, 12 July 1835; died at St. Meinrad's Abbey, 14 February 1898) was a Swiss Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

, who became Abbot of St. Meinrad Archabbey

St. Meinrad Archabbey

Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Spencer County, Indiana, USA, was founded by monks from Einsiedeln Abbey on March 21, 1854, and is home to approximately 98 monks. It is one of only two archabbeys in the United States and one of 11 in the world....

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

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Life

He studied at the monastic school of Einsiedeln in Switzerland, where he took the Benedictine habit in 1854, made profession on 14 October 1855, and was raised to the priesthood on 11 September 1859. A year later he accompanied his confrère, Martin Marty

Martin Marty (bishop)

Bishop Martin Marty, O.S.B. was a Benedictine priest and missionary in America. He was the first Abbot of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, the first Vicar Apostolic of Dakota Territory, and the second Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud...

, afterwards Bishop of St. Cloud, to the newly founded monastery of St. Meinrad in Indiana.

Having arrived there in September, 1860, he taught in the seminary and attended a few neighbouring missions. While stationed at Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...

 (1864), he organized the German Catholic Congregation of St. Benedict, for which he built a church in 1865. In 1869, when St. Meinrad was raised to an abbey and Father Marty became its first abbot, Father Fintan was appointed prior and master of novices.

While Abbot Marty worked among the Native Americans in Dakota

Dakota Territory

The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...

 (1876–80), Prior Fintan was administrator of the abbey, and, upon the resignation of the former, who had meanwhile been appointed Vicar Apostolic of Dakota, Fintan was elected Abbot of St. Meinrad on 3 February 1880, and received abbatial benediction from Silas Chatard

Silas Chatard

Silas Francis Marean Chatard was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Indianapolis in the United States.He was born Francis Chatard in Baltimore, Maryland on December 13, 1834...

, Bishiop of Vincennes, Indiana on 16 May 1880.

He enlarged the college, founded the Priory of Subiaco in Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 and the Priory of St. Joseph in Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, and obtained from Rome the permission to erect the Helvetico-American Congregation of Benedictines, of which he became the first president. When St. Meinrad's Abbey was destroyed by fire on 2 September 1887, he rebuilt the monastery on an even greater scale, founded a commercial college at Jasper, Indiana

Jasper, Indiana

- Strassenfest :The Jasper Strassenfest is a four-day event held annually during the first weekend in August. The "Fest" is a celebration between Jasper and its German sister-city Pfaffenweiler, a small village in southwest Germany. Many citizens of Pfaffenweiler travel to Jasper around this time...

, and assisted in the foundation of the Priory of St. Gall in North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

.

He was a fervent promoter of the Priests' Eucharistic League

Priests' Eucharistic League

The Priests' Eucharistic League was a Roman Catholic confraternity set up in the nineteenth century, with primary object the frequent and prolonged worship of the Blessed Sacrament by priests....

. In 1893 he took part in the Eucharistic Congress held at Jerusalem.