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The community endured these financial struggles, always with the thought of completing the Abbey Church. So as the community approached
its 100th anniversary in 1957, the decision was made to complete the church. The problem, though, was that the needs of the community
and school had surpassed the size of the original 1920s plans for the church, and the art of stonemasonry necessary to construct a Gothic
structure had been lost in the area. Additionally, the cost of the Gothic structure would have put too much burden on the community, which
had just come out from under the weight of the financial struggles the new Abbey building and the Great Depression had placed on it. So
the community decided to move forward with the building of a new Abbey Church, however, employing a modern form of architecture that
used brick and machine-cut stone. This structure, designed by the Chicago-based architect, Barry Byrne, who apprenticed under Frank Lloyd
Wright, was completed in time for the St. Benedict’s Abbey community to celebrate it’s year-long centennial celebration in 1957.”
During early discussions of the photo shoot, either in jest or in earnest, Abbot Owen mentioned that he suffered from congestive
heart failure (that much is true), and said not to delay too long with the commencement of the project because he didn’t expect to
live to see his 80th birthday, and couldn’t guarantee the availability of the abbey afterwards.
However, due to the logistics of the project, it was five more years before everything finally came together. In the summer of 2011,
Mr. Sparagowski and Mr. David Botha, trainer at Michael Byatt Arabians in Texas, were both available to travel to Kansas at a time
when the monastery was also available. The next steps were to select and prepare the horses that could handle the demands of an on-
location shoot, and to ask some of the (younger and more agile) monks to participate as well. Graciously, they agreed!
Top: 1957 Abbey Church addition, designed by architect Barry Byrne
Bottom: St. Benedict’s Abbey with the Abbey Church addition
320 TUTTO ARABI