The Election and Blessing of a Abbot Paul
The election of a new Abbot is an important event in the life of a monastery, so it was with great joy that on 5th February Abbot Paul Stonham was blessed by the Archbishop of Cardiff as 11th Abbot of Belmont.
Joining the Belmont Community for the Blessing were Bishop Edwin Regan of Wrexham, Bishop Ambrose Griffiths of Hexam and Newcastle, and Bishop Mark Jabalé of Menevia as well as abbots and abbesses, priests and religious, family and friends, and representatives from the various parishes that Belmont serves, including Abergavenny and several Herefordshire parishes. Ecumenical Guests included the Bishop of Hereford and the Dean of Llandaff.
The Mass itself was a joyous celebration with a mix of rousing hymns, traditional Gregorian Chant and a new piece specially written for the occasion by Abbot Alan Rees that picked up the words of the Rule of St Benedict: "Prefer nothing whatever to Christ."
The election of the new abbot came about as the Community lost its previous abbot, Mark Jabalé, to serve the wider church as Coadjutor Bishop of Menevia. Abbots are elected by the monks themselves for eight year terms. At the Mass of Blessing he was presented with a ring, mitre and pastoral staff - signs of his commitment as the father and shepherd of his monks, with the encouragement from the Bishop to take good care of them and guide them in the path of holiness.
Abbot Paul, who is 53 years old, and was born in Neath, has been engaged for the last 20 years in the Community's missionary work in Peru. There he has nurtured the monastic life in the north of the country as Prior of the Monastery of the Incarnation in Tambogrande. Two of the Peruvian monks, Brothers Mario and Fernando, came over for the celebration.
His task now will be to guide his fellow monks in their work and prayer. The Community will continue its commitment to its parishes in Herefordshire, South Wales and Cumbria, and offer Belmont as a place for people to come on retreat and find some spiritual refreshment in their busy lives.
He remains optimistic on the future of monasticism. The values of the Rule of St Benedict, he believes, can continue to guide and instruct men and women on the path of holiness, and monasteries themselves have a wonderful opportunity to rediscover their role and purpose in witnessing to the Gospel to a increasingly secular world. Monasteries, he believes, should be a sign of the joy and hope of being followers of Christ.
