Jerome Oetgen, a retired United States diplomat and historian, was educated from an early age by the Benedictines. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and is the author of several books about the American Benedictines, including An American Abbot: Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., 1809-1887; Mission to America: A History of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the First Benedictine Monastery in the United States; and Schools for the Lord's Service: A History of the American-Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine Monasteries 1855-2023, published by Liturgical Press.