Father Subprior Kolbe Wolniakowski
Subprior of Saint Meinrad Archabbey
Fr. Kolbe Wolniakowski, OSB, began his assignment as subprior on July 11, 2024. He grew up in the small town of Pewamo, MI, the eldest of five children. He graduated from Northwood University in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a focus in marketing and management.
In 2015, he left his job at the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services to enter the monastery at Saint Meinrad as a candidate. Shortly after making temporary vows in 2016, he entered Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology to begin working towards his Master of Divinity. While studying at Saint Meirnad, Fr. Kolbe was one of the podcast hosts of Echoes from the Bell Tower, assisted in making Peanut Brother, and assisted the master of ceremonies. Fr. Kolbe made solemn vows as a Benedictine monk in August 2019 and was ordained a priest in 2022.
Fr. Kolbe served two years as an associate pastor in the parishes of St. Paul and St. Mark in Tell City, IN. While serving as an associate pastor, he also served as a spiritual director for the men in the propaedeutic stage of priesthood formation. In July 2024, Fr. Kolbe moved back into the monastery full-time to begin his assignment as subprior for the monastery and sacristan for the Archabbey Church and to continue his work with those in the propaedeutic year.