Alumnus Benedictine Makes Final Profession!

Five years ago, just months after graduating from Thomas Aquinas College, Philip Wilmeth (’13) departed for Norcia, Italy, where he joined the Benedictine Order at the Monastery of San Benedetto. Two years later, he made his first vows and took the name of Br. Augustine, O.S.B. And one year after that, he was in Norcia — birthplace of Saints Benedict and Scholastica — when the city was devastated not once, but twice, by earthquake.

Now, as his monastery and region rebuilds, Br. Augustine has committed himself to serving both for the rest of his earthly life. On Friday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he made his final profession, taking the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and pledging himself to a life of prayer in this thriving community of Benedictine monks, where he works as the brewmaster for the order’s world-renowned beer.

Thanks be to God! Please pray for Br. Augustine and all of his confreres, especially fellow alumnus Br. Mary Evagrius Hayden, O.S.B. (’08).