Benedictine Father Michael Jung, a monk of St. Joseph Abbey, died May 29th. He was 84 years old and had served for 63 years in religious life.
Harold Jung, a native of Bogalusa attended high school and junior college at St. Joseph Seminary, and, after graduating, entered the novitiate. He made first monastic profession in 1957, receiving the name Michael.
He studied philosophy and theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, earning a B.A. in philosophy, and he earned a B.S. in education from Loyola University New Orleans. He was ordained a priest in 1963. He studied mathematics at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and, later, earned a master’s in philosophy from Fordham University in New York.
Father Michael was dean of students and vice rector of St. Joseph Seminary College, where he also taught philosophy to generations of students. He served for many years as manager of the abbey forest. He was also a proficient carpenter and cabinet-maker, and items he crafted in the monastery carpenter’s shop are still in use today.
For several years he served as pastor of St. Peter Church in Covington. He later served as chaplain at the Baton Rouge General Hospital. Returning to abbey, he cared for his beloved rose garden.