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Legacy of Abbot Giles
Much had been accomplished during the tenure of Abbot Giles. In the monastery he sought to enhance the prayer life and observance of the community, setting an inspiring example by his presence at every hour of the Opus Dei and at the common table, and his emphasis on the essential monastic lecio divina, the prayerful reading of scripture, on the part of all members of the community.
He sought to encourage vocations to the monastic life, but despite his best efforts, numbers continued to decline through death and attrition, from forty-five listed in the Catalogue of 2006 to thirty-seven listed in that of 2014.
Facilities of Delbarton School experienced a great leap forward. Athletic facilities are virtually unrivaled, with the clubhouse, artificial turf fields, and new baseball diamond at the “Forty Acres” south end of the campus, and the turf field and, at last, a proper track at the north end of the campus.
Following the failure of the Abbey Woods project, Abbot Giles oversaw the agreement between the community and the Trust for Public Lands to convey part of the property to the Morris County Park Commission. Consequently, the Abbey endowment was substantially enhanced.
Several legal issues from previous years and even decades became a preoccupation, and they took their toll on Abbot Giles’ time and energy. Nevertheless, he seemed a man of boundless energy and optimism, maintaining a work load of at least two men as Abbot, as college counselor to Delbarton seniors, and as development officer.
Abbot Giles submitted his mandated resignation as he reached the age of seventy-five in February 2014. The community proceeded to elect its eleventh abbot, Father Richard Cronin.