Reflections from Rome
Br. Mark Nelson and Br. Joachim Conti, young members of our monastic community, are currently enrolled in priestly studies at Sant’ Anselmo in Rome. Br. Mark is in his second year and will be ordained to the diaconate this summer. Br. Joachim is in his first year of studies. The two have shared some reflections throughout their time in Rome—a highlight being Pope Leo’s presence during the school’s 125th anniversary in November.
 Br. Joachim serves as cantor at Mass. |
The beginning of the academic year was marked by great excitement with the announcement that Pope Leo XIV would visit the Basilica of Sant’ Anselmo on November 11, 2025 to preside at Mass for the 125th anniversary of its dedication and to greet each monk and resident personally. To my surprise and gratitude, I was also invited to join the small schola (choir) singing for the liturgy. After weeks of preparation and anticipation, the long-awaited evening arrived. The monks quietly filled the choir stalls as the Holy Father entered, venerated the relics of St. Hildegard of Bingen—brought to Sant’ Anselmo for the occasion—vested, and began the Mass. In his homily, he invoked the image of a beating heart circulating blood throughout the body. That image beautifully captures the exterior parallel between studying in Rome and prayer: inserted into the heart of the Church, we absorb an experience of her abundant life and are sent back to enrich the Body of Christ. —Br. Joachim Conti, OSB |
Did you know that Pope Leo XIV has visited Conception Abbey? I was surprised to learn this from Pope Leo himself during a brief exchange outside the sacristy at Sant’ Anselmo on November 11. When I met him, I simply looked him in the eye and said, “Your Holiness.” Although he was about to move on, he turned to me and asked, “Are you from the United States?” I told him I was from Conception Abbey in Missouri. He replied, “I’ve been to Conception Abbey. I gave a retreat in the guest house.”
While I should have responded with something both interesting and memorable, I confess I stood speechless, and the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church continued on his way to the sacristy. Later that day, I called the Abbey Guest Center to see if they could find any record of Fr. Robert Prevost’s visit, but none could be located.
To place my small encounter with the Holy Father in context, I should describe the tremendous amount of preparation that preceded his visit to Sant’ Anselmo for the 125th anniversary of the church’s dedication. For months, the monks here have held lengthy meetings about every imaginable detail—seating plans, commemorative books, new signage for the cloister, and so on. My capo in the sacristy, Fr. Filipe of Brazil, met frequently with the Prior and officials of the Papal Household. In the weeks leading up to November 11, he leaned on me and the two other assistant sacristans to support him with his ordinary responsibilities. As he put it, the planning for this anniversary was molto pesante—“very heavy.”
During the Mass, Pope Leo’s homily offered rich reflections on the significance of place. On the one hand, he spoke of the ancient tradition of monks going out to frontiers. In his words, “From the beginning, monasticism has been a frontier reality.” On the other hand, he preached how this vocation to go out to remote places derives from each monk putting Christ at the center. Later, he spoke about how the dedication of a church opens a space of encounter between the finite and the infinite, the temporal and the eternal, humanity and God. Though his words were for Sant’ Anselmo, I could not help but think of Conception Abbey and its history.
—Br. Mark Nelson, OSB
Pope Leo blesses a rosary for Br. Mark (left).
Photo credit: © Vatican Media
Piano, Piano…A phrase frequently repeated to newcomers at Sant’ Anselmo is “piano, piano”—slowly, slowly; one step at a time. A different academic system, a foreign culture, and a new language each require adjustments that—no matter how determined one may be—cannot happen overnight. The frustration of lacking the vocabulary to express oneself, the heightened need to rely on others, and the subtle differences in accent or mental energy that suddenly render one incapable of grasping basic instructions (let alone a lecture on Trinitarian theology) can make a person feel reduced to the simplicity of childhood. Yet this experience is both an exercise in patience and one of the great blessings of living abroad. It invites me to confront the limits of my own perspective, to grow in adaptability, to rediscover what is truly essential for communication, and to reflect on the pastoral value of thinking and speaking at a level accessible even to a child. —Br. Joachim Conti, OSB |
 Left: Br. Mark captured this photo of Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan during his travels. Top right: Consecrated religious pray for Pope Francis, St. Peter’s Basilica, on May 3, 2025. Bottom right: In the Vestry of Sant’Anselmo |
 Br. Mark prepares for Mass in the Vestry. |
Logos and LanguagesAs a student of languages, I see each day of study and prayer in Italian and Latin as an invitation to contemplate the mystery of the Logos (Word) who became flesh, who in Nazareth learned at least one language to communicate with us for our salvation. This is not to say, however, that learning Italian has been easy. I find that I am able to follow the lectures in Italian well enough to comprehend the general ideas, but my ability to speak Italian is—to put it mildly—non bene. I hear that it is fairly normal for students in Rome to spend their first year trying to learn Italian. —Br. Mark Nelson, OSB |
Finding Time to Explore
During my first days in Rome, I heard a story of a sagacious monk who had lived at Sant’Anselmo decades ago. He told a new student that it would be a sin to have never explored Rome’s many monuments, basilicas, and museums out of concern for perfect attendance in choir and class. Although I am making the most of this opportunity to explore Rome, I do not think Prior Brendan would report any issues regarding my attendance in community exercises and class lectures at Sant’Anselmo.
I had an opportunity to go to Engelberg Abbey during Christmas break. Abbot Christian and the monks of Engelberg gave me a warm welcome, despite the frosty Alpine weather. There were over 10,000 skiers in town on the weekend after Christmas, following a prodigious storm that had covered the mountains with fresh snow. The crowded trains and cable cars did not stop me from visiting the sisters of Maria Rickenbach that week. Although I joined the sisters for Midday Prayer, they had me dine with their chaplain in the guest area. My favorite memory, however, was when Sr. Andrea interrupted our lunchtime conversation to show us her copy of Tower Topics, with pictures from my recent solemn profession.
—Br. Mark Nelson, OSB
Posted in General, Monastery News