Born:  1964
Professed:  April 6, 1991
Hometown:  Zeutern, Germany
Monastery Work: Prior

I grew up in Zeutern in the region of Baden in Germany. In my hometown, I was very active and integrated into the social life of the town such as the music club, parish and neighborhood. I also wanted to experience this in my spiritual life. That's why I decided to join the Benedictine order, where I could contribute socially, culturally and musically.

My family ran a farm on which I learned how to work in vineyards, fields, orchards, garden and how to raise cattle or other animals. This has kept me connected to agriculture and nature to this day, which I love very much. In addition, I did technical vocational training for control systems. I worked in this profession for a few years.

When I entered the Benedictines in Münsterschwarzach Abbey in Germany, I continued to connect pastoral and practical work all the time, as we in the Order put it in short: “pray and work.”

Thus, I was working in various pastoral fields: in the youth ministry of the Abbey, a member of the Gregorian chant schola, served as a headmaster of the vocational training center, supervising workshops and the building section and was in charge of the public relations for our Abbey before I was sent for missionary work in Tanzania, East Africa in 2002.

In 2006 I was elected abbot of Peramiho Abbey in Tanzania. One of my first tasks in Peramiho was to transition the community of Peramiho from a European dominated monastery to an African community. When I came to Peramiho, the majority of members were missionaries from Europe. After 11 years we were only 10 missionaries left; most of them older than 80.

Education of the young Tanzanian confreres in Peramiho was very important. We trained them in various fields: pastoral education in our seminary, agriculture, administration, workshops such as carpentry, car mechanics, electrical, etc. The aim was that the young Tanzanian confreres would take over the responsibilities from the former European monks. At the end of my term, it was time to hand over responsibility into African hands. When I left Peramiho Abbey, all workshops and institutions were under the supervision of Tanzanian monks or employees and were succeeding well.

After leaving Tanzania, I used my international experience in our motherhouse in St. Ottilien Archabbey in Germany. From there I served as the mission procurator of our Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of St. Ottilien from 2018 to 2020. My duties were spread all over the world. I was supervising our mission work in Africa: Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Togo, South Africa and Egypt; in Asia: India, Philippines, China, South Korea and in South America: Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba. During this time, I was travelling and visiting our communities around the world. In doing this, I gained insights into the various cultures of our Congregation.

Meet Fr. Anastasius Video