Are abbots priests?

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In general, monks who are elected abbot are priests or they are ordained priests once elected. When one becomes an abbot one is not automatically a priest.
Hope that helps
God Bless
 
phil8888 said:
are abbots priests?
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Hello phil8888,

As in ordained priests? Yes, always. The law of the Church and the way in which authority is exercised according to that law require such a man, who has this office, to have the priestly character.

Dan
 
phil8888 said:
are abbots priests?
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An abbot in the Catholic tradition is typically the spiritual and administrative leader of a monastery. Abbots are monks, lay people who take vows of poverty and/or chastity in service to Christ. There have been abbotesses of female orders but they often use different terminology for their leader, if I note correctly.

Abbots, like monks, can complete seminary training and become ordained as a priest. But not all monks are priests. One person who is both is Father Benedict Groeschel, a Franciscan friar and host of his own EWTN sunday TV program.
 
Thank you all for your considerate replies. But what I see is three thoughtful opinions, all different. So, does anyone have the real, authoritative answer?
 
Theophorus said:
In general, monks who are elected abbot are priests or they are ordained priests once elected. When one becomes an abbot one is not automatically a priest.
Hope that helps
God Bless
Click to expand...
Thanks for your info! I had wondered about that for several years.🙂
 
Although many or even most abbots are also priests, in the Benedictine tradition there is no requirement that abbots be ordained to the priesthood.

You can read about What Kind of Man the Abbot Ought to Be in the Rule of St. Benedict.

Even St. Benedict himself was not a priest.

-Tim-
 
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