How to Become an Oblate

A Christian lay person or ordained minister becomes an oblate of Saint Meinrad Archabbey by receiving a small religious habit, called a scapular, in a ceremony known as investiture. In this ceremony, the person becomes a novice or "beginner" in his or her new Benedictine oblate vocation. The words used in the ceremony of investiture symbolize a dedication of oneself to a more intensely Christian life.

Receiving the scapular is the introduction to a design for living in which the oblate assumes a few obligations and shares many spiritual privileges. The obligations assumed by the oblate do not bind under any pain of sin, for St. Benedict prefers that one serve God with love rather than with fear.

After a year spent as an oblate novice, the novice may participate in a ceremony called the act of final oblation and become a permanent member of the monastic family.

The only requisites for admission to the Oblates of St. Benedict are an upright character and the earnest desire for spiritual advancement according to the Christian ideas set forth in the Rule of St. Benedict. The minimum age for admission is 15. An oblate can belong to only one monastery.

For more information, please contact:

Fr. Meinrad Brune, OSB
Director of Benedictine Oblates
Saint Meinrad Archabbey
200 Hill Drive
St. Meinrad, IN 47577
Phone: (812) 357-6817
Fax: (812) 357-6325
E-mail: oblates@saintmeinrad.edu

Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We look forward to hearing from you.