The community

Collegio Sant’Anselmo is more than a student dormitory. We live as a community as we do in our home monasteries, helping and serving each other. Many elements assist in creating a sense of monastic community: eating family-style in the refectory, in parts with colloquium, in parts in silence with table reading or music; alternating table service; responsibility for washing dishes; and serving in different capacities in the liturgy. A water fountain, a coffee machine or recreation after Sunday Mass, all serve as informal points of encounter. We also regularly host community gatherings around liturgical feasts, secular holidays, personal milestones and even barbeques. The Collegio’s guest house is open for men and women, for relatives and friends of the monk residents. Weekends and vacations can be used by the confreres for outings in Italy and beyond.

Our community generally comprises 110 residents from more than 45 different countries. Our diversity is the great richness of Sant’Anselmo. As our founders wished from the beginning, the monks encounter traditions and customs of other congregations and monastic houses. They learn from different cultures and mentalities. They make monk friends and benefit from networking. Each week in the cloister walk, we present a poster of the “Monastery of the Week” that introduces a new house of our Confederation to the residents. It is most rewarding to them to discover that — considering all differences — there is a common ground on which we stand: the Rule and the life of Saint Benedict. In this way, a residency at Sant’Anselmo becomes an opportunity to strengthen and broaden the Benedictine identity of the young monk.

As the Benedictine monks come from all over the world, it makes a lot of sense to understand and speak Italian, first because we must have a common language and second because we live in Italy. In addition, most of the classes at the Atheneum are held in Italian. However, most residents speak at least two languages, some even more. When we gather, we generally speak Italian, but if the group is from one country, we will naturally speak our common language.

Italian is not too difficult to learn. We recommend that incoming residents arrive between three to six months early and enroll in a language course. We can help you to find the right language school.