Alumni elected to be Prioress and Bishop

Last month, two alumni of the Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary made monumental accomplishments. Sister Susan Hutchens, OSB, was elected as Prioress of the Benedictine Sisters at Saint Mary Monastery in Rock Island, Illinois on June 14^th and Father Elias Lorenzo was elected as the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey’s new Auxiliary Bishop and was ordained so on June 30^th.

Sister Susan is a 1980 graduate from the SOT/Sem with a Master of Arts degree in Theology. She grew up in Munster, Indiana, and attended Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College before coming to Collegeville. In addition to being a teacher, treasurer, and organist for the community, Susan held the position of Treasurer for the Federation of Saint Benedict and served as President from 2009-2015. She is the fourteenth prioress to lead the Benedictine sisters at Saint Mary’s. The original press release can be found on the Benedictine Sisters of St. Mary Monastery's website.

Bishop Elias received a Master of Arts degree in Liturgical Theology from the SOT/Sem in 1988. First ordained a priest in 1989, he now has over 30 years of experience in education and has served in the Monastery as Director of Liturgy, Prior of the Abbey. And Rector of Church. Bishop Elias is also the Abbot President of the American Cassinese Congregation, covering a span of six different countries. The Archdiocese of Newark serves about 1.3 million Catholics in 213 parishes. You can read more about Bishop Elias on the Archdiocese of Newark's website.