The Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo in Rome with the patronage of the Australian Embassy to the Holy See has conferred an honorary Doctorate in Theology to Fr Michael Casey ocso, a monk of Tarawarra Abbey in Victoria.

Numerous academic authorities, professors, students, monks, and nuns from various parts of the world attended the ceremony at Sant’Anselmo in April.

*Abbot Primate Gregory Polan, Fr Michael Casey and Athenaeum Rector Bernhard Eckerstorfer at the conferral of Fr Michael’s honorary doctorate in Rome. PHOTO: The Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo.*

Born in Ringwood, Melbourne, Australia, in 1942, Michael Casey, OCSO, has been a monk of Tarrawarra Abbey, Australia, since 1960. He was solemnly professed on 17 March 1965 and ordained to the priesthood on 15 June 1968. After ordination he completed an MA and STL at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and in 1980 received his doctorate from Melbourne College of Divinity for a study of desire for God in the writings of Bernard of Clairvaux. His first book, entitled, A Thirst for God: Spiritual Desire in Bernard of Clairvaux’s Sermons on the Song of Songs, was published in 1988.

For many decades Fr Michael has been engaged in exploring different aspects of monastic spirituality, writing, and giving conferences throughout the world.

Fr Michael has published more than a dozen books and 100 articles, many of which have been translated into several languages. His special interests include the Rule of Saint Benedict, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Aelred of Rievaulx, monastic tradition, and formation. His latest books are: Coenobium: Reflections on Monastic Community (Collegeville: Cistercian, 2021); A Vision for Renewal: The Social teaching of Pope Francis (Strathfield: St Pauls, 2022); and To Love this Earthly Life: Pathways through Ecclesiastes (New York: Orbis, 2022).

“The community of Sant’Anselmo extends its hearty congratulations to Fr Michael for his doctoral degree and a warm thank-you for his years of research and service to the international Benedictine community,” the university said on its website.

In accepting his honour, Fr Michael thanked all those who had encouraged him along his path.

“I’d like to express my gratitude to my own community at Tarawarra and to the monastic order and our own order in particular, for the opportunities that they have placed in my path during my lifetime,” he said.

“I’ve always regarded myself as the mouthpiece of a very beautiful tradition. And as St Benedict speaks in his Rule, he mentions, that when the Abbott teaches others, there is some slight hope that he might learn something himself and improve his own rotten life.

“And this has certainly been my own unfinished experience. Above all, I think I would like to acknowledge here this morning, and to thank, all the monks and nuns and sisters, who throughout the world, in all the continents, except Antarctica, who have encouraged me, and who by their kind reception have empowered me to speak.”

This article was drawn from an article and video on the website of the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo.