Becoming a Benedictine Oblate

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A Christian person, lay or ordained, who wishes to become a Benedictine oblate of Saint Meinrad Archabbey must:

• Be of upright character and have an earnest desire for spiritual advancement according to the Christian ideas set forth in the Rule of St. Benedict.

• Not be an oblate of another monastery.

Here are the steps to becoming an Benedictine oblate:

1. Submit an application for acceptance into the oblate community. (Contact us for more information).
2. Meet with Janis Dopp, Saint Meinrad's director of Benedictine Oblates.
3. Schedule a time for the investiture ceremony, where you will receive a small religious habit called a scapular. In this ceremony, you become a novice or "beginner" in the Benedictine oblate vocation.

Receiving the scapular introduces you to a spiritual life in which you assume a few obligations and share many spiritual privileges. The obligations 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 as an oblate novice, you may participate in a ceremony called the act of final oblation and become a permanent member of the monastic family.