Mother Benedict Duss, founder of cloistered Connecticut abbey, dies

By John BohuslawCatholic News ServiceBETHLEHEM, Conn. (CNS) --

Gregorian chant echoed within the simple wooden Church of Jesu Fili Mariae Oct. 5 as Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell celebrated a traditional monastic liturgy of burial in Latin for Mother Benedict Duss, retired abbess of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem.Mother Benedict, who was the founder and first abbess of the Connecticut monastery for cloistered Benedictine nuns, died Oct. 2 at age 94. She would have turned 95 Nov. 21.During the funeral, she lay in an open pine and cedar coffin resting on two stools covered with sheepskins. The coffin was placed first in the sanctuary before Mass and then brought into the cloister during Mass.The more than three-hour service drew several hundred attendees, including retired Hartford Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin, several priests and dozens of religious sisters including 37 members of the abbey community, as well as religious brothers and laity.Father Robert F. Tucker, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in nearby Litchfield, preached the homily." We celebrate the love and life of Lady Abbess ... This was a great woman of faith, who had a spousal relationship with God," he said.Father Tucker said the outstanding accomplishments of the abbess were achieved by "determination, hard work and prayer." He recalled her strong determination not to let obstacles deter her.After the Mass, the coffin was placed on a wooden cart covered with flowers and drawn by two young black and white oxen from the abbey. The cart proceeded up a hill -- followed by Archbishop Mansell, priests, sisters and laity -- to the community's cemetery.After the archbishop's blessing, Mother Benedict was laid to rest in a grave dug by the sisters, who together shoveled it full of dirt.She was born Vera Duss on Nov. 21, 1910, in Pittsburgh to Elizabeth Vignier and John Duss, an attorney.At the age of 3, she emigrated to France with her mother and only brother, John. In 1936, she earned a medical degree from the University of Paris and in the same year she entered the Benedictine Abbey of Notre Dame de Jouarre, outside Paris, where she was given the name Sister Benedict. She was her religious community's physician.During World War II, the abbey was occupied by the German army, which put her at a particular risk since because was an American citizen. She fled the abbey to escape their notice but continued to treat those in the abbey and neighboring villages.After Allied forces liberated the abbey on Aug. 27, 1944, she resolved to start contemplative Benedictine life in her homeland.Having obtained the permission of the papal nuncio of Paris, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, she traveled to Rome to meet with Cardinal Giovanni Montini, who later became Pope Paul VI. She finally met with Pope Pius XII, who gave her permission to begin the founding of a contemplative order in the U.S.In 1946, Mother Benedict and Mother Mary Aline Trilles de Warren, a French nun, arrived in New York with just $20 in their pockets. Two years after industrialist Robert Leather donated 50 acres in Bethlehem, and with the help of countless people, the Regina Laudis Monastery was established.Mother Benedict at the time said the name Regina Laudis, which is Latin for Queen of Praise, was chosen because "Mary is the exemplar of praise for the Lord; she did nothing but live to meet God's terms."The story of the origination of the abbey was the basis of the 1948 movie, "Come to the Stable," written by Claire Booth Luce and starring Loretta Young and Celeste Holm.The early years were a struggle, but the nuns planted vegetable gardens, developed beef and dairy herds and pursued various crafts, such as blacksmithing, spinning, weaving, bookbinding and pottery.On Feb. 10, 1976, following the approval of its constitutions by the Holy See, Regina Laudis Monastery was elevated to an abbey; Mother Benedict received the abbatial blessing and the title of lady abbess. Mother Benedict become abbess emerita in 1994.A passionate scholar and master of Gregorian chant, Mother Benedict introduced the singing of chant from the first days of the abbey.Gregorian chant continues to be sung throughout the day and once at night. Under her direction, the nuns have released two recordings on compact discs.Today, the abbey's community comprises 37 women from 14 states and Europe. They operate a large working farm, several guesthouses, a monastic internship program for young people and a monastic art shop. They also sponsor an annual theater production.Mother Benedict once said of her work: "Founding a monastery is a continuous process of sawing to build your design and trying to dispose of the sawdust, while you're always being forced to reconstruct. You give it your all and it's never done... I lean on one of St. John of the Cross' basic principles. He said, in a situation where there is no love, you put in love and love will be there."Mother Benedict was predeceased by her co-foundress, Mother Mary Aline, 10 other members of her monastic community and her brother. Besides the nuns at Regina Laudis, survivors include two nephews, four great-nephews and two great-nieces.
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