The 125th anniversary of the establishment of the Benedictine Confederation and the foundation of the Primatial Abbey of Saint Anselm has been celebrated in Rome.

This jubilee commemorates the laying of the first stone of the basilica on the Aventine Hill, in front of the Order of Malta’s Magistral Villa, and the institution of the Confederation by Leo XIII.

It was precisely the Order of Malta that, at the request of Pope Leo XIII, granted part of its land to the Benedictines.

On 21st April, at the invitation of Abbot Primate Gregory Polan, the Lieutenant of the Grand Master Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre attended the high mass celebrated by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin in the Basilica of Saint Anselm.