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History of the Abbey Cemetery
The first cemetery at Saint John’s (c. 1869), a plot of
about thirty square feet, was located in the area in front
of the present Simmons Hall on the campus
of Saint John’s University.
 In 1875 Father Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B., drew up plans for
the layout of a new cemetery to be located on an acre of a hill
lying a quarter mile south of the monastery. In the winter
of 1875-76, Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, O.S.B., ordered that the
hill be cleared of timber and a worthy cemetery laid out on its
eastern slope for the members of the community and the local
parish of Saint John the Baptist. Ironically, Wolfgang
died on February 8, 1876, at the age of 33, and was the first
to be interred in the new cemetery. On February 10, following
a solemn Requiem Mass, a procession lead by the mournful sounds
of the Saint John’s College Band, accompanied a large number
of monks and mourners to the cemetery to bury Father Wolfgang.
 On September 12, 1876, a large white cross was raised on the
hill and on November 2, the monks buried in the original cemetery
were re-interred: Demetrius de Marogna, O.S.B., the first prior
of Saint John’s (†March 27, 1869); Placid Brixius,
O.S.B., a carpenter who helped build the first convent for the
Benedictine Sisters at St. Joseph (†June 28, 1871); and
Othmar Wirtz, O.S.B., the prior who oversaw the move of the monastery
from St. Cloud to Collegeville (†June 8, 1874). Three
students from the college also were re-interred in the new cemetery:
Max Schmoeger (†January 1, 1870); Martin McIntire (†March
4, 1871); and John Bonne (†April 7, 1872). Two monks
who had been buried in the parish cemetery in St. Joseph were
re-interred on November 9, 1876: Benno Muckenthaler (†March
27, 1859), one of the pioneer monks whose relatives in Bavaria
sent him the first church bell in Stearns County; and Novice
Gall Kederly (†November 5, 1864). Benno and Gall died
before the community was located at the present site and are
considered monks of Saint Vincent’s Archabbey, Latrobe,
Pennsylvania.
Transporting the coffins of deceased monks to the cemetery in
the early years was by an open surrey. In 1932 a horse-drawn
hearse, equipped with side-lantern and heavy black curtains,
was given to Saint John’s by the Wenner Funeral Home of
Cold Spring. For twenty-one years this stately carriage,
pulled by two horses, transported the remains of over seventy
monks to the cemetery. On July 22, 1953, following the
funeral of Innocent Gertken, O.S.B., the hearse was retired and
given to the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.
 Over the years, landscaping improvements were made in the abbey
cemetery. In 1915 a wall of cement blocks was built along the
front of the cemetery. At the entrance, a large double
gate of ornamental wrought iron was installed, flanked by two
metal sculptured angels with trumpets. Other parts of the cemetery
were cleared and arbor vitae hedges planted. In 1932 the cemetery
was seeded with grass and an “avenue of pines” was
planted. In 1989 Benedict Leuthner, O.S.B., lined the driveway
with 53 poplar trees.
 In 1952 Abbot Baldwin Dworschak, O.S.B., asked for plans to
renovate the cemetery as a way to “honor the first abbots
and pioneer monks.” On September 9, 1953, a new granite
stone designed by Frank Kacmarcik, Obl.S.B., was installed over
the grave of Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, O.S.B., and a design to replace
the crumbling limestone monuments with Cold Spring granite was
approved.
On June 18, 1964, John Anderl, O.S.B., and Charles Wenner coordinated
the movement of the graves of the five deceased abbots to new
vaults at the west end of the cemetery. Under the direction
of Roger Klassen, O.S.B., twelve novices helped with the project.
Cloud Meinberg, O.S.B., designed the center granite turnabout.
 The original layout of the cemetery contained separate sections
for brothers and priests. After Vatican Council II, this
practice was discontinued and the monks were buried in the order
in which they died. On March 16, 1967, Kevin Brush, O.S.B.,
was the first brother to be buried in the priests’ section. On
that same date the tradition of a morning funeral service was
changed to an afternoon service.
Bibliography
Nierengarten, Roger L. “Discovering a monastic cemetery,
and Benedictine history.” Saint John’s, Fall
1979, pp.9-10.
(320) 363-3434 | info@saintjohnsabbeycemetery.org
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