On Sunday 19 October, the monastic community and many of the faithful gathered in Admont Abbey Church for a festive service to mark the 61st birthday of Abbot Gerhard Hafner OSB. The service was performed by the Bruckmühl church choir and the Admont/Hall band, with Abbot Alfred, St Lambrecht, delivering the sermon. At the same time, the eight years of his blessed work as Abbot of Admont were looked back on with great gratitude.
The solemn Mass centred not only on personal thanks for another year of life, but also on appreciation for Abbot Gerhard's faithful and spiritual service to the community of the monastery as well as to the parish and the region.
The monastic community, employees of the monastery and numerous faithful expressed their solidarity with heartfelt congratulations and blessings. With festive music, the service became a moment of communal prayer and gratitude - for the gift of life and for an abbot who has characterised spiritual life in Admont for eight years with prudence, strength of faith and human closeness.
