Return to Klosterneuberg

08/08/09

Picture: Closet of Skulls adorned with fancy headdresses

Today Chris, Tim, Sarah, Brian, and I returned to Klosterneuberg to meet up with Father Clemens for a tour of the Abbey’s treasury. It was housed in only two rooms, but contained some of the most ornate and impressive pieces of art I have ever seen, in addition to some truly fascinating relics. Afterwards, Father Clemens was kind enough to invite us upstairs for a drink, so we stayed and talked for a couple more hours with him in his quarters. He lived in what amounted to a three room apartment, but it was very nice (especially for a priest) and had all of the amenities that we would expect from a normal residence. Probably the most surprising thing upon walking in was a large flat-screen TV in the corner of the room, and although it was not hooked up to cable he did have quite a few stacks of DVDs littered nearby. I got a kick out of his admission that Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a large following at the Monastery; I don’t know if this is an indication of their distaste for vampires or simply just an indication that they enjoy the writing, but I like to think that the former had something to do with it.

The most illuminating thing about the return trip to the Monastery was the revelation (for me) that the men that lead lives so seemingly different from my own were in fact not all that different on the inside. Father Clemens was perfectly willing to talk about the pettiness and drama that goes on within their walls, and although they are much more civil on the whole than the society that I grew up in, they are certainly not above the same sorts of tiffs that we are used to. While he showed us set after set of absolutely incredible Vestments that were stored in the treasury, I asked him whether or not there were ever problems with the appropriate vestments not fitting some of the Brethren, and he seemed to sigh and say “Ohhhh yes. One of our Brothers, wonderful man, but he must be upwards of 400 lbs! I don’t’ understand how he does it, leading the life that we do.” I found the image of overweight canons squeezing into ancient vestments for special occasions quite funny, as it amounts to something like a game of dress-up; albeit with very serious and holy men. The ancient vestments even carried certain historical importance and meaning to the Monastery, so the inability of some of the brethren to fit into different vestments could lead to interesting situations in which some wear vestments that might outrank those worn by a higher member.

In addition to the survival of medieval dress-up games, of particular interest to me was the inside information that he divulged about the politics ad feuds that could emerge. Some of the things that he said carried significant parallels to our own social dealings, with people talking behind each other’s backs, trying to recruit others in personal arguments to support them and international differences resulting in what amounts to cliques. He was sure to emphasize that this is not what life at the abbey is about, but he admitted that there are ‘drama queens’ that often seem to be at the center of tension frequently, and that petty arguments happen more often than most (or at least I) would have imagined. He said that he generally remained on the sidelines of such disagreements within the abbey, but also that he could not avoid others attempting to sway him into their point of view on their own arguments and that it could get quite tiresome. Further, I asked him at one point what he thought of the current Abbot and he gave an absolutely frank assessment of the man and the job that he thought he was doing. He said that he is a wonderful man that always seems to mean well, but has a hard time avoiding taking one step forward and two steps back. He expressed some frustration over the state of some of the decisions being made in regard to the abbey, and the boring tedium that is listening to the same members argue their points at the bi-yearly votes every time. I also asked if he himself had any further ambitions beyond the abbey, such as becoming a bishop, and he sort of hesitated and gave a long “ummm ooooh”, before saying that it was really not a decision that he can make (I had and still have very little idea what processes go into choosing a bishop). He said that the decision pretty much came down from Rome, and implied that he would probably accept the post should it come to him, but I didn’t get the impression that it was his life’s ambition to move on from the place that he has called home for so long.

Klosternueberg is an extremely interesting place for all of the history, but the experience will truly stand out for me because of Father Clemens. I know everyone on my trip feels the same way, but I simply cannot overstate the effect that he had on how I view Canons (such as himself) and religious men in general. He completely humanized and made relevant to me a lifestyle that I had previously considered unfathomable, or at least so different from my own that an understanding was out of reach.