Peace !

Fr Stan ~ SlideShow
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On January 22, 2006, our confrere and a founding member of the community, Father Stanislaus Maudlin, O.S.B. died at St. William’s Home in Milbank, South Dakota.  In December, he had received an honorary doctorate from Mount Marty College, Yankton, South Dakota, and a couple weeks later, he suffered a stroke that necessitated his receiving care in the nursing home. 

Father Stan, as he was known by all of us and his many friends, was born in Greensburg, Indiana on December 16, 1916.  After having attended the minor seminary at St. Meinrad’s Abbey, he entered monastic life there in 1934 and professed vows on August 7, 1935.  He was sent to Rome for the completion of his theology at Sant’ Anselmo, and the pursuit of a S.T. D.  While in Europe, Father Stan made his solemn profession at St. Meinrad’s motherhouse in Switzerland, the Abbey of Maria-Einsiedeln.  Circumstances abroad were the cause for his untimely return to the United States.  Father Stan was often heard to say he would have probably still been teaching in the seminary if it had not been for Hitler’s rise to power.  Father Stan, not having attained his advanced degree in theology, was sent to the Indian missions following his ordination to the priesthood in 1942. 

From 1943 until 1950, he was at St. Ann’s, Belcourt, North Dakota.  In 1950, he became the superior at St. Michael’s, St. Michael, North Dakota.  After six years there, he was assigned to one of the South Dakota missions, Immaculate Conception, Stephan, South Dakota.  Father Stan was with the search party from St. Meinrad’s on the day in 1949 when the site was found for Blue Cloud. Five years later, he and the other St. Meinrad monks in the Dakotas transferred their stability from the Indiana monastery to the newly created Blue Cloud Abbey.  In 1967, Father Stan became the executive director of the American Indian Culture Research Center here at Blue Cloud.  He was enthusiastic about this work until the very end of his life.  Within the past few months, the AICRC was involved in establishing a digital library and long term archive to preserve tribal photographs. 

When Bishop Paul V. Dudley was the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, he appointed Father Stan as his Vicar for the Indian Ministry.  Upon Father Stan’s resignation from this position in 1992, Bishop Dudley wrote to him: “You are sort of the ‘patriarch’ of Indian ministry in South Dakota.  People of every faith respect you deeply. The Native Americans have an awesome reverence for your priestly ministry.”  In these later years, Father Stan wrote a monthly column for the South Falls diocesan paper, and this earned the admiration of many readers. 

The last month of Father Stan’s life was spent in and out of reality.  One day he was under the impression that he was living in Alaska.  The following day, people from the Crow Creek Reservation visited him.  He not only recognized them; he spoke Dakota with them. 

Chet and Colleen Cordell and Rebecca Durrenberger were with him when he died.  Colleen had been his secretary for many years and Rebecca was recently hired to manage the photo project.

We ask the members of our monastic congregation and all other Benedictines to remember Father Stan in their prayers for the deceased.  His funeral and burial were at Blue Cloud Abbey on January 26.  May he rest in peace.

Abbot Thomas Hillenbrand, OSB & the Monks of Blue Cloud Abbey, Marvin, South Dakota

(The Following was Fr Stan's story from Meet Our Monks)

Long before Blue Cloud Abbey in northeast South Dakota was a thought in the mind of the archabbot of St Meinrad's Archabbey in Indiana, Father Stanislaus (Stan) Maudlin was a young sub-deacon working in the Dakotas with Native American people. This came about by a strange twist of fate. Frater (cleric) Stan was studying for the priesthood at St Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. In 1937, the archabbot decided that he should study theology in Rome at San Anselmo's College. In his second year there World War II broke out, he was forced to return home. He arrive home during mid-semester in the theology class at St Meinrad. The archabbot invited seminarian Frater Stan to go with him to visit their mission at Stephan, South Dakota. Frater Stan liked it and stayed two years before returning to St Meinrad to finish his theology and be ordained a priest. The rest is history! Fr Stan's interest and love of Native Americans and their accepting him as one of their own began a life time love affair.


Native American Reconciliation Ceremony

 After ordination to the priesthood in 1942 Fr Stan returned to the Dakotas and was invited to a Naming Ceremony by the Yankton Tribe. He was given the Indian name, Wambdi Wicasta, Eagle Man which name reflected his leadership capability. He then became an associate pastor with the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe, Belcourt, North Dakota. For the 7 years there he wore many different hats, priest, liaison with the Tribe, scout master. In 1950 he was chosen by the archabbot of St Meinrad to be a co-founder of Blue Cloud Abbey in Marvin South Dakota. At the same time, he was the superintendent of St Michael School at Devils Lake, North Dakota. He didn't limit his talents to "Church Work", he was active in the community serving as a member of the Industrial Development Committee for Devils Lake.
Fr Stan moved in 1956 to be founding pastor of St John Indian Mission at Pierre, South Dakota. He started a Community Center with special provisions for adolescents, women's domestic and social development. During this time he was athletic director at 3 schools in North and South Dakota, a counselor at Pierre Indian School and summer camp director. In 1966 Father returned to Belcourt to be superintendent of the school. During his stay there he served as a member of Turtle Mountain Housing Commission.

One of the shining lights of Fr Stan's career was the establishing in 1968 of the American Indian Culture Research Center (AICRC) located at Blue Cloud Abbey. Of course he did not do it alone, he brought together many Native Americans to help him establish and maintain the Center. Scholars and individuals frequently make use of the invaluable collections of books on Native Americans and artifacts. A visit to Blue Cloud Abbey is never complete without a tour of the Center.
Over the years Fr Stan has been involved in so many facets of Native American life; conducting workshops in leadership training; courses in radio and TV production; Vicar for Indians, Diocese of Sioux Falls; retreats and reconciliation programs; regular recording of programs for Indian radio stations; has written innumerable articles and given many, many talks about Native Americans. As a result of his many endeavors, he was made a Life Member of South Dakota Historical Society.

Over the years Fr Stan has been to various Indian Naming Ceremonies receiving Indian names that reflects his many good qualities. Some of the Indian names in addition to Wambdi Wicasta: Tikdisni (Crow Creek), Nasdad Mani (Fort Totten), Mahcheekwaneeyash (Turtle Mountain), Yellow Medicine (Blackfeet).

He now lives full time at Blue Cloud Abbey, BUT far from retirement. He has kept up with the computer age and spends much time each day writing and answering many emails. He still gives tours at the Center, goes wherever he is asked to give talks. His love of his Church, Monastic Life and Indian Work has kept him young.