Saint Meinrad monk makes vestments for installation Mass

A chasuble created by Benedictine Brother Kim Malloy of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad sits on July 20 on a table in the rectory of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. Archbishop Charles C. Thompson will wear this chasuble during the July 28 Mass in the cathedral in which he will be installed as the seventh archbishop of Indianapolis. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

When Archbishop Charles C. Thompson is installed as the seventh archbishop of Indianapolis on July 28 in SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis, he will wear a chasuble, stole and miter made especially for the occasion by Benedictine Brother Kim Malloy of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad.

Brother Kim has been making liturgical vestments since 1980, just a few years before Archbishop Thompson first arrived at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky.

In addition to making vestments for the new archbishop for the installation Mass, Brother Kim has also made three other chasubles and two dalmatics. The three chasubles will be worn by priests who will accompany the new archbishop and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The dalmatics will be worn by two deacons who will assist at the liturgy. All of the vestments are made in a style commonly used during the Renaissance.

Saint Meinrad Archabbey offered to provide a set of vestments for the installation Mass a day after the June 13 press conference at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis at which Archbishop Thompson’s appointment was announced.

“It’s quite a privilege,” said Brother Kim of the opportunity to make the vestments. “I have this thing about individual creations rather than off the rack. I like to see things that artists make to use in the liturgy. I prefer that.”

Father Patrick Beidelman, executive director of the archdiocesan Secretariat for Worship and Evangelization, was pleased that Saint Meinrad will have a special role during the installation Mass.

“It’s yet another thing that underscores the close bond that Saint Meinrad Archabbey and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis have,” he said. “There are so many ways in which that monastic community and this local Church collaborate in the mission of the Church. It’s just fitting that Saint Meinrad should have such a significant role in giving thanks and praise to God for our new archbishop.”

Father Beidelman has appreciated Brother Kim’s artistry since he was a seminarian at Saint Meinrad in the 1990s. When he was ordained a transitional deacon in 1997, he was vested with a dalmatic created by Brother Kim.

“I’ve always admired his artistic ability, his craftsmanship and the faith that supports it,” Father Beidelman said. “His life is just dedicated to the worship of God, and enabling others to worship God with all their hearts. To be able to see the beauty of his work, especially in vestments used for Mass, is another way in which we’re called into the mystery of God.”

Brother Kim delivered the vestments to the cathedral on July 20, a little more than a week before the installation Mass. He planned to attend the July 28 liturgy and looked forward to seeing his creations used in the worship of God.

“It’s always nice to see them wear them, especially on the first time,” said Brother Kim. †