By Tim Wenzl

Southwest Kansas Register

ELKHORN, NEB. -- Father Michael Liebl, O.S.B., a native vocation of St. Joseph Parish, Offerle, was elected as abbot of Mount Michael Benedictine Abbey on June 1.

Father Michael was born July 5, 1950, the son of the late James Philip Liebl and the late Velma Tasset Liebl in Wichita. In baptism he received the name James Michael. He moved to Offerle with his family when he was four years old. He attended St. Joseph grade school. It was there that he developed an interest in the priesthood.

"I was influenced by the example of the pastor at that time, Father Fred Tuzicka," Father Michael related in an interview in 2002. "I owe some of my vocation to the nuns who taught in the school. I was impressed by the Sisters Adorers dedication and willingness to be of service to the students. In the case of Father Fred, I was impressed by the respect that he had from everyone in the community as pastor of the parish."

In the fall of 1964, James Michael Liebl enrolled in the minor seminary at Mount Michael. Upon graduation, he attended St. Thomas Seminary in Denver. After a year, he returned to Mount Michael and the monastic life. He made his monastic profession Aug. 1, 1971. He attended Creighton University, majoring in science. He took his theology studies at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn.

He was ordained to the priesthood Aug. 19, 1977, at Mount Michael Abbey by the Most Rev. Daniel E. Sheehan, archbishop of Omaha. He celebrated his first Mass at St. Joseph Church in Offerle on Aug. 21, 1977. Since ordination, Father Michael has been instructor of physics and a tennis coach at Mount Michael High School in Elkhorn. He received the Vernier Technology Award from the National Science Teachers Association in 2006. This award recognizes the innovative use of data collection technology using a computer, graphing calculator, or handheld calculator in the science classroom.

Abbot Michael Liebl, O.S.B. is the third abbot in the history of Mount Michael. He was preceded by Abbot Raphael Walsh, (1964-1989) and Abbot Theodore Wolff, (1989-2007).