Lawrence Wagner

Mass of Christian Burial for Abbot Lawrence Wagner, OSB, 91, of Richardton, will be 10:30 a. m. , Friday, November 13, 2015 at the Assumption Abbey Church in Richardton with Abbot Brian Wangler, OSB celebrating. Interment will follow in the Assumption Abbey Cemetery. A Vigil Service will be held for Father Lawrence on Thursday, November 12th at 7:00 p. m. in the Abbey Church. Abbot Lawrence died peacefully on November 8, 2015, in the Richardton Health Center, Richardton, ND, one hour after receiving Holy Communion. Abbot Lawrence (Louis) Wagner was the ninth of fifteen children belonging to Peter and Rose (Nagel) Wagner. He entered this world on Sunday, November 25, 1923, and was baptized the same day in St. Clement’s Catholic Church, Haymarsh, ND, just twenty miles east of the abbey. After graduating from St. Clement’s grade school, he attended Abbey Prep and then helped his father on the family farm for two years. From 1943 to 1946 he taught in country schools. At the age of twenty-three he entered college at Assumption Abbey, then the novitiate two years later. He made monastic profession on July 11, 1949. Completing studies at St. Benedict’s College in Atchison, KS, and seminary studies at Assumption Abbey he was ordained a priest on June 7, 1954. Father Lawrence was sent to Collegio Sant’ Anselmo in Rome, first for a diploma in monastic studies and again for a licentiate in theology. He returned to Richardton in 1959 and taught for a year in the abbey schools before being sent as one of the founders of the Monasterio Benedictino de Tibatí in Bogotá, Colombia. He was named first rector of the monastery’s San Carlos school and was soon thereafter named prior when Father Frederic Mundt had to return to the United States. In addition to these duties, Father Lawrence was business manager of the monastery and school for the sixteen years that he was in Bogotá. Father Lawrence, along with the help of generous and knowledgeable Colombians, oversaw the establishing of the mission and the financial success of Colegio San Carlos so the monastery and its schools could be stable. He had a gift for convincing people that this work was worthwhile and for choosing capable people to insure its success. He personally oversaw the construction of most buildings. Early on he convinced the Benedictine Federation of St. Gertrude the Great to send twelve of their best educators; with them in charge of the primary section, the school flourished. After he left Colombia, the solid financial foundation he had established made the founding of Colegio San Benito de Tibatí possible. From the beginning, he was convinced of the importance of a permanent monastic foundation of monks in Bogotá. The name of the monastery, Tibatí,—a native Chibcha word meaning “Joy of the Lord” was chosen by him, with the help of Monsignor Santamaria, to express what it meant for Benedictines to be present in Bogotá. In 1976 Father Lawrence was asked to become Business Manager of Sant’ Anselmo in Rome. He returned to North Dakota in 1978 and became pastor of Sacred Heart in Glen Ullin for a short time before being elected sixth abbot of Assumption Abbey on February 22, 1979. He held that position for nine years, resigning at the then required age of sixty-five. In retirement, Abbot Lawrence lent his skill to the business offices of both Tibatí-San Carlos in Bogotá and Sant’ Anselmo in Rome. For a time he acted as pastor of St. Agnes in Kenmare, St. Henry’s in Regent, St. Joseph’s in Bowbells, St. Elizabeth in Lefor, St. Thomas in Gladstone, all in North Dakota, and briefly helped in Redlake Falls Minnesota. He was also chaplain at the Abbey of Saint Walburga in Virginia Dale, Colorado, for few months. To the end Abbot Lawrence’s mind was sharp, even after becoming a resident of the Richardton Health Center due to congestive heart failure. Abbot Lawrence is survived by four brothers and two sisters: Paul (Lorraine) Wagner of Roseville, CA, Ted (Ella) Wagner of Hebron, ND, Peter (Sylvia) Wagner of Mary Esther, FL, Cel (Ed) Baumgartner of Hillsboro, ND, Ed (Ann) Wagner of St. Charles, MO. , and Claire (Dick) Leuck of Fawler, IN. He was preceded in death by his parents and nine brothers and sisters.


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Burial Date: November 13, 2015
Funeral Home Dickinson, ND

Mass of Christian Burial: Friday: Assumption Abbey, Richardton, ND