Celebrating the Ordination Mass

Gregorio Carrizal, Prior Mauritius Wilde, Abbot Primate Gregory Polan, Placidus Schinagl, Mons. Georg Gänswein and Gregorio Vega

19 March 2022

On 19 March, the Feast of Saint Joseph, the Sant’Anselmo community celebrated the diaconal ordination of three of our members. 

Gregorio Carrizal, OSB, made his profession on 1 May 2004, to the monastery of Santa María y todos los Santos Texin, Teocelo, Veracruz, México. The monastery is a priory of the abbey Christ in the Desert, in New Mexico, USA, and is part of the Sublacense Cassinese congregation. Deacon Gregorio is a student of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo.

Gregorio Vega, OSB, made his profession 15 August 2015 to the monastery of Monasterio Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Cuernavaca is a conventual priory of Mount Angel, Oregon, USA, and is part of the Swiss-American Congregation. Deacon Gregorio is a student of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo.

Placidus Schinagl, OSB, made his profession 10 February 2018 to Erzabtei Stift St. Peter, Salzburg, Austria. Stift Abbey is a part of the Austrian congregation. Deacon Placidus is a student of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo.

Mons. Georg Gänswein

The prefect of the Papal Household ordained three Collegio residents.

The ordination Mass was presided over by H.E. Msgr. Georg Gänswein, who is Prefect of the Papal household, and personal secretary to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. He has held the titular position of Archbishop of Urbs Salvia since 2012. Mons. Gänswein was born in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The prior of Collegio Sant’Anselmo, Fr. Mauritius Wilde, explained that It is common for the young residents of Sant’Anselmo to do the diaconate ordination here in Rome, while they are usually ordained priests in their home countries. “After the three candidates wished to ask Mons. Gaenswein, I gladly did it for them”, said Prior Mauritius. “It certainly helped that the archbishop is German as well. Moreover, we know that Pope em. Benedict himself has a great appreciation for the Benedicine tradition.”

After the ordination, the community and guests were treated to a performance by a brass band from Deacon Placidus’ village in Bavaria. Below, Deacon Placidus answers some questions about their performance.

Ciao, Placidus. From where do you come?

I’m from Saaldorf, a village in the southeast of Bavaria, near Salzburg. We belong to the parish of St. Martin.

Why did the brass band come for your ordination? What is your relationship with this band?

I’ve played in the brass band for a long time. We are colleagues and friends. 

What is this type of band called in German? Is this a Bavarian tradition? 

The name of the brass band is Musikkapelle Steinbrünning. The brass band is from my village. It’s typical for the Bavarians. In Germany – or, better, in Bavaria – we call that type of brass band “Musikkapelle” or “Blaskapelle”. It’s a tradition to play a serenade at a feast, to honor a person. And it’s typical to ask the person they want honor to conduct.

How many people were in the brass band?

I don’t know exactly, hm, I think in Rome there were about 25 people.  

How did they arrive in Rome? Where did they stay?

They organised a bus to travel to Rome. They stayed in a hotel between Circo Massimo and the Colosseo. 

The Sant’Anselmo community would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the new deacons and our thanks to all of their relatives, friends and confreres who made our celebration a truly memorable occasion. Special thanks especially to Mons. Georg Gänswein for his important presence at our Mass and his good cheer at our reception.

Altre Notizie

  • On 3 April, the Most Reverend Abbot Notker Wolf OSB, former Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, died suddenly. Here is the text of the sermon delivered by Prior Mauritius Wilde during the Sant’Anselmo Memorial Mass and links to the obituary, videos, photos and sermons.

  • Fr. Anselm Grün OSB, author and famous alumnus of Sant’Anselmo, was honored by Pope Francis. Story and photos here.

  • On 2 December 2023, the Sant’Anselmo community celebrated the diaconal ordination of Dom Kokila Fernando, OSB, in an ordination Mass presided over by Cardinal Louis Antonio Gokim Tagle. Story and photos here.