American Benedictines in Peking

American Benedictines in Peking commemorates the centennial of the Benedictine foundation of the first Catholic university in China.

In the hundred years since its foundation, Fu Jen University has been marked by significant historical events, including its move from Beijing, China to Taipei, Taiwan, and introducing the rich Benedictine tradition of prayer and scholarship to China. In American Benedictines in Peking, educational and religious leaders from China, Taiwan, the United States, and the Vatican, highlight the distinguished history and mission of Fu Jen University to commemorate the centennial of the Benedictine foundation of the “Catholic University of Peking.”

American Benedictines in Peking contains the proceedings of an academic conference “One Hundred Years of Faith, Education, and Service” held at Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in April 2025, to observe the significance of the establishment of Fu Jen University as the oldest and largest Catholic university in the Chinese-speaking world.

American Benedictines in Peking features striking black-and-white photographs marking the legacy of Fu Jen’s founding and the flourishing institution that it remains one hundred years later. Among the compelling contents of the book is a letter directed to the gathering at Saint Vincent from Pope Francis, sharing his expressed hope that the commemoration “will serve to inspire, amid the challenges of today’s world, a renewed commitment to the Benedictine vocation to the pursuit of holiness, the witness of fraternal charity, and the spread of the saving truth of the Gospel.”

Jerome Oetgen, a retired United States diplomat and historian, was educated from an early age by the Benedictines. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and is the author of several books about the American Benedictines, including An American Abbot: Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., 1809–1887; Mission to America: A History of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the First Benedictine Monastery in the United States; and Schools for the Lord’s Service: A History of the American-Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine Monasteries 1855–2023, published by Liturgical Press.