Br. Joachim, OSB, professes solemn vows

On Friday, May 16, 2025, Br. Joachim Conti, OSB, professed solemn vows as a monk of Conception Abbey in the presence of his family, friends, seminarians, and monastic confreres.

In the ceremony, Br. Joachim made the perpetual commitment to live as a monk of Conception’s monastery, vowing obedience, stability, and conversion of life. 

After the proclamation of the Gospel, Br. Anselm Broom, OSB, brought Br. Joachim to the altar with hands joined. Right Rev. Benedict Neenan, OSB, abbot of Conception Abbey, began the rite by calling forth the young monk in the name of the whole community. The abbot sang, “Come, my son, hear me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” Br. Joachim began his intention to profess vows before the Abbot, the community, and before Almighty God. 

 After the Abbot’s admonition, the young monk came forward to profess vows by reading aloud his profession document and signing it on the Book of the Gospels on the altar.

Br. Joachim then signed his profession document, stood before the altar, and prayed, “Suscipe me, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum et vivam, et non confundas me ab expectatione mea” (Psalm 119:116—Receive me, Lord, as you have promised, and I shall live; do not disappoint me in my hope). He sang this prayer three times, and each time it was repeated by the solemnly professed members of the monastic community, who then added the doxology. It is a prayer of total surrender and trust in the Lord. 

Then the newly professed monk lay prostrate on the floor as he was covered with the black funeral pall and the funeral bell tolled, which is symbolic of his death to self and his former way of life. The entire assembly then prayed together for Br. Joachim.

Following the Prayer of Consecration, the funeral pall was removed, as Br. Joachim received new life in Christ. He stood before the Abbot to receive the cuculla, the pleated robe worn by solemnly professed members. The Abbot and the solemnly professed monks congratulated him with the Kiss of Peace, which seals his permanent fraternity in the community of Conception Abbey. 

Br. Joachim is a native of California and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He achieved his pre-theology certificate from Conception Seminary College in May and will begin studies for the priesthood in Rome this summer. Br. Joachim currently works in the Abbey Guest Center as guestmaster.

For more information about the process of becoming a monk, visit https://www.conceptionabbey.org/monastery/becoming-a-monk/.

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