Fr. George professed vows in 1945 at St. Meinrad, Indiana. Very soon after his ordination in 1950 he was assigned to help the newly founded Blue Cloud community. Over the next thirty years he worked in the Indian missions at Belcourt, North Dakota, and Marty, South Dakota. Fr. George wore a number of different work hats during these years, serving as a teacher, coach, pastor, school administrator and dormitory supervisor. At the present time Fr. George serves the abbey as Prior and Novice master.

Fr. Odilo was similarly assigned to Blue Cloud shortly after his ordination at St. Meinrad in 1950. He also has served in a variety of jobs over the years, including Subprior, theology teacher, and pastor. Fr. Odilo was assigned to our mission Priory in Coban, Guatemala from 1976 to 1989. He is presently the abbey librarian, and for many years he has taken most of the photographs that appear in our mailings and other publications. Photography has been his longtime hobby and continues to be even now in this day of digital cameras.

As a community we will always be grateful for the talent and traditions given to us by the founding monks from St. Meinrad.

A JUBILEE CELEBRATION

The weekend of August 26 and 27 saw hundreds of our friends visit the abbey to help us celebrate our 50th anniversary. They joined us for mass, lunch and special presentations. The presentations were a combination of talks, slide shows and original movies taken in the early years of the monastery. Perhaps a highlight of the shows came when Fr. Stan asked a longtime friend of the abbey, Stella Pretty Sounding Flute, to tell the story of her childhood. Stella attended Immaculate Conception mission school in Stephan, SD and spoke with gratitude of the Benedictine monks and sisters who worked with Native American children. Our guests also had a chance to see our history traced out in several displays of vintage photos.

Tuesday, August 29, saw a repeat performance of the celebration, this time for the priests and religious of the area. Archabbot Lambert Riley of St. Meinrad was homilist at the mass. Bishop Robert Carlson of Sioux Falls also graced us, along with a number of retired bishops and abbots. The monks send our gratitude to all who helped with the celebrations. In particular we thank the oblates who provided salads, and the ladies of Annunciation Parish in Revillo, who provided a large quantity of baked goods.

FATHER LAWRENCE KRATZ, O.S.B.

A founding member of our community, died at St. William’s Nursing Home, Milbank, South Dakota on July 10, 2000 at 11:00 p.m. He had been a resident there for the past year and a half. Father Lawrence was born on December 7, 1912 in Evansville, Indiana. At the age of 34, he entered the novitiate at St. Meinrad’s Archabbey, and professed vows on August 1, 1947. He was ordained to the priesthood at St. Meinrad on May 3, 1952. Father Lawrence was a convert to Catholicism. He often repeated the story about his Lutheran grandmother’s introduction to Archabbot Ignatius Esser on her first visit to St. Meinrad’s. She admired his pectoral cross, and asked where she might procure one like it for her grandson.

In his youth, Father Lawrence joined an archeological expedition to the Yucatan. This experience formed his enduring love for the lands and peoples south of our border. He located the site for our foundation in Guatemala, and helped get it off the ground before answering a request to assist the St. Meinrad monks with their apostolate in Peru. Father Lawrence spent a good number of years in pastoral work in a Lima barrio. Before either of these assignments, he had assisted the monks from St. Joseph Abbey, Louisiana, at Guatemala’s national shrine in Esquipulas.

During the construction era at Blue Cloud Abbey, Father Lawrence was in charge of the appeal office here. A benefactor once told him that he had the “ability to charm the birds out of the trees.” He did indeed have a way that endeared him to people. He was a good-natured man. When he returned to this country, Father Lawrence spent several summers in the Red River Valley ministering to the Mexican - American migrants who labored in the sugar beet fields of North Dakota and Minnesota. His Spanish-speaking parishioners called him “Padrecito.” So did many of his monastic confreres. And there are four young men who called him “Grandpa.” When Father Lawrence was in Peru he was the friend of a family whose son he brought to this country to study. Gustavo stayed here and married. Father Lawrence was very proud of Gustavo and Susan’s four sons. One of them once baffled a playmate by telling him, “Our grandpa is coming to see us. He’s a priest.” Father Lawrence’s last assignment was in Watertown, South Dakota, where he was chaplain for the Benedictine Sisters at Mother of God Monastery. During this time, his health began failing. For the past year, Father Lawrence was often confused, and sometimes he appeared not to recognize his own confreres. At last, all has been made clear for him. Father Lawrence’s funeral was on July 13^th. We ask the members of the Swiss-American Congregation, and other Benedictines to remember him in their prayers.

RETREAT PROGRAMS

Blue Cloud has long been recognized as a special place to come aside, to think, to pray, to be quiet before God and listen. Our retreat center offers a variety of retreat programs for groups or individuals. These include: Group Retreats - for men, women or couples Days of Recollection - for groups, including parish or church organizations.
Directed Private Retreats - includes daily guidance by a retreat director.
Individual Private Retreats - simply for a time of quiet and prayer, from a single day to a week or more.

We also offer some special-purpose facilities:

The Hermitages - Two small cabins, each for a single person, are located in the pine grove by the lower abbey lake. Nearby trails lead to the prairie and wooded ravines. The hermitage experience is for anyone seeking greater quiet and stillness for the sake of prayer. Prayerful solitude provides an opportunity for God to nourish and restore the spirit. The Hermitages were improved this summer with the addition of electricity. Now guests can use them in a wider variety of seasons and weather.

Camp Mahpiyato - Just east of the abbey lies a large wooded ravine, hidden from the road just half a mile away. In the midst of this quiet and private setting, we have constructed a campsite and place of retreat. Camp Mahpiyato is ideal for parish groups, youth groups, scouts, family groups etc. Any such group can reserve the camp for their exclusive use. If not reserved, the camp is open for use by individuals or small groups.