Catholic Vancouver July 11, 2022
Westminster Abbey’s new abbot has a taste for languages, including Elvish
By B.C. Catholic Staff
The bells at Westminster Abbey in Mission were ringing Monday after the election of a new abbot.
Father Alban Riley, OSB, who not only teaches Church history and Latin at the Seminary of Christ the King but also has a gift for languages, including those of Middle Earth, was elected the fourth abbot of Westminster Abbey Monday morning on the second ballot. No date has yet been set for his blessing, said a spokesman for the abbey.
Abbot Alban will serve as spiritual head and father of the 27 men living the Benedictine monastic way of life at Westminster Abbey. He is also chancellor of the Seminary of Christ the King, the abbey’s main apostolate.
Abbot Alban was born in 1956 in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, the eldest of the three children of Anthony Riley and Maria Walter.
In 1962 he and his family immigrated to Canada, settling in Kingston, Ont., where he completed his elementary and secondary education in Catholic schools and went on to Queens University, graduating with a major in history.
He arrived at Westminster Abbey as a postulant in 1979, completed his novitiate, and made first profession of vows in 1981, taking the name and patronage of St. Alban Roe, an English Benedictine martyr of the sixteenth century. He made solemn vows in 1984 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1985.
During his time in monastic life, Abbot Alban has been assigned to vocation work and has been novice master. As a professor he has taught in both the major and minor departments of the Seminary of Christ the King, teaching liturgy, Church history, Latin, and French.
Gifted with languages, Abbot Alban also enjoys Elvish, not to mention he reads Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings almost yearly.
He served as vice-rector of the major seminary and as subprior of the monastic community since 2006. In addition to his bachelor’s degree he obtained a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome.
Father Riley takes over from Abbot John Braganza, OSB, who served as abbot for 16 years before resigning May 3. A statement from the abbey at the time said he had been responsible for “many accomplishments with regard to the life of the monastery and the Seminary of Christ the King.”
The statement said, “At this time, however, it has become evident that there is need for change and renewal, for both Abbot John and for the community.”
The decision was made after months of personal and community discernment, said the abbey, saying there had been concerns about his “interpersonal relations” but that there were no allegations of sexual misconduct or of any misconduct with minors.