juniors, associate business manager and subprior, followed by a five-year assignment as pastor of nearby St. Joseph parish in Parnell.

But in 1986, he was asked to return to the Dakotas, this time North Dakota, where he served for nine years as director of development for the Catholic Indian Mission in Fort Yates. He was joined there by his brother who was named pastor of the mission. Father Regis returned to Conception Abbey in 1995. Currently he is the compiler-editor of the liturgical calendar and personnel directory for the Swiss-American Congregation of Benedictines, and also serves as secretary to Abbot Gregory Polan.

25 years ordination

Abbot Gregory Polan

A scholar, musician and teacher, Abbot Gregory Polan, 52, celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood this year.

Born Jan. 2, 1950, in Chicago, young John Polan was drawn to Conception Abbey by its reputation for inspiring liturgy and a good musical tradition. Professed to monastic life Aug. 28, 1971, he took as a patron St. Gregory the Great. In his initial years of monastic life, Brother Gregory served his community as organist, seminary professor and member of the liturgy committee while attending Conception Seminary College until 1974 when he left for St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. Two years later he was awarded his master’s degree in theology. He was ordained May 26, 1977.

For the next three years he would fulfill a number of assignments at the abbey, including seminary professor of music and theology and spiritual advisor, organist, assistant director of public relations, and confessor for juniors, novices and postulants. He also served a one-year stint at associate pastor of St. Columba parish in Conception Junction, Mo.

Between 1980 and 1984, Father Gregory earned two advanced theology degrees, a licentiate in sacred theology and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Faculty of St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario. He also earned a civil doctorate in theology from the University of Ottawa. In that time his dissertation, “In the Ways of Justice Toward Salvation: A Rhetorical Analysis of Isaiah 56-59,” was published as a book. From 1985 to 1987 he served as director of spiritual formation for Conception Seminary College. In 1996 he was appointed president-rector, a post he held for the next nine years.

On November 6, 1996, he was elected ninth abbot of Conception Abbey.

Abbot Gregory has published a number of articles, specializing in Old Testament studies. His journal articles and book reviews have been published in Catholic Biblical Quarterly, The Bible Today, Liturgical Ministry and several other journals. He is also a regular columnist for The Catholic Key, newspaper of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Since 1995 Abbot Gregory has been a member of the Editorial Board of The Bible Today.

Fr. Albert and Abbot Gregory on August 28, 1971,
the day of their profession.

Fr. Albert Bruecken

Father Albert Bruecken, 52, who in high school dreamed of winning the Nobel Prize in astronomy, celebrated 25 years of priesthood this year.

Born April 21, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Penn., he lived in six states before graduating from Des Moines’ Dowling High School in 1968. Acquainted with Conception Abbey during a vocation week during the summer after 8th grade, Father Albert entered in 1970, and a year later was professed, becoming the answer to an abbey trivia question: Who was the first monk to keep his baptismal name at profession?

Following theology studies at Sant’ Anselmo in Rome and a pastoral year as deacon at St. Joseph’s parish in Springfield, Mo., Father Albert was ordained to the priesthood May 26, 1977. For the next two years, he studied at Northwest Missouri State University while serving as a teaching assistant at Conception Seminary College. In 1979, the abbot, attuned to the young monk’s passion for science, assigned him to studies at the University of Missouri, where in 1980 he earned his master’s degree in physical science. He returned to the abbey to teach science and mathematics and serve as socius to the master of novices and juniors. He later added spiritual advisor to his list of duties.
 
In 1983, Father Albert returned to M.U., this time to earn a doctorate in chemistry. In 1988 he returned to his post in the seminary with the added duties of director of admissions for the seminary college. This opened the door to a new passion – inviting young men to consider priestly and religious service. He served as subprior from 1993 to 1996, at which time he was named vocation director of the monastery, a post he holds to this day. In that same time, he taught in the seminary and served for a short time as monastery guest master.

A highlight of Father Albert’s monastic life has been his work with youth, including confirmation retreats and Busy Person Retreats at colleges. In 2000 he helped chaperone a trip to Rome for World Youth Day.

25 years profession

Fr. Samuel Russell

Father Samuel Russell, 50, celebrated 25 years of professed monastic life this year. Born John Russell on May 14, 1952, in Chicago, he was professed Feb. 17, 1977. Father Samuel has spent much of his monastic life in academic pursuits and in seminary administration. He is currently chaplain, dean of students and vice rector for Conception Seminary College and master of ceremonies for the monastery.

Following solemn profession Brother Samuel left for Europe, where he completed language studies in Praglia, Italy, and Munich, Germany, followed by two years of theological and monastic studies at Sant’ Anselmo in Rome. On his return in 1983 he was appointed as seminary chaplain, an assignment he holds to this day. He also directed seminary maintenance for the next four years, and then served as administrative assistant to the president-rector until 1991. In 1985 he was named to the Church Planning Committee, which later, under the name Basilica Renewal Committee spearheaded the historic renovation of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

He received his master’s degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University in Chicago in 1991. The following year he earned a baccalaureate in sacred theology from Sant’ Anselmo and in 1993 was awarded his licentiate in sacred theology.

On his return to Conception Abbey, Father Samuel was named seminary vice president for administration and returned to his duties as seminary chaplain. He was ordained to the priesthood May 14, 1994, and was assigned dean of students the following year, and vice rector in 1996.

Father Samuel, who is of Lithuanian descent, is the Holy See’s religious assistant for the Benedictine Sisters in Lithuania. Each summer he leads a group of seminarians from Conception to assist at youth camps there.

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