| On September 5, 1975, Fr Ildephonse
Kreidler, a founding member if our community, died. He was born
in Rexingen, Wurttemberg, Germany on May 2, 1888. He professed vows as a
Benedictine at St Meinrad Archabbey on September 8, 1914, having come to
this country in 1908 to begin studies for the priesthood. He was ordained at
St Meinrad on June 10, 1919. Fr Ildephonse received a master's degree from
Notre Dame University and taught at Jasper Academy in Indiana. When the
school was transferred to Aurora, Illinois, he became a founding member of
what is now Marmion Abbey. For two years he was brother instructor at St
Meinrad and from 1940 until 1950 he was superior at St Michael Indian
Mission, At Michael, North Dakota were, under great hardship during World
War II, he was responsible for the construction of the present mission
church. When Blue Cloud Abbey was founded in 1950, he transferred his
stability to the new monastery and worked here for several years as fund
raiser. From 1963 until 1967 he was chaplain of St Bernard's Hospital,
Milbank, South Dakota. Shortly after Christmas of 1969 Fr Ildephonse suffered a stroke which left him totally deaf and speechless. Unable to offer mass or correspond with the many friends he had made throughout his life. Fr Ildephonse gracefully accepted the burdens of old age and his personal infirmities. Until the last year he worked everyday in the abbey library. He spent the last year of his life quietly praying and reading in his room. Whenever a member of the community would drop by to see him, Fr Ildephonse always extended a firm handshake, a gracious smile, and a delightful laugh. He was a gentle, happy man and an inspiration to his confreres. |