The community of Benedictines at Westminster Abbey in Mission has welcomed a new member into their fold. Brother Joshua Rosario, 24, made his solemn profession of vows Sept. 5.

Rosario’s father was an RCMP officer, so his family moved often and Rosario grew up in various parts of B.C. including Mission, Haida Gwaii, Atlin, and Lac La Hache. He also lived for some time in Qu’appelle, Sask.

Rosario entered the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission in Grade 9 and completed high school there. The young man left unsure of his vocation and worked at a local sawmill for a year before re-visiting the possibility that he may have a future at Westminster Abbey.

“Only when we make a commitment do we find out where God can lead us,” said Prior Benedict Lefebvre. 

Rosario entered the monastery in August and “stayed faithful through the sometimes easy, sometimes trying times of monastic formation till he reached his solemn profession.”

Brother Rosario lies prostrate during the Litany of the Saints.

These days, in addition to participating in normal liturgical life, Brother Rosario might be found maintaining the monastery grounds, cooking, reading spiritual or English Classics, ringing the Abbey bell, or playing the fiddle.



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