Bro. Cassian Maria Aylward, 28, a native of Sydney, Australia, pronounced his first vows as a benedictine monk at Silverstream Priory, Stamullen, Co. Meath, on Saturday, January 13, 2018, feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Dom Mark Kirby, OSB, Conventual Prior, received, for a period of three years, Bro. Cassian's vows of stability, conversion of manners, and obedience, as set forth in the Rule of St Benedict. Photo: Pawel Kula 
In Short
An Australian native pronounced his first solemn vows as a Benedictine monk in Meath, and was reminded during the homily why he left his native home to become a monk.
Dom Mark Kirby OSM, Conventual Prior, asked Bro. Cassian Maria Aylward: “Why did you leave your father and your mother, and your brothers, Matt and Luke, and your dear grandparents, and all your mates in Australia? Why did you leave the sunshine and sparkling waves of the beaches of Sydney for this darkling east coast of Ireland?
Answering his question, Dom Kirby said that like John the Baptist, Bro. Cassian (28) saw Jesus coming towards him. The profession took place during Mass in Silverstream Priory in Stamullen.
Bro. Cassian, a 2007 graduate of St Paul’s Catholic College, Manly, holds a degree in education from Notre Dame University, Sydney. Before embracing the monastic life in 2016, Bro. Cassian was an avid body-boarder in the Australian surf and taught primary school in Sydney. He currently serves as the monastery’s guestmaster.
