BENet, the international conference of Benedictine Educators is organised by the ICBE (International Commission on Benedictine Education) and takes place every three years. This year the conference (which had been slightly delayed due to Covid) took place in the Monastery of São Bento in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Head, Andrew Hobbs, and Chair of Governors, John Ludlow (C82), both attended the conference and were delighted to hear from Owain Daley (R21), one of four speakers.
Owain has shared his experience with us below:
“I am currently studying to be a Vet at the University of Bristol and was asked to attend this year’s conference to participate in a panel presentation with three other young people from Benedictine schools around the globe. The aim was to present to the conference our experience of Benedictine education, what it meant to us, which elements were important to us, what it gave to us and how it shaped the people we have become.
The process of preparing for the presentation was coordinated by Patricia (Pat) Flynn, a drama teacher at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey. We met regularly as a group in the run-up to the conference to discuss our experiences and consider how to proceed with the presentation. We each prepared four short pieces of writing, the first discussing our experience of a Benedictine school, the second how the person we are today had been shaped by Benedictine education, the third focussed on what we saw Benedictine education as providing and finally, some closing words and encouragement.
I arrived in Rio a little earlier than most to allow time for us to come together as a group of young people and practice our presentation in person, under the expert guidance of Pat Flynn. This time was invaluable in helping us to make our final preparations, but we also had the opportunity to explore the amazing city of Rio de Janeiro Together. The welcome provided by the monastic and school community was incredible and the four of us on the panel were invited for lunch with the monks followed by a very memorable tour of the monastery. The monastery is one of the oldest in the Americas and it was fascinating to look around it. One of my personal highlights was climbing over the roof to access the bell tower!
The Conference itself kicked off on Wednesday 11th October with the opening ceremony held in the school auditorium, this was followed by a very stately opening mass with the Cardinal of Rio. To finish the day, we went up to the school roof for a cocktail party overlooking the bay! On Thursday we heard from Abbot Fernando Rivas, who gave the first keynote address, showing us how the aims of Benedictine education were fundamentally different from much of the education around us. I also attended a fascinating workshop on Benedictine education in Tanzania, it was wonderful to see that despite very, very different circumstances at the heart of things there were great similarities between Benedictine schools all over the world.
On Friday it was our turn. Our presentation was well received and after lunch, we ran a workshop to answer further questions. Both were very enjoyable, though admittedly a little daunting!
Throughout the conference, we met in small groups for Lectio Divina and to discuss the various presentations and workshops we had intended. These times were very valuable moments both for prayer and reflection and for getting to know better some of the other people at the conference.
We concluded on Saturday. In the morning, regional meetings gave us the opportunity to discuss, in a way more specific to our circumstances, how we might go forward from this conference. At the Closing ceremony, we heard regional reports and some moving testimonies of the experiences people had had over the course of the conference, including an excellent contribution by John Ludlow. Our closing mass had been due to take place at the Christ the Redeemer statue, but unfortunately, this was rained off. Nevertheless, the closing mass in the Abbey church was a very happy occasion. Andrew Hobbs was asked to read, and we had some excellent musical contributions from across the world. Those of you who know me could guess that I did my part by providing some bagpipe music for the final procession!
Overall, the conference was a wonderful experience. Both the time spent preparing for it and the conference itself made me realise even more what an impact Downside has made in my life. It was very striking to see that all over the world Benedictine education is recognisable by the same basic hallmarks. Cultures and circumstances may be very different, and we may face very different challenges from each other, but fundamentally we have so much in common.”
