Date of death: 10/4/2007

Saint Meinrad Class: O 1979

Father Paschal Sidney Michael Baumstein, O.S.B., 57, died at Belmont Abbey Monastery. He was a native of Tullahoma, TN, and was a son of Mae Winton Baumstein and the late Joe Baumstein.Father Paschal attended Middle Tennessee State University, Aquinas College, Central Connecticut State University, and earned his B.A. from Holy Apostles College. He received an M.Div. from the Saint Meinrad School of Theology and an M.A. from Indiana University. On April 20, 2007, Father Paschal was the recipient of the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by Belmont Abbey College in recognition of his scholarship and service to Belmont Abbey. He received training in archival science at the Modern Archives Institute of the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He was the first Benedictine monk to be admitted to the Academy of Certified Archivists. Father Paschal taught in the Theology Department at Belmont Abbey College, was the Archivist of Belmont Abbey and Belmont Abbey College, where he established the monastery and college archives. He served on the Board of Trustees of Belmont Abbey College, and was secretary to the Chapter and Council of Seniors of Belmont Abbey. He loved the theater and was an avid supporter of the Abbey Players, and took the title role in Hadrian VII. Father Paschal was a man of multiple talents and prodigious intellectual acuity. He was a talented musician and is recognized as an authority on the life and works of Saint Anselm. He is the author of ‘My Lord of Belmont’, a biography of Belmont Abbey’s first abbot, and co-authored ‘Blessing The Years to Come’, a pictorial history of Belmont Abbey. He is the author of numerous articles and reviews and delivered talks before various learned societies.In addition to his mother; brother and sister-in-law, Allen and Carolyn Baumstein; niece, Tami Sharpe; nephew and spouse, Joey and Terri Baumstein; great nieces and nephews, Joseph Baumstein, Nathan Lynn, McKenzie Sharp, Sydney Sharpe, all of Manchester, TN; aunt, Cathern Winton; close friends, Simon, Debbie, and Christopher Donoghue of Gastonia and the Monks of Belmont Abbey. In addition to his father, he was preceded in death by an uncle who died the same day, A.J. Winton.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in honor of Father Paschal to the Abbey Players at Belmont Abbey College, 100 Belmont-Mount Holly Rd., Belmont, NC 28012.Published in the Charlotte Observer on 10/6/2007.