Angelo Zankl

Who was Angelo Zankl?

Father Angelo Zankl, O.S.B., was the longest professed Benedictine monk in the world, serving for 86 years. He took monastic vows on July 11, 1921 at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and was ordained a priest on May 29, 1926. He died on July 12, 2007 at the age of 106 years.

Father Theodore Heck, believed to be the oldest Benedictine monk in the world, died at the age of 108, his abbey in Indiana announced. Born in Iowa in 1901, Heck was less than a month shy of celebrating his 80th anniversary as a priest. This left Father Zankl with the longest career, but Father Heck as the oldest Benedictine monk.

On December 31, 2013 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth named Zankl as being "credibly accused of sexually abusing children".