Father Chrysostom V. Schlimm, O.S.B., 92, Saint Vincent Archabbey

Father Chrysostom V. Schlimm, O.S.B., 92, a monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey and retired director of the Saint Vincent Library, died Friday, July 3, 2026. He was born June 5, 1934 in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, a son of the late Vincent B. Schlimm and Florence M. (Simbeck) Schlimm. He was one of three children, including Helene (Mrs. J. Alan) Weis of St. Marys and the late Celine M. Schlimm.

He attended St. Mary’s Parochial School and is a 1952 graduate of Saint Vincent Preparatory School. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Saint Vincent College in 1957. He was a member of the Class of 1961 at Saint Vincent Seminary, from which he earned a Master of Divinity degree. He earned a Master of Arts degree in classical languages from the Catholic University of America in 1964. He received a master’s degree in library science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973.

Father Chrysostom made simple profession of monastic vows on July 2, 1955, and solemn profession of vows on July 11, 1958. He was ordained a priest on June 3, 1961 by Bishop William G. Connare of Greensburg at the Archabbey Basilica.

He served on the faculty of Saint Vincent Preparatory School (1964-1965). He became an assistant cataloger at Saint Vincent Library from (1970-1983), and in January of 1984 he was named director of libraries of Saint Vincent Archabbey, Seminary and College, serving in that capacity for 17 years. In 2001, he was named special collections librarian, and served in that role for another 17 years, until his retirement in 2018.

In 2001, Saint Vincent College awarded Father Chrysostom the Boniface Wimmer Faculty Award for extraordinary achievements over the past forty years on the faculty, and for his service to the library, which included automating the library in 1994 and then upgrading the system to a web and graphics based system, in addition to overseeing the library renovation in 1998-1999.

Father Chrysostom served on both the Saint Vincent College and Saint Vincent Seminary faculty. At the College, he was part of the Department of Foreign Languages, teaching both Greek and Latin, from 1961 to 1969 and 1970 to 2018. His service to the Seminary spanned the years 1964-1969 and 1984-2018. He became faculty member emeritus in 2018. He served on various college committees through the years, including the self-study for both the American Theological Society and Middle States evaluation for the College and Saint Vincent Seminary.

He was named an Alumnus of Distinction in 2001, by the Saint Vincent College Alumni Association, “in recognition of meritorious service and lifelong commitment to Saint Vincent,” and he received the Prep Hall of Fame Faculty Award at the Saint Vincent Preparatory School Reunion in 2011.

He regularly served as a weekend assistant in many parishes in the Dioceses of Greensburg, Pittsburgh, Erie, Altoona-Johnstown in Pennsylvania; Youngstown (in Canton and Waynesburg), Ohio and the Archdioceses of Washington and Baltimore. He was an associate pastor at Saint Bruno Parish, South Greensburg from 1969 to 1970. In the summer of 1979 he was assigned to the Penn State Catholic Center where he served as a chaplain, and where he evaluated the book collection in the center’s library. He also served as a chaplain for 17 years for pilgrimages sponsored by Saint Gertrude Parish, Vandergrift and assisted as a director for a few of these. He was administrator of Saint Mary’s Parish, St. Marys, from October of 2005 to August of 2006.

The body of Father Chrysostom will be received at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 5, in the Elizabeth J. Roderick Center, Saint Vincent Archabbey, where viewing will follow from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, and from 2 to 4 p.m. on Monday, July 6, in the Roderick Hall parlor. The body will be transferred to the Basilica for the vigil service at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 6. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in the Archabbey Basilica at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 7. The rite of committal will follow at Saint Vincent Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Benedictine Health and Welfare Fund, Saint Vincent Archabbey, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, Pa., 15650-2690.