The Right Reverend Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B. is eleventh Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey and Chancellor of Saint Vincent College and Seminary, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and the Major Superior of the Benedictines at the Priory and Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, and the Benedictine Priories in Brazil and Taiwan.Archabbot Douglas attended Catholic grade schools at Saint Joseph, Everson, and Holy Cross, Youngwood, Pennsylvania. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Saint Vincent College in May of 1968, a Master of Divinity from Saint Vincent Seminary in May of 1971 and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tennessee in December of 1977.
He was professed as a Benedictine on July 11, 1966, and ordained to the priesthood at the Archabbey Basilica on May 21, 1972 by the late Bishop William G. Connare of Greensburg. He was elected by his fellow monks on January 8, 1991 to become the eleventh Archabbot of Saint Vincent. On March 1, 1991, he received the Abbatial Blessing from Anthony G. Bosco, Bishop of Greensburg.
Prior to his election as Archabbot, Archabbot Douglas had served for five years as Secretary for Education of the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 1986 to 1991 and Pastor of Our Lady, Queen of Peace Parish, North Side, Pittsburgh from 1984 to 1986. At Saint Vincent College he served as Chairman of the Department of Psychology from 1979 to 1984 and Associate Academic Dean from 1983 to 1984. From 1978 through 1983, he was also a member of the staff in the Behavioral Science Department at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He also served as a psychological consultant to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for a number of years.
Archabbot Douglas is a member of the Board of Trustees of the McFeely-Rogers Foundation, the Extra Mile Education Foundation, Saint Vincent College and Seminary Board of Incorporators, Saint Vincent College Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia. During his years as Secretary of Education in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, he also served as a member of the Saint Anthony School for Exceptional Children Board of Directors and the DePaul Institute Board of Directors. He also serves as a member of the International Benedictine Commission on China.
In his role as the Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey, Archabbot Douglas serves as the spiritual leader of the first Benedictine monastery established in the United States and one of the largest monasteries in the world. The Benedictines of Saint Vincent Archabbey operate the Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, and the Penn State Campus Ministry Program at State College in Pennsylvania. In addition to his responsibilities in this country, Archabbot Douglas is also the spiritual leader of monasteries in Brazil and Taiwan. The Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey founded the original Fu Jen University in Beijing, the first Catholic University in China, in the 1920s. Today the Benedictines have a priory in Taiwan and teach at Fu Jen University in Taipei. The Benedictine Community recently opened a new school, Colegio Sao Bento, in Vinhedo, Brazil.
In 1992 Archabbot Douglas was named “Man of the Year in Religion” by the Pittsburgh Vectors Society and in 1995 received an honorary doctorate from Saint Vincent College. In the fall of 1999 he received an honorary degree from Fu Jen University in Taiwan, Republic of China.
The son of Sylvester and the late Evelyn (Jackamonis) Nowicki, he was born in Everson, Pennsylvania on May 8, 1945. He is one of four children. He has two brothers, Edward Nowicki of Greensburg and Lawrence Nowicki of Harrisburg, and a sister, Mrs. Dean Sickenberger of Greensburg.