Magyar News, 2002. szeptember-2003. augusztus (13. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2002-09-01 / 1. szám
Our Lady of Dallas Abbey Church W ith a facade reminiscent of the Alamo, Our Lady of Dallas Abbey Church celebrated its 10th anniversary of consecration this past spring. Why is this Texas church of interest to MAGYAR NEWS ? Because - you guessed it! - it's another Hungarian initiative which does us proud! Hungarian monks of the Cistercian Order founded the Abbey, Preparatory School and church in the Dallas suburb of Irving, and have had a profound impact on the spiritual and intellectual development of countless young people. Cistercians wear a white habit, with a black "scapular", a garment that slips over the head and hangs down to the ground, front and back. (This black-whiteblack garb has given rise to the nickname "Oreos" among some of the young people!) The Cistercian monastery of Zirc, from whence the Hungarian monks came, had been founded in 1182. Together with the other abbeys, Zirc was destroyed by the Turks, but was re-established in 1699. Originally a contemplative Order, the Cistercians in Hungary assumed responsibility for several secondary schools in the 18th century. By World War II, they taught in and administered five secondary schools, as well as 15 parishes. Highly educated and and with many professional credentials, they trained generations of intellectual leaders and prominent public figures. The Communist regime confiscated all their schools, and the Order itself, like every other religious community, was suppressed in 1950. Some 40 monks, including the Abbot, were imprisoned, and about 30 other Cistercians fled the country. Many landed in Texas, and a dozen more joined them after the Revolution of 1956. In 1954, the Cistercians in Texas The science building houses physics, chemistry, biology and computer labs Page 4 Above: Abbey entrance. Below: Sunday Mass at O.L. of Dallas Abbey Church. accepted Bishop Thomas Gorman's invitation to help in starting a Catholic university in Dallas. When the University of Dallas opened its doors in 1956, nine Hungarian Cistercians were on the faculty. Construction was begun on a monastery building when the Cistercians were granted a piece of land at the edge of the University of Dallas campus. In 1961, it became an independent monastery with Fr. Anselm Nagy as Prior. Three years later, Rev. Nagy was installed as the first abbot of the Cistercian Abbey in Irving. The first American vocations were received in 1970. Of the original Hungarian Cistercians who had come to Dallas, some returned to Hungary after the fall of Communism, to help re-establish the novitiate at Zirc. Of the 22 monks and priests who are in Texas today, 13 are Hungarian-born. Their average age is 72. (The American Cistercians are younger, ranging in age from 33 to 59.) They serve as teachers and administrators at the University of Dallas and the Prep School, and carry out their priestly ministry in the Abbey, as well as in parishes, convents and military bases in the area. In addition to daily Mass, they gather in the church four times a day for the prayers of the Divine Office. Arguably their most outstanding contribution is the Cistercian Preparatory School for boys, located today in the vicinity of the Abbey. Patterned on the European model of an 8-year curriculum, it opened its doors to the first 50 students, in rented facilities, in 1962. Following initial fund-raising efforts, the first buildings of today's school were constructed in 1964 and 1967. Academic standards are high, and there is an intense focus on personal and spiritual growth. The school is divided into Middle School (grades 5-8) and Upper School Cistercian monks in the refectory Celebrating 10 years of history _________Erika Papp Faber: Our Lady of Dallas Abbey Church is 10 Years Old______, ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................■ 11 i III i il i'1111II111 li I ii 111 ililliili III 11 naU7iTT7rnTliiT>lln^i»..lnini'^;ir ....................................................................................................
