Students are not the only ones coming back to campus with stories of foreign adventure after a semester abroad, as Fr. Benedict returned late in December from a sabbatical overseas in France.
Fr. Benedict left the United States late in September to travel to the Institut Catholique in Paris to spend three months studying the language of Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic.
“Syriac, while lesser known, is the third major language of patristic literature,” Fr. Benedict said.
One of the major reasons Fr. Benedict sought to learn Syriac was to be able to closer read and understand the works of St. Ephram, a fourth century Syriac whose writings Fr. Benedict has always studied closely.
This is not Fr. Benedict’s first trip to France either. He travelled to the University of Paris to earn a Ph.D. in the History of Religion and an S.T.D. from the Institute Catholique de Paris in Sacred Theology, with a focus in Moral Theology.
Fr. Benedict is widely known for his teachings in moral theology. He has published numerous books and articles on the subject, and is often quoted in the press.
Fr. Benedict’s time was not spent solely in studies, however. He spent much time enjoying the culture and atmosphere of Paris, and travelled often.
“It’s hard to put a finger on it,” he said of his most enjoyable experience. “It is really just being there; being able to walk through Paris or sit in a different café every day, that is how you experience the wonderful energy of the city.”
Fr. Benedict remarked that one of his favorite pastimes was to simply walk without any planned destination. He enjoyed walking through the Luxembourg Gardens, and seeing the cathedral of Notre Dame.
Though he did see some of the important and historical sites in Paris, Fr. Benedict preferred to spend his time not as a tourist, but travelling and enjoying the atmosphere of Paris as a French native would.
He had no problem fitting in, either. When Fr. Benedict graduated from Saint Anselm in 1976 as Guevin, he did so with a degree in French, and is fluent in the language.
Fr. Benedict joined the Peace Corps soon after graduating, and spent three-and-a-half-years in North Africa. The languages spoken there were French and Arabic, which may be part of what piqued his interest in Syriac. Arabic and Aramaic share some distant linguistic roots.
He returned to Saint Anselm and joined the monastery in 1980, and has travelled to France four times.
“I would encourage anybody to travel to France if they had the opportunity,” Fr. Benedict said. “It is truly my favorite place on Earth.”