monks to establish foundations in Brazil, and founded a house of studies for monks to attend the Catholic University of Louvain. He had already made an impression on Pope Leo XIII when he had visited him after the earlier abbatial blessing in 1890. The Pope then asked Hemptinne to draw up plans for a new complex to house the College of Sant'Anselmo. His plans were accepted and the laying of the cornerstone on the Aventine Hill in Rome on 19 April 1893 would also see the gathering of abbots from around the world. After this occasion, the Pope let it be known with a brief (Summum Semper) on 12 July 1893 that he would be forming a new Benedictine Confederation and that Abbot Hildebrand de Hemptinne would be his choice as the first Abbot Primate. Hemptinne was elected in 1893 and his complex now known as Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino was completed in 1900. This complex housed the College of Sant'Anselmo, the Church of Sant'Anselmo, the Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo, and the curial headquarters of the Benedictine Confederation where the Abbot Primate would reside and oversee it all. He continued to serve as both Abbot Primate and Abbot of Maredsous for sixteen years. In 1909 he resigned his position in Belgium to focus on his global role, travelling to the United States in 1910, and visiting 42 monasteries there. In 1912, after a stroke, he offered his resignation on health grounds but was kept in his position by Pope Pius X, with a coadjutor appointed to lighten his work. The monk elected was Abbot Fidelis von Stotzingen of Maria Laach Abbey. Hemptinne died at Beuron Archabbey on 13 August 1913 and was buried in the abbey church. References Further reading Hildebrand de Hemptinne: mönch von Beuron, Abt von Maredsous erster Primas des Benediktinerordens 1849-1913, Hadelin de Moreau & Hieronymus Kiene, Beuroner Kunstverlag 1938. (OCLC: 70587890) (in German) Dom Hildebrand de Hemptinne: architecte de saint-Anselme, premier Abbé-Primat de l’Ordre bénédictin, Gisbert Ghysens, Lettre de Maredsous (1979) I, 4–8; II 5–15; III, 10–21. (in French) External links Bueron Abbey (in German, English, and Spanish) Maredsous Abbey (in French, Dutch, English, and German) The Benedictine Confederation of Congregations of Monasteries of the Order of Saint Benedict (in Italian and English) International Atlas of Benedictine Monasteries (in English) Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo (in Italian and English) Collegio Sant'Anselmo (in Italian and English) 1849 births 1913 deaths Clergy from