Kilian McDonnell, a Benedictine monk whose life’s work was Christian unity

['James T. Keane', 'More James T. Keane', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] America Magazine 2025-09-23 00:00:00

The homilist at the funeral of Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B., on Sept. 16, 2025, told a somewhat surprising story about the centenarian priest who had died a week before. In a recent encounter, he said, he had realized Father McDonnell was staring at him. (As his obituary said, “Father Kilian enjoyed ill health all his life.”) In August of 1945, he entered the Benedictines at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville. Father McDonnell died on Sept. 8, 2025, at St. John’s, a week short of his 104th birthday. •••Our poetry selection for this week is “Sarah’s List,” by Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B.