Mission Makers: Father Peter Guerin, O.S.B.

July 16, 2021
By: Father Benet Phillips, O.S.B.

Early on the morning of July 9, 2021, the tower bell tolled 85 times as we honored the memory of Father Peter John Guerin, O.S.B. Father Peter died as he lived: simply, quietly and faith filled. For over 60 years Father Peter labored on this hilltop corner of the Lord’s vineyard. He was a teacher, administrator, campus minister, but first and foremost Father Peter was a monk and priest.

He had what the late Cardinal Basil Hume called the “monastic instinct” knowing what to do or say in any given circumstance because the monk’s mind and heart had been formed by the Gospel and the Holy Rule. The monk, in this case, Father Peter kept his eyes on Christ in season and out of season and his sight never lost its focus and his vision never failed.

As a tireless champion of the liberal arts Father Peter worked to create an educational experience at Saint Anselm that brought to light and life the best of the Catholic intellectual tradition grounded always in our Catholic and Benedictine mission and identity.

Upon his retirement as Dean, Father Peter was recognized by the trustees of the college with an honorary doctor of letters degree, on May 18, 2002. The citation read, in part: “A tireless voice for excellence in every area of academic life, Father Peter has spent the last 25 years working steadily to build an outstanding faculty composed of women and men devoted to the liberal arts and sciences as teachers and researchers. He has called every constituency of the college to be committed to high standards of excellence, certainly in order to build up the academic reputation of the college, but even more importantly for the profound good of the students who come to us. Through all these years, he has built strong and deep relationships with colleagues on the faculty and staff, sometimes helping them in ways that only he and they will ever know. Always the monk, Father Peter has been an unparalleled champion and model of fidelity to the daily routine of the monastic life, demonstrating in his own life the very Benedictine combination of the love of learning and desire for God.”

Not only did Father Peter serve the college community, but he served in the monastery as an enthusiastic liturgist, gifted organist, reformer in the spirit of Vatican Council II, an avid card player, fan of Rachmaninov and one of the few people who could tell a joke in a homily and actually pull it off.

Father Peter left his mark by living with fidelity, trusting always in the Lord and serving the Lord and his people with a true shepherd’s heart. Many people have commented that we lost a legend. True enough, but his legacy will live on through the good work he has done.

I can’t help but think at the heavenly banquet, where Father Peter is now a guest that soup, mashed potatoes and ice cream fill out the menu!

Thanks to Father Peter the mission lives on!