11 July 2022

Father Elijah Owens, OSB, was elected by the monastic chapter on Thursday, 7 June 2022, as the eighth abbot of Subiaco Abbey. Abbot Elijah succeeds Abbot Leonard Wangler, who served in this leadership position for seven years.

Subiaco is a Benedictine Abbey in Arkansas founded on 15 March 1878, and is composed of 31 solemnly professed monks, three junior monks and one novice. In addition to the daily life of prayer, Subiaco ministries include: an educational apostolate with an internationally famous all-male college-prep boarding and day school (grades 7 – 12) known as Subiaco Academy; a pastoral commitment that provides monastic priests to care for four parishes; a 36-room retreat center, gift shop, and conference facility known as Coury House; a merchandising program that produces peanut brittle, candles, urns, soap, habanero hot sauce, rosaries, calligraphy, and wood work; and our own brewery and tap room for beer that is sold locally and wholesale. Internally, the abbey maintains a health center for aging monks, a vineyard, laundry operations, gardens, maintenance and grounds staff, large kitchen facilities, a carpentry shop and a business and development office.

For Abbot Elijah’s biography and more information, please visit https://www.countrymonks.org/our-new-abbot.