Bernard Bonowitz

Bernard Bonowitz was born in 1949 into a Jewish family in New York City. In 1968, during his studies of classics at Columbia College, he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1973 and was ordained a priest in 1979. In 1982, he transferred to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) at Saint Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. There he served as novice master from 1986 to 1996. That year he was elected prior of the Trappist...See more

Bernard Bonowitz was born in 1949 into a Jewish family in New York City. In 1968, during his studies of classics at Columbia College, he was received into the Roman Catholic Church. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1973 and was ordained a priest in 1979. In 1982, he transferred to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) at Saint Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. There he served as novice master from 1986 to 1996. That year he was elected prior of the Trappist monastery of Our Lady of Novo Mundo in Brazil and became its first abbot in 2008. Bonowitz has published books and articles in English and Portuguese on monastic spirituality. His most recent book in English is Saint Bernard's Three-Course Banquet (Cistercian Publications, 2013). See less