Abbot Douglas Mullin, OSB, accepts award on behalf his community; their publishing apostolate Liturgical Press celebrates centennial
COLLEGEVILLE, MN (October 2026)—Liturgical Press is honored to announce that the monks of Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN, are the 2026 recipients of the Fredrick R. McManus Award, presented by the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC) at their annual meeting in Iowa City.
According to the FDLC website, each year the McManus Award recognizes an individual, organization, or in this case, a religious community that has made significant contributions to furthering the liturgical renewal in the United States. Frederick R. McManus was a peritus at the Second Vatican Council, where he was instrumental in writing Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. The award was established in his name by the National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions in 1995.
Founded in 1926 by Fr. Virgil Michel, a monk of Saint John’s Abbey, Liturgical Press remains the publishing apostolate of the Benedictine community.
“If Saint John's has contributed anything lasting to liturgical renewal in this country, I hope it is this conviction: that our scholarship is trustworthy because it grows out of prayer, that our teaching has authority because it grows out of worship, and that our publications matter because they arise from a community that continues to live the liturgy it seeks to understand,” said Abbot Douglas Mullin, OSB, in his reception speech. He received the award on behalf of his monastic community during FDLC’s Annual Meeting on the evening of October 1.
Liturgical Press received the McManus award in 2017. Several Benedictines and notably two members of the Saint John’s Abbey community have also been honored with this award: Kevin Seasoltz, OSB, in 2009 and Godfrey Diekmann, OSB, in 1996.
The award is being received during Liturgical Press’s centennial year celebration. October 2026 marks one-hundred years since the founding of Liturgical Press. To learn more about Liturgical Press’s centennial celebration and the impact that the monastic community and Liturgical Press have made to the church, visit litpress.org/100.
Figure 1: From Left to Right: Jeremy Helmes (FDLC Presenter), Abbot Douglas Mullin, OSB, and Rita A. Thiron (FDLC Executive Director)
###
About Saint John’s Abbey:
Located on shores of Lake Sagatagan in Collegeville, Minnesota, Saint John’s Abbey is a community of Catholic Benedictine men seeking God through a common life of prayer, study, and work, giving witness to Christ and the Gospel, in service to the Church and world.
About Liturgical Press:
Located at Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, Liturgical Press began publishing for the Church in 1926. Our staff is committed to providing religious and spiritual resources of the highest relevance and quality to Catholic parishes and individuals and to the academic community. Our imprints and publications include Liturgical Press Books, Liturgical Press Academic, Cistercian Publications, The Saint John’s Bible, Little Rock Scripture Study, and Give Us This Day. Learn more about our publishing ministry at litpress.org.
For more information please contact:
Michelle Verkuilen
Liturgical Press Marketing Coordinator
mverkuilen@litpress.org
(320) 363-2227
Fr. John Klassen, OSB
Saint John’s Abbey Communications and Development
jklassen@csbsju.edu