When talking about the ordinations and the oustanding development in vocations at Heiligenkreuz Abbey recently, I mentioned in passing that a monk of Heiligenkreuz - in fact the former prior, Fr. Christian Feurstein OCist - had been recently elected abbot of another Austrian Cistercian abbey. The abbey in question is the Abbey of Rein in Styria, which is actually the oldest Cistercian Monastery in the world, as it has been in existence since 1129 (see website in English here). This Saturday, the Abbot General of the Cistercian Order, The Rt. Rev. Dom Maurus Esteva Alsina, gave the abbatial blessing to the new abbot. Pontifical Mass was celebrated by the local ordinary, the bishop of Graz-Seckau, The Most Rev. Egon Kapellari. Here are some photographs (click to enlarge) and a video.
(On the picture above, note the pannisellus or sudarium on the crosier.)
(Yes, there are altar girls and Communion in the hand. While this is regrettable, let's not make this the topic of discussion again on this occasion; otherwise I would have to disable comments on this post.)
