On Friday, January 6, the Rt. Rev. Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B., was elected to serve as the tenth abbot of St. Gregory's Abbey.A native of Tecumseh, OK, and a 1984 graduate of St. Gregory's College, Abbot Lawrence entered the novitiate at St. Gregory's Abbey on July 10, 1984. He professed vows as a member of the community on July 11, 1985, and was ordained to the priesthood on August 10, 1994, the Feast of the Transfiguration.
Abbot Lawrence holds a bachelor's degree in English from St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH, and a doctoral degree (STD) in Theology with a specialization in Monastic Studies from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome. He has served St. Gregory's Abbey in a variety of ways, including as the monastery Vocation Director and for ten years on the Abbot's Senior Council for several years. As chairman of the theology faculty at St. Gregory's University, Fr. Lawrence was instrumental in the design of the university's bachelors degree program in theology. As Vice President for Church Relations at St. Gregory's University, Fr. Lawrence forged strong collaborative relationships between St. Gregory's University and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, and with the Dioceses of Tulsa, Little Rock and Amarillo. In May 2000, Abbot Lawrence was named as President of St. Gregory's University, which is owned and sponsored by the monks of St. Gregory's Abbey. In this position, Abbot Lawrence dedicated St. Gregory's University to the full implementation of the late Pope John Paul II's Constitution for Catholic Universities - Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Under his leadership, St. Gregory's University has experienced a period of strategic development and has received accreditation for its first graduate degree program. In his new role, Abbot Lawrence plans to continue to strengthen the mission of Catholic higher education and spiritual development through the witness and ministries of St. Gregory's Abbey.
Abbot Lawrence is a Fourth Degree Member of the Knights of Columbus and Rotary International. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Unity Health Center, the Board of Directors of the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art and the Archdiocesan Commission for Justice and Human Development. He was invested as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 2001.
Abbot Lawrence succeeds Abbot Martin Lugo, O.S.B., who served as the superior of St. Gregory's Abbey for nearly 11 years. Abbot Martin had served for two years as Prior Administrator, and then eight years as abbot following his election in 1996. At right, Abbot Martin extends the "sign of peace" to the newly-elected Abbot Lawrence in the church of St. Gregory's Abbey.
The community asks for the prayers of everyone, that we be guided in and strengthened in our monastic way of life.
