Augustin Martin Kostelec

Abbot Augustin Kostelec, O.Cist., was a Catholic priest and a Cistercian monk of Sticna Abbey in Slovenia, where he led as abbot for nearly 40 years, from 1924 until his death in 1963. Born Martin Kostelec in Metlika, he joined the Cistercian Order at Sticna in 1889, and studied for the priesthood at Mehrerau Abbey in Austria. He was ordained on April 10, 1904, at Sticna Abbey, where he served as Novice Master from 1907 to 1918. He continued his studies at the University of Graz in Austria, where he was named a Doctor of Theology in 1913. He served as Subprior of the abbey from 1907 to 1913. He was charged with the management of the abbey in 1920, and officially elected as abbot four years later. The abbey prospered under his direction until the devastation of World War II and the ensuing years of Communist restrictions and oppression. Abbot Augustin contracted pneumonia in 1961, followed by a fatal heart attack in 1963.