{{Short description|American Benedictine monk, abbot, liturgist, musician and author}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Benedictine Monk | name = Marcel Rooney | title = a Benedictine monk of Conception Abbey | image = Abbot Primate Marcel Rooney.jpg | alt = | caption = | church = | province = | diocese = | appointed = | elected = | enthroned = | term_end = | predecessor = | successor = | other_post = | ordination = 1 September 1968 Conception Abbey | consecration = | consecrated_by = | cardinal = | created_cardinal_by = | rank = Abbot Primate emeritus | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1937|09|20|df = yes}} | birth_place = Fremont, Nebraska | death_place = | buried = | nationality = American | religion = Roman Catholic | residence = Madison, Wisconsin | parents = | previous_post = {{unbulleted list|8th Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict|Abbot of Conception Abbey|Professor at the Pontifical Atheneum of Sant'Anselmo|Professor at Conception Abbey Seminary}} | motto = | coat_of_arms = | education = S.T.D. 1977 Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo | honorific_prefix = The Most Reverend | honorific_suffix = OSB }}
'''Marcel Thomas Rooney''', OSB (born September 20, 1937) is an American Benedictine monk, abbot, liturgist, musician, and author. He is a member of Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri, which is part of the Swiss-American Congregation. He served as the eighth Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation from 1996 to 2000.
==Biography== Rooney was born on September 20, 1937, in Fremont, Nebraska. He entered Conception Abbey and made his solemn religious profession as a monk on September 12, 1958. He continued his education earning a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology at the Abbey's seminary. This was followed by his ordination as a priest of the Roman Catholic Church on September 21, 1963. Further education included an S.T.B. from the Catholic University of America in 1964 and an M.A. in Music History from the Eastman Conservatory School of Music in 1971. Rooney then was assigned to the Pontificio Sant'Anselmo in Rome, Italy. He completed a License in Sacred Theology in 1975 followed by a Doctorate of Sacred Theology in 1977.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.benediktinerlexikon.de/wiki/Rooney,_Marcel |title=Marcel Rooney |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=www.benediktinerlexikon.de |language=DE |publisher=Biographia Benedictina (Benedictine Biography) |access-date= 30 September 2021|quote=}}</ref> His thesis was entitled "''A Theology for Architecture: an Analysis of the Theological Principles applicable to Church Building in the Postconciliar Renewal.''"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oseegenius2.urbe.it/ans/resource?uri=20602&v=l&dcnr=5 |title=''A Theology for Architecture: an Analysis of the Theological Principles applicable to Church Building in the Postconciliar Renewal'' |last=Rooney |first=Marcel |date=1977 |website=www.anselmianum.com |publisher= Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo |access-date=30 September 2021 |quote=}}</ref>
For many years Rooney taught at Conception Seminary sponsored by his home abbey and served as President of the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO. This was followed from 1986 to 1993 where he taught at the Benedictine Pontifical Institute of Sacred Liturgy and served as a consultant to the Committee on Liturgy for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://adoremus.org/2007/11/news-and-views-63/ |title=News and Views|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=7 November 2007 |website=www.adoremus.org |publisher=Adoramus |access-date=30 September 2021 |quote=}}</ref>
On April 14, 1993, Rooney was elected as the Abbot of Conception Abbey. On September 18, 1996, he was elected by over 250 abbots as the eighth Abbot Primate for the Benedictine Confederation, with residence at Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino in Rome, Italy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wooden |first=Cindy |date=28 September 1996 |title=Missouri abbot elected abbot primate of Benedictines |url=http://arc.stparchive.com/Archive/ARC/ARC09281996p08.php?tags=marcel%20rooney |work=Catholic News Services |location=Arkansas Catholic Archives |access-date= 30 September 2021}}</ref> While his tenure as Abbot Primate was brief, Rooney's most notable work was his assignment by Pope John Paul II to investigate the allegations of sex abuse by Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër who had served as the archbishop of Vienna for nine years until his retirement in 1995.<ref>{{cite news |last=Perlez |first=Jane |date=20 April 1998 |title=New Austrian Cardinal Apologizes for Predecessor's Sex Crimes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/20/world/new-austrian-cardinal-apologizes-for-predecessor-s-sex-crimes.html |work=New York Times |location=New York, NY |access-date=30 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=12 February 1998 |title=Vatican to examine sex abuse claims |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/vatican-to-examine-sex-abuse-claims-1.134672 |work=The Irish Times |location=Dublin, Ireland |access-date=30 September 2021}}</ref>
Upon his resignation on September 13, 2000, for health reasons, Rooney returned to his home abbey in Conception, Missouri, where he served as a chaplain for two years in Savannah, Missouri. In 2005 he moved to Brinkley, Arkansas where he served as Pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church until 2007. In 2007, Rooney was appointed President of a newly founded "''Institute of Sacred Liturgy''" in the Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma.<ref>{{cite news |last=Little |first=Tara |date=6 October 2007 |title=Former Brinkley priest turns attention to liturgical training |url=https://www.arkansas-catholic.org/news/article/1012/Former-Brinkley-priest-turns-attention-to-liturgical-training |work=Arkansas Catholic |location=Little Rock, AR |access-date=30 September 2021}}</ref> From 2010 to 2011, Rooney was briefly listed as serving on the faculty of the Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts located in Warner, New Hampshire.<ref>[http://magdalen.edu/about-us/faculty/ Magdalen.edu, Faculty] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509235809/http://www.magdalen.edu/about-us/faculty/ |date=2011-05-09 }}, accessed 30 September 2021</ref>
In 2011, Rooney sought to develop the "''Saint Gregory Institute of Pastoral Liturgy, Music, and Art''" at the Durward's Glen retreat center in the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, at the invitation of Bishop Robert C. Morlino.<ref>{{cite news |last=Uhler |first=Mary |date=26 May 2011 |title=Celebrating the purchase of Durward's Glen |url=https://madisoncatholicherald.org/celebrating-the-purchase-of-durwards-glen/ |work=Catholic Herald |location=Madison, WI |access-date=30 September 2021}}</ref> This was followed in 2012 where Rooney co-founded the “Orate Institute of Sacred Liturgy, Music, and Art” in the same diocese.<ref>{{cite news |last=Beattie |first=Trent |date=13 June 2020 |title=Father of 10 Embraces Religious Life |url=https://www.ncregister.com/interview/father-of-10-embraces-religious-life |work=National Catholic Register |location=Kettering, OH |access-date=30 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Uhler |first=Mary |date= 17 May 2012|title=Abbot Marcel Rooney founds institute to deepen understanding of sacred liturgy |url=https://madisoncatholicherald.org/abbot-marcel-rooney-founds-institute-to-deepen-understanding-of-sacred-liturgy/ |work=Catholic Herald |location=Madison, WI |access-date=30 September 2021}}</ref>
In addition to his many articles and book publications, Rooney continues to reside in the Madison, WI, where he offers his priestly and liturgical services to parishes and the diocese.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date= 30 September 2021|title=Marcel Rooney |url=https://madisoncatholicherald.org/?s=rooney |work=Catholic Herald |location=Madison, WI |access-date=30 September 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.conceptionabbey.org/ Conception Abbey] (in English) * [http://www.swissamericanmonks.org/ Swiss-American Congregation] (in English) * [https://www.osb.org/the-benedictine-order/the-benedictine-confederation/ The Benedictine Confederation of Congregations of Monasteries of the Order of Saint Benedict] (in Italian and English) * [https://www.osbatlas.com/ International Atlas of Benedictine Monasteries] (in English) * [https://ateneo.anselmianum.com/ Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (in Italian and English) * [https://www.collegiosantanselmo.com/ Collegio Sant'Anselmo] (in Italian and English)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Marcel}} Category:1937 births Category:American abbots Category:Abbots Primate Category:American Benedictines Category:Living people Category:20th-century Christian abbots