At First Vespers of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Mary (August 14, 2014), Abbot Cletus Meagher, O.S.B., received three new
postulants into the novitiate of St. Bernard Abbey. The new novices were formally
given the Benedictine habit of tunic, scapular and belt. On the occasion each received his new name to
be used in his new way of life.
Brother Novice Dominic (Stephen) Lee was born in Madison,
Alabama twenty years ago. Ten years
later his family moved to Huntsville, Alabama where they remain and are members
of Holy Spirit Parish. Br. Dominic was
homeschooled throughout his high school years.
He has two older sisters and three younger brothers. One of his sisters is a Benedictine nun at the
Abbey of St. Walburga in northern Colorado.
Born and reared in Birmingham, Alabama, Brother Paschal
(Gabriel) Pautler is 18 years old. He
has a younger sister and two younger brothers, as well as an older half-brother
and a half-sister. Br. Paschal attended St. Rose Academy in Birmingham before
coming to St. Bernard Prep as a boarding student in the 9th grade. He graduated from SBP in May 2014 and entered
the monastery just two weeks later, drawn to the Benedictine life he saw lived
out during his four years as a St. Bernard student.
Brother Pachomius (Gustavo) Alverado is 36 years old. He was
born in Matanzas, Cuba. Brother’s mother and his sister, his only sibling, live
together in Cuba. His father is deceased. While still in Cuba, Br. Pachomius
attended university where he studied Social Media. Before completing his
degree, he was hired by a marketing and public relations company in Bogota,
Columbia. He held that job for two years during which time he learned of the
Benedictine monastery of Tibati in Bogota. After several visits to the
monastery, he decided to join them. However, after about a year and a half, he
chose to leave Tibati before completing his novitiate. While at the monastery
of Tibati, he met our Fr. Joel Martin, O.S.B., who was in Colombia recruiting
for the Prep School. Fr. Joel apparently made a good impression on Br.
Pachomius as the meeting led him to investigate St. Bernard Abbey and come to
the U.S.A. to join us.
Having served their initial two months in the monastery as
postulants, the three men will live as novices (beginners) in the monastery for
one year plus one day, making it possible to profess their first vows on the
Solemnity of the Assumption, 15 August 2015.
Remaining at the monastery for the entirety of their novitiate year, the
novices will live the Benedictine life of prayer and work, and spend time
studying the Rule of Saint Benedict, monastic tradition and spirituality, and
Sacred Scripture. They and the community
will use this year to discern whether God is calling them to live the monastic life
and its vows of Stability, Obedience, and Conversion of Life (conversatio
morum) at Saint Bernard Abbey.
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