ABBEY BANNER - St. John's Abbey

Abbey Archives
Paul Benno Marx, OSB
1920 – 2010
Benno was the fifteenth child of
George and Elizabeth (Rauw)
Marx of St. Michael, Minnesota,
and grew up on the dairy farm
that was in the family for five generations.
He attended parochial grade
school, often walking the 3½ miles in
all kinds of weather, and then Saint
John’s Preparatory School where he
excelled in his studies and extracurricular
activities including football and
track. He followed his older brother
Michael into the abbey, received the
name of Paul, made his first profession
of vows in 1942, completed his
Father Paul meets Pope John Paul II.
seminary studies and was ordained in
1947.
After teaching history, religion and
English in the Preparatory School,
Paul studied at The Catholic University
of America where he received the
doctorate in sociology and had his
doctoral dissertation, Virgil Michel
and the Liturgical Movement, published
by The Liturgical Press. He
founded the sociology department of
Saint John’s University and became
firmly focused on the family and
responsible family planning.
Paul put his intense convictions into
practice by founding the Human Life
Center at Saint John’s in 1972 and in
1981 establishing Human Life International
in Washington, D.C. Driven
by his belief that life begins at the moment
of conception and that the family
is the most important unit of society,
Paul personified the zeal and energy
of his biblical namesake, the Apostle
Paul. He was known as “The Apostle
of Life” in the pro-life movement and
labeled by Planned Parenthood as
“Public Enemy #1.” Pope John Paul II
said to Paul during a 1979 papal audience,
“You are doing the most important
work on earth.”
Well deserved accolades for Paul’s
uncompromising dedication to life accumulated
over the years.
Of him it was said, “What
Shakespeare is to poetry,
what Mozart is to music,
what Babe Ruth is to baseball,
Father Paul Marx is
to the pro-life movement.”
He was named “Catholic
of the Year” by Catholic
Twin Circle and received
the Cardinal John J.
O’Connor Unambiguously
Pro-Life Award and the
Family Life International
Lifetime Achievement
Award.
OBITUARIES
Father Paul and his favorite people
Remember our deceased
loved ones:
Barbara Jean (Theisen) Betts
Alfred Bill Braun
Archbishop Lawrence Burke, S.J.
Anthony Del Greco
Aloysius Fischer
George Franta
Dr. Ronald Gearman
Katherine Vonnie Ibes
Richard Jochman
Joseph Moorse
Angie Olberding
Hilda Petermeier
Leo Rahm
Doris Rowe
Joan Swenson
Kiriji Takahashi
Florian Winczewski
James Worline
May they rest in peace.
Abbey Archives
It is fitting that Paul died March 20,
the first day of spring when the earth
begins its new journey of life. The
Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated
for him on March 26, 2010.
May he rest in peace. +
Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 27