Notker Wolf (born June 21, 1940) is a German Benedictine monk, priest, abbot, musician, and author. He is a member of St. Ottilien Archabbey located in Bavaria, Germany, which is part of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien. He previously was elected and served as the ninth Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was elected to his position as Abbot Primate in 2000 and ended his final term in 2016.
Biography
Early life
Werner Wolf was born as the son of a tailor in Bad Grönenbach in the Allgäu region of Germany. He undertook his early education at Oberrealschule Memmingen (today Bernhard-Strigel-Gymnasium) and at the Rhabanus-Maurus-Gymnasium St. Ottilien where he graduated high school in 1961. He then petitioned to enter the Benedictine monastery of St. Ottilien Archabbey.
Monastic life
Wolf made his profession as a Benedictine monk on September 17, 1962, and was given the name "Notker" in honor of Saint Notker. He then began his philosophical studies in Rome, Italy, at the Benedictine Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo. In 1965, he began studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich where he concentrated in the interdisciplinary fields of theology, philosophy, and natural sciences (zoology, inorganic chemistry, and the history of astronomy). He would be ordained a Roman Catholic priest on September 1, 1968, at St. Ottilien Archabbey. In 1970, Wolf would return to Rome and be appointed a professor of Natural Philosophy and Philosophy of Science at the Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo. In 1974, he would complete his doctor of philosophy (Dr. Phil.) degree from the same institution with a dissertation entitled "Das zyklische Weltmodell der Stoa. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte von der Ewigen Wiederkehr des Gleichen (The cyclical world model of the Stoa: A contribution to the history of the eternal return of the same)."
Three years later, on October 1, 1977, Wolf was elected as the fifth Archabbot of St. Ottilien Archabbey. This also meant he became the Abbot President of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien with monasteries and foundations scattered throughout the world. At the time this congregation had over twenty monasteries and over 1,100 monks throughout the world. Monks of this congregation are known as "Missionary Monks" and Wolf fulfilled his mandate by building hospitals, schools, colleges, and monasteries throughout the world.
On September 7, 2000, over 260 of the abbots of the Benedictine Confederation gathered in Rome and elected Wolf as the 9th Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict. Although an "Abbot Primate" possesses little real authority over autonomous monasteries or congregations of monks, this position does allow him to serve as the visible presence of the Benedictine Order to the larger world. The office of Abbot Primate was created by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 to serve the Benedictine community as its liaison to the Vatican and civil authorities, to promote unity among the various autonomous Benedictine monasteries and congregations, and to represent the order at religious gatherings around the globe. The Abbot Primate resides at the primatial abbey of Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino in Rome, as well as serves as the "Grand Chancellor" to the Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo. With the election of Abbot Gregory Polan as the new Abbot Primate on September 9, 2016, Wolf had completed sixteen years of service to the Benedictine Confederation.
Wolf returned to his home abbey of St. Ottilien and continues his life as a monk. He had always been skilled at music, which he expressed both in the composition of Gregorian chant, the playing of the flute, and the enjoyment of playing the electric guitar in a rock band known as "Feedback." His continued passions include inter-religious dialogue, environmental issues, responsible immigration policies, and ethical leadership and management.
Bibliography
Wolf has numerous books, articles, interviews, videos, music CD's, and online streaming platform content. His books, musical compositions, and articles have been translated into over twenty different languages. He is also catalogued in the German National Library. Just a few of his more prominent works are: