Father Michael has become a fixture in the Benedictine landscape of Marmion over the years. A 1960 graduate of the Academy, Fr. Michael was ordained to the priesthood in 1980 and began working in the Academy that same year. He has been on every one of the more than eighty Marmion Kairos retreats since they began in 1996. His willingness to stay in contact with alumni and to preside at many alumni weddings and baptisms stamp him as a beloved figure at Marmion.

Father Michael has served in a variety of roles:

• Dormitory Prefect
• Head Librarian
• Instructor in Theology
• Student Chaplain
• Co-Director of the Kairos Retreat Program
• Faculty/Staff Chaplain

Raised in Yorkville, Illinois, just forty minutes southwest of Marmion, Fr. Antony Maria Minardi attended St. Mary’s Catholic Grade School in Plano before enrolling at Marmion Academy for high school. It was there that he first encountered the Benedictine monks and sensed something uniquely special about the community

During the second semester of his freshman year, he began attending Vespers with the monks, a practice he continued nearly every weekday throughout his high school years. It was through this rhythm of prayer and silence that Fr. Antony felt his vocation take root. The integration of prayer and academic pursuit inspired him to make Marmion Abbey his spiritual home after graduating from the University of Dallas in 2012.

He was ordained a deacon by Bishop David Malloy on May 27, 2017, and to the priesthood on May 26, 2018. Today, Fr. Antony serves as Master of Ceremonies for the Abbey, Student Chaplain at the Academy, and Theology instructor for both freshmen and juniors.

Father Frederick Peterson, Father Fred to most, is a Marmion monk who has made unique contributions to the Abbey and the local Church.

Father Fred is a native of Belvidere, Illinois. He came to Marmion Abbey in 1989. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1995, the first priest ordained by Bishop Thomas Doran. After having served as an instructor in the Academy for some years, Father Fred received permission to become bi-ritual, able to celebrate Mass in both the Latin and Byzantine Rites. He was appointed as administrator of St. George’s Parish in Aurora and later became its pastor. During his time at St. George, Father Fred has seen it grow in numbers and has enhanced its interior with beautiful iconography. He is known for his iconography workshops and his contact with many sources of Eastern spirituality.

Fr. Fred has contributed much to the Abbey as well. He has been a cantor for many years and has served as custodian of the Abbey Church. He serves too as a spiritual director and confessor for many. Despite some health setbacks that have reduced his mobility, he remains a loved and respected member of the abbey and the local clergy.

Father Charles Reichenbacher has been a familiar face connected to Marmion for over a half century. A native Auroran, he was a student at Marmion Military Academy from 1955-58, quarterbacking an undefeated varsity football team in 1957. His senior year was spent in Elkhorn, Nebraska at Mount Michael Seminary, where he discerned a vocation to the priesthood and monastic life at Marmion. He entered Marmion Abbey in 1960, professed his first vows in 1961 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1967.

In the years after ordination Fr. Charles served the Abbey and Academy in a variety of ways. At the Abbey he was assistant to the Novice and Junior Master, Fr. Luke. Having obtained an M.A. in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame, he was appointed as Master of Ceremonies for the Abbey in 1970, a position he kept for several decades. He also began teaching at the Lake Street Campus of the Academy and remained an instructor until 1980. He was a school-bus driver for 30 years. He had several important leadership positions within the abbey, including subprior and long-standing elected service on the Abbey Council. He has served the local Church and the Rockford Diocese with sacramental supply work for his fifty+ years as a priest.

Perhaps his most notable contribution has been in the Development Office. Appointed by Abbot Mark in 1971 to assist Fr. Joseph in that Office, Fr. Charles was appointed as Head of Development in 1985. Under the leadership of Fr. Charles, Marmion’s Development Program became a model for many other private educational and religious institutions. Fr. Charles oversaw several capital campaigns that marked the expansion of the infrastructure of both the Abbey and Academy. His personal investment in establishing a network of relationships with alumni and benefactors has been of inestimable value to Marmion. He now has the role of Director of Planned Giving, the Marmion family can with good cause give thanks for the legacy of work and loyalty that has marked his years of service to Marmion Abbey and Academy.

Fr. Nathanael entered the community in 1998 and made his first profession of vows in 1999. Having had a background as a teacher, Fr. Nathanael began his classroom teaching at Marmion Academy in 1999. Since that time, he has been an instructor in the abbey, largely in English and Theology. He has been instrumental in organizing student-parent prayer days for Advent and Lent and is tireless in his support of student activities. Fr. Nathanael also enjoys doing parish work in surrounding parishes and taking advantage of the cultural offerings of the Chicago metropolitan area.

Fr. Vincent’s birth date and year is August 27, 1939.He made first profession August 10, 1965 and was ordained to the priesthood on June 19, 1965.

Abbot Vincent’s record of service to the Academy is lengthy and distinguished.  He served as an Instructor at the Academy, at both the Lake Street and Butterfield Road campuses, from 1965 until 1989.  He taught Algebra, Geometry, English, Theology, French and Spanish.  He served as a dormitory prefect at the resident school for eighteen years.  He was choral director and bus driver for most of these years and also served for several years as Admissions Director.  He became Dean of Students in 1981, until he was asked to take up duties as superior of San Jose Priory in Guatemala in 1988.  When he was elected abbot of Marmion Abbey in 1991, he became President of the Academy, serving in that position until he stepped down as abbot in 2010.  During those years Abbot Vincent oversaw many key transitions of the Academy, including the institution of alternate leadership programs, the closing of the residential school, and the transition to a lay Headmaster. 

Father Leo Ryska was born in Chicago in 1933.  He had his high school education at Mater Doloos Seminary in Hillside, IL, and entered the Servite Order in 1952. He did his college work at a Servite Priory in Northern Ireland, made his solemn profession as a Servite in 1956, and did his theology studies in Rome, receiving an STL in Theology in 1959.  He later received MA and STL degrees from The Catholic University of America and the Gregorian University in Rome in the area of Church History.  After some years of teaching, he became Provincial of the Servites in Chicago from 1970-76 and Vocation Director from 1977-81.

He entered St. Meinrad Archabbey in 1981 and served as Provost and Vice-Rector of St. Meinrad College from 1985-92. In December of 1992 he was appointed Administrator of St. Benedict’s Abbey, Benet Lake, WI.  He was elected abbot of that monastery in 1993 and served in that capacity until 2000. He later served as Guest Master and Director of the Retreat Center at Benet Lake. Fr. Leo entered Marmion Abbey in February of 2015 (when St. Benedict’s Abbey was absorbed by Conception Abbey) for a period of probation. In 2016 the Marmion Abbey Chapter approved Fr. Leo’s transfer of monastic vows to Marmion Abbey.

Father John was born in Chicago on January 4, 1949. He is a 1967 graduate of Marmion Military Academy.  He did his college studies at St. Louis University. He entered Marmion Abbey in 1977.  He did his theological studies at St. Meinrad School of Theology, made his solemn profession on August 6, 1981, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 5, 1982. In subsequent years, he served the community as Novice and Junior Master, was Director of Oblates was the Academic Dean at the Academy. From January of 1992 until 2009 he served as the Prior of our monastic community in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.  He returned to Marmion in 2009 and was elected the fourth abbot of Marmion Abbey on June 25, 2010.  He served as abbot until July 11, 2013.  For the last three years Father John has served as Infirmarian and Kitchen Master.

Fr. Eusebius was born on March 28. 1963. He is a 1981 graduate of Marmion Military Academy. He studied as a seminarian for the Joliet Diocese at Saint Meinrad Seminary College and at the University of St. Mary’s in Mundelein.  He was ordained on June 3, 1989.  He received Doctorates in Theology from the Institut Catholique and the University of Paris in 2002. As a Diocesan Priest he headed the Liturgical Institute at the Seminary at Mundelein for a number of years and then was an instructor in Theology at the Josephinum School of Theology in Columbus, OH.  In 2017 he entered Marmion Abbey and made his solemn profession in 2022.  As of 2024, he has been on the Faculty of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute at Sant Anselmo in Rome, also serving as the Master of Ceremonies for the monastic community at Sant’Anselmo.

Br. Mariano was born in Chicago June 11, 1952.  He graduated from St. Francis de Sales High School in 1970, received an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois Circle Campus and a Master of Music degree in music from Northwestern University. He spent most of his adult life as a parish organist and music director in different Chicago parishes.  He entered Marmion Abbey in 2017 and made his solemn profession in October of 2021.  He has served as organist and choir master for the community.  He also serves as Guest Master and as a proctor in the study center at the Academy.

Br. Bruno Perez was born March 11, 1982, in Panama City, Panama. He entered our Priory in Guatemala in October of 2007.  After his novitiate year, he asked to come to the U.S.  He arrived in December of 2009 and began an ESL program at the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, WI.  He began a period of formation at Marmion Abbey in 2009 and entered the novitiate in 2011 and made temporary profession in 2012. He left for personal reasons and returned to Panama.  After several years of discernment, he returned to the community in 2021.  He made another year of novitiate and made temporary profession in January of 2024.  He has since served as Assistant Sacristan, has received an undergraduate degree from Waubonsee Community College, has finished a year of Seminary study at Conception Seminary College, MO, and is planning to begin theological studies at Mundelein Seminary in the fall of 2026.