This project consists of interviews with three members of the Benedictine order who lived and worked at Saint Meinrad Archabbey. Some major topics of discussion include religious training and education, daily monastic life, the business ventures of the abbey, and the history of the abbey. In addition, the interviewees discuss the vows and roles of priests and monks, as well as the abbey's relationship with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
| Interviewee: | Daly, Simeon |
| Call number: | 80-019 |
| Date(s) of Interview: | March 7, 1980 |
| Physical Description: | 32 pp.; 1 reel, 1 7/8 ips, 90 minutes; no index; xeroxed photograph of interviewee, 3 St. Meinrad College brochures, 1979 St. Meinrad Annual Report, 2 St. Meinrad Archabbey pamphlets |
| Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
| Access Status: | Open |
| Interviewer: | Giroux, Vincent A., Jr. |
Father Simeon Daly, of the Order of Saint Benedict, born on May 9, 1922, discusses the background and purposes of Saint Meinrad Archabbey and Monastery, as well as the changes he has witnessed since he came in 1943. Father Daly comments on the organization of the monastery, the differences between priest and non-priest monks, the content of Benedictine vows, and religious training at the Archabbey. In addition, he describes daily life at the monastery, as well as its relationship with the greater Roman Catholic Church.
Order of Saint Benedict
Swiss-American Federation
Benedictine monk
Catholic priest
librarian
Benedictine vows
church hierarchy
monastery history
monastery organization
monastic life
religious education
| Interviewee: | Heck, Theodore |
| Call number: | 80-018 |
| Date(s) of Interview: | March 7, 1980 |
| Physical Description: | not transcribed; 1 reel, 1 7/8 ips, 90 minutes |
| Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
| Access Status: | Open |
| Interviewer: | Giroux, Vincent A., Jr. |
In this interview, Theodore Heck, born in 1901, discusses Saint Meinrad Archabbey and Seminary. In addition, he speaks of education at Saint Meinrad College and School of Theology.
St. Meinrad College
St. Meinrad School of Theology
religious education
| Interviewee: | Ostdick, Rupert |
| Call number: | 80-017 |
| Date(s) of Interview: | March 7, 1980 |
| Physical Description: | 37 pp.; 1 reel, 1 7/8 ips, 90 minutes; no index |
| Physical Location: | Interviews are housed in Weatherly Hall North, Room 122. Copies are also housed at the Indiana University Archives in Herman B Wells Library E460. For other locations housing the interviews from this project, please contact the Center for the Study of History and Memory office. |
| Access Status: | Open |
| Interviewer: | Giroux, Vincent A., Jr. |
Father Rupert Ostdick, born on November 14, 1921, discusses his experiences as a Benedictine monk and priest, business manager, and treasurer at Saint Meinrad Archabbey. He speaks of the Archabbey's trials during the Great Depression, its degree of self-sufficiency, and its business ventures, including forestry, a sandstone quarry, and the Abbey Press. In addition, Father Ostdick describes monastic life and the impact the abbey has had on employment in Spencer County, Indiana.
Abbey Press
Gillis, Bertrand
Spencer County, Indiana
Benedictine monk
Catholic priest
abbey treasurer
business manager
Great Depression
abbey business ventures
abbey vandalism
agriculture
forestry
monastic life
religious education
religious vocation
sandstone quarry