Monks in Latrobe feed the community through delicious treats
LATROBE, Pa. (KDKA) — The Saint Vincent Archabbey and Seminary in Latrobe has been ministering to its faithful for over 175 years.
And for much of that time, the monks who call St. Vincent home have not only been hard at work trying to feed the souls of their community through the Gospel but through bread and other delicious foods.
Brother Angelo Lichtenstein was aware of St. Vincent's storied past of baking bread when he joined the order here. But when he was appointed baker, his only kitchen credential was baking as a kid.
"I grew up baking with my mom in an Italian household," Lichtenstein said. "So I grew up in a culture around food, but I had no professional experience."
Very soon though, he became an expert in this culinary art, leading the monks at Saint Vincent's Archabbey to bake bread and sweets, not only for themselves but for their congregation and anyone who is interested. And while they sell the goods they bake, Lichtenstein says it's all about meeting people where they are and ministering to the masses.
"We really don't do it for the money," he said. "Because we don't serve money. We serve God and we serve our neighbor in virtue of that reality."
The monks use the college's kitchen. Sometimes, they are in here in the middle of the night to work around the students and their meal schedule. But these baking brothers don't seem to mind the late hours and they always make it to 6 a.m. prayer.
"Baking in itself is an act of love and it's a very prayerful activity as well," Lichtenstein said. "As Benedictines, we have the motto of 'Ora et labora.' 'To pray and to work.'"
The next bake sale is Sunday, but most goodies have been sold due to pre-sales. But the Easter bake sale is likely to draw hundreds of people to Saint Vincent's Gristmill and will be on a first-come, first-serve bases.
Any way you slice it, these monks hope that everyone who stops by will experience not only a divine taste but perhaps the feeling of the divine as well.
"We treat our guests as Christ himself, as it says in our rule of Saint Benedict. So in a way, through this baking ministry, feed our guests as Christ himself," Lichtenstein said.
The Easter bake sale is on April 6 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information, click here.