October 10, 2009 7:33 PM: Corey Friedman, Gaston Gazette. BELMONT — The monk and priest who led Belmont Abbey College as both a president and trustee, taught Shakespeare and helped raise the curtain on the Abbey Players theatre group died Saturday at age 85.
Father John Oetgen served as president of Belmont Abbey College from 1960 to 1964 and has been an influential leader at the Catholic college and Benedictine monastery for decades, said Abbot Placid Solari.
“I think he’d want to be remembered as a monk who was faithful to the vows he made at Belmont Abbey and was dedicated to the welfare of Belmont Abbey College and its students,” Solari said Saturday.
Oetgen presented evangelist Billy Graham with an honorary doctorate degree from Belmont Abbey in 1967, making a bold statement about Christian unity that surprised both Catholics and Protestants.
“That was seen as quite a startling move — both that Billy Graham would accept and that we would confer the degree,” Solari said. “That sounds strange now, but it was a forward-looking gesture at that time on both parts.”
Oetgen was born on Aug. 6, 1924, in Savannah, Ga. He attended Benedictine Military School in Savannah and studied at what was then Belmont Abbey Junior College.
In February 1944, Oetgen became a monk. He completed his associate’s degree a year later and continued his studies at St. Benedict’s College in Atchison, Kan. In 1947, he entered the Belmont Abbey Seminary, and after studying in Rome, became an ordained priest in 1951.
Oetgen taught Shakespeare and Southern literature at Belmont Abbey and was known for his work with the Abbey Players. He performed on stage with the group, served as its director and was a perennial patron.
“He was respected both by the monks and by the members of the college community because of his friendship, his sense of humor, his knowledge and his broad range of interests,” Solari said.
The abbot, who also serves as chancellor of the college, said many of Oetgen’s students treasured his friendship.
“I think he was initially intimidating to people until they got to know him,” Solari said. “He was a mentor and a guide and a friend.”
Oetgen is survived by his sister, Sister Pauline Oetgen, and a niece and three nephews, according to his obituary.
His body will be received in the abbey basilica at 7 p.m. Monday, followed by a vespers service and visitation. The monks of Belmont Abbey have scheduled a mass of Christian burial for 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Oetgen will be laid to rest in the Belmont Abbey cemetery.
