Life of the professed monks

The Benedictine monks of Assumption Abbey in Richardton recently welcomed two men into their community—one pronouncing temporary monastic vows and one solemn vows.

On July 11, Chris Hartze of Bismarck, pronounced monastic vows for a period of three years becoming Brother Christopher.

Born in Eureka, S.D., on May 7, 1984, Chris grew up in nearby Ashley, N.D., where he attended public school. After graduation, he attended Bismarck State College for three years, earning an associate degree in applied science as a computer support specialist. He was employed briefly with aerial line contractors, Unisys, and then for Midco cable company where he worked for 15 years. All the while, he was a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck.

Chris became a candidate at Assumption Abbey on Jan. 4, 2022, and a novice, six months later, on July 8, 2022. For the next three years, he will be living and working at Assumption Abbey.

The monk is given the scapular and hood as a sign of one’s deepening monastic commitment, as well as a new name, signifying one’s new life in Christ. It is during these years that the monk, along with the community, begins to discern his specific role(s), and what shape his monastic life will take, according to the will of God and the needs of the community.

On July 22, Brother Stephen Johnson pronounced solemn vows as a Benedictine of Assumption Abbey. Back in July of 2019, he was invested as a novice, and made simple profession on July 11, 2020. In solemn vows, he is now a full member of the abbey community. This type of consecration to God is reserved by the Holy See olyHHolyto only certain religious orders.

Brother Stephen was born in Baton Rouge, La., in 1996, to Mark and Loriann Johnson and grew up in Fargo with his family where he attended public schools. He graduated from North Dakota State University summa cum laude with a major in botany and minors in German, chemistry and statistics. Brother Stephen has recently begun studies for the priesthood at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. This will include two years of pre-theology and four years of theology.

Solemn vows mark the beginning of a lifelong committed journey in Christ as a monk of Assumption Abbey. The cuculla, a pleated choir robe, is given as a sign of this commitment. A solemnly professed monk now takes part in all aspects of the monastic life.

Assumption Abbey brief history

The monks of Assumption Abbey have a long, storied history in North Dakota tracing their roots back to the Benedictine movement in the 19th century. In June 1899, a Swiss monk, Father Vincent Wehrle, OSB, and a handful of monks began monastic life at Richardton (75 miles west of Bismarck). These men ministered to Catholics in the entire western part of the state based at their new monastery called St. Mary’s Priory. In 1903, the community was raised to the rank of an abbey and Prior Vincent Wehrle was named abbot of St. Mary’s Abbey.

After a series of setbacks and a declaration of bankruptcy in 1924, the Richardton monastic community was no longer viable. In 1926, by Roman decree, the community was revived, and monastic life renewed by 1928. The name of the monastery was then changed to Assumption Abbey. By 1931, the Richardton community petitioned Rome for restoration of independent, abbey status. Since then, the monks of Assumption Abbey have endured many changes and transitions to remain a small, yet faithful community on the western Plains focused on the Rule of St. Benedict and centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

—Staff report