Echoes from the Bell Tower

Read the full transcript of this episode

In this week’s episode of the “Echoes from the Bell Tower” podcast, we look at how the monks’ work can have a far-reaching impact. One of those ways is by forming the Church’s ministers. Through their teaching, the monks have made significant contributions to the larger Church – and to the world at large.

We hear about some of those contributions in this podcast – including notable scholars such as Fr. Columba Kelly, Fr. Thomas Ostdick and Fr. Damian Schmelz. You’ll also hear about the influence that Fr. Cyprian Davis had – not only on his students, but also on the Catholic Church at large.

Fr. Cyprian, who died in 2015, was Saint Meinrad’s first African American monk and priest. He joined the monastery in 1950. He was sent to Leuven, Belgium, to study Church history and become a teacher in the seminary.

When he returned to the United States, the country was in the throes of the Civil Rights Movement. A series of events led him to research the history of black Catholics in the United States, first as a dissertation and later as the seminal work in the field, The History of Black Catholics in the United States.

In this podcast, his confreres, Fr. Eugene Hensell, Fr. Guerric DeBona and Fr. Harry Hagan, talk about Fr. Cyprian’s journey from Washington, D.C., to a monastery in rural Indiana and his impact on black Catholics. Below this post are photos of Fr. Cyprian, taken through the years.

As always, you can listen to this episode at the top of this page, or go to iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts and download “Echoes from the Bell Tower.” Thanks for listening!