August 12, 2011

New novice is welcomed into Saint Meinrad Archabbey

In a brief ceremony at the monastery entrance, Anushka Fonseka was clothed in the Benedictine habit at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad on Aug. 5. He begins a year of monastic formation, including study of the Rule of St. Benedict and monastic history.

Novice Anushka, 28, was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was a member of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Battaramulla and attended St. Joseph’s College in Colombo, both in Sri Lanka.

In 2008, he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala. He worked as a structural engineer at Barter and Associates Inc. in Mobile until joining the monastery.

As a novice, he will take a year off from formal studies and/or trades. The novitiate is a time of prayer and learning intended to help a novice discern his vocation as a monk. At the end of this year, a novice may be permitted to profess temporary vows of obedience, fidelity to the monastic way of life and stability in the community of Saint Meinrad. †

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