Summary
Pope Francis IV appointed Mons. Erik Varden, a Trappist bishop from Norway, to lead the Curia Romana’s Lent retreat this February. The 47-year-old priest and abbot was named Prelate of Trondheim by Pope Francis in 2019. Mons. Varden is an authority on contemporary monastic spirituality. He holds a PhD in theology from Cambridge University and further studies at the Pontifical Institute Orientalium Huwencorum, Rome. Guiding the Curia Romana’s Lent retreat from February 22 to 27, his sessions will explore Christian contemplation themes like silence, hope, freedom, truth, and integrating desire with spiritual life. Inspired by St Bernard of Clairvaux, Varden has a strong background in Gregorian chant; he studied under Dr. Mary Berry, an accomplished British canoness and musicologist who emphasized both technical skill and the spiritual resonance of Gregorian chant in monastic prayer. Mons. Varden’s expertise spans not only his service as the first non-British Abbot at Mount St Bernard Abbey in England since 2002 but also his appointment to lead the Curia Romana, a position rarely filled by Trappist monks in modern times.
Key Topics
Pope Leo XIV, Erik Varden, OCSO
