The Manuscript Ministry of Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB

"It all began with one of the most ambitious smuggling operations of modern times.

"Back in 2012, the year Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida occupied Timbuktu, in the West African country of Mali, hundreds of volunteers packed a few small, nondescript metal lockers into their cars and headed for the city of Bamako, a 12-hour drive away, much of it through the Sahara Desert.

"Inside the metal boxes were priceless, centuries-old manuscripts that were in danger of being destroyed by radicals who had demonstrated their contempt for the sacred and literary treasures in Libya, where they had sacked and destroyed so many of the country's libraries.

"To keep a low profile, when they reached checkpoints manned by the terrorists, these 'manuscript-traffickers,' as The Economist characterized them, did everything in their power not to make the guards suspicious - hence, the small load they carried. If there was a crackdown at checkpoints out of Timbuktu, the ever-resourceful smugglers packed their treasures onto boats and sailed down the Niger River to Bamako. Thanks to this low-tech, low-profile rescue effort, more than 370,000 manuscripts were spirited out of Timbuktu to safety.

"Once these treasures reached their destination, the 'smugglers' turned them over to Abdel Kader Haidara, an expert in Islamic manuscripts, who stashed them in safe houses. There is no counting how many drivers were involved in the operation or how many people in Bamako are concealing in their homes a treasure trove of irreplaceable books.

"But more was still needed to ensure that the Timbuktu collections would be preserved, and for that task, Haidara turned to a Benedictine monk of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota.

"Benedictine Father Columba Stewart heads up the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML) at the abbey. When he heard from Haidada, Father Stewart was already in charge of a collection of 100,000 rolls of microfilm of what the monk describes as 'basically the manuscript culture of Europe.' In fact, the HMML - where Father Stewart has been director since 2003 ' is 'blind' when it comes to the provenance of a manuscript. Country of origin and faith of the author - these things are not important.''

A recent National Catholic Register article reported on Fr. Stewart, OSB, and his manuscript ministry.

To access the complete National Catholic Register report, please visit:

National Catholic Register: A Minnesota Monk Takes on ISIS (19 APR 17)

Background information:

Hill Museum and Manuscript Library

The Order of Saint Benedict