{"id":10006,"date":"2026-10-03T16:14:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T23:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/?p=10006"},"modified":"2026-10-03T20:26:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T03:26:56","slug":"columba-stewart-hmml-director-on-grindr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/columba-stewart-hmml-director-on-grindr\/","title":{"rendered":"Columba Stewart (HMML Director) on Grindr"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Father Columba Stewart, OSB was contacted on four occasions via email (July 23, 2021; October 24, 2021; March 1, 2024; April 5, 2024) to discuss his Grindr account.<\/h3>\n

Father\u00a0Stewart did respond once, on July 23, 2021:<\/h3>\n

“… if you have a question about HMML, let me know.”<\/h3>\n

On at least one occasion, Father Stewart messaged a potential sexual partner that he was using the Collegeville Institute (Apartment #8, to be exact) as his private Grindr hookup location.<\/h3>\n

Stewart pursued at least one guest (a student?) who was living on campus with his multiple<\/span> nude photos which we have decided not to publish at this time.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Abbot Doug Mullin and former Abbot John Klassen were cc’d to the April 5, 2024 email. There has been no response from either abbot.<\/h3>\n

Compromised<\/strong><\/p>\n

Father Stewart should not<\/span> be leading the HMML or representing the St. John’s community. His leadership – and respect for his community – cannot be trusted.<\/h3>\n

How can the community trust that Father Stewart would come forward, if he knew of allegations of misconduct by one of his brothers? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

There has never<\/span> been such a monk at St. John’s Abbey. There is a reason for that.<\/h3>\n

Father Columba Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n

Father Columba Stewart, OSB, professed vows as a Benedictine monk of Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville, in 1982 and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1990. In 1989, he joined the faculty of the graduate School of Theology (SOT) and undergraduate Department of Theology at Saint John\u2019s University.<\/h3>\n

Father Columba Stewart, OSB, was named as the\u00a0executive director of the\u00a0Hill Museum & Manuscript Library [Link<\/a>] in 2003.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nPhoto courtesy Hill Museum & Manuscript Library Media Resources [Link<\/a>]<\/h4>\n

Fr. Columba holds an AB in History and Literature from Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, and a MA in Religious Studies from Yale University, New Haven, CT. After further studies at Saint John’s University School of Theology (SOT), Collegeville, Minnesota, he earned his DPhil from the University of Oxford, England, writing his thesis on Greek and Syriac asceticism.<\/h3>\n

Grindr<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Grindr is “location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards gay and bisexual men, and transgender people.”<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research<\/strong><\/p>\n

During an 2020 episode of the “Systematically” podcast [Link<\/a>] , Father Columba Stewart shared that he was living at the Collegeville Institute. This set of building was once called the Ecumenical Institute. [View Map<\/a>] \u00a0At the time, it was located behind Metten Court, a once infamous building, since torn down, on campus.<\/p>\n

\"\"Collegeville Institute (formerly the Ecumenical Institute)<\/h5>\n

Hooking Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Columba planned to meet with at least one of his Grindr matches on the St. John’s campus. Columba suggested that they meet at Apartment 8 of the Collegeville Institute, where he was living at the time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Columba Stewart’s Grindr Profile Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have chosen to not<\/span> post the nude and semi-nude photos of Father Stewart as they are too graphic and we believe that his profile image and the multiple messages he sent were proof enough that he has dishonored his community.<\/p>\n

HMML Staff\/Employees <\/strong>[Link<\/a>]\n

Columba Stewart’s staff includes the following individuals:<\/p>\n

Dr. Ali Diakite
\nDr. Ani Shahinian
\nDr. Catherine Walsh
\nDr. Daniel K. Gullo
\nDr. James Walters
\nDr. Jennifer Carnell
\nDr. Jeremy R. Brown
\nDr. Josh Mugler
\nDr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman
\nDr. Paul Naylor
\nJeff Zumwalde
\nJohn Meyerhofer
\nJulie Dietman
\nKatherine Goertz
\nKatrina P. Schlude
\nLinda Orzechowski
\nMargaret Bresnahan
\nMary Hoppe
\nTim Ternes
\nWayne Torborg<\/p>\n

HMML Board of Directors<\/strong> [ Link<\/a> ]\n

2023-2024 Executive Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Board Chair: Lyndel King, PhD, Minneapolis, MN
\nVice Chair: Keyna Skeffington, Minneapolis, MN
\nExecutive Director: Father Columba Stewart, OSB, Collegeville, MN
\nNominating and Governance Committee Chair: Lucia Lahiff Crane, Edina, MN
\nFinance and Audit Committee Chair: Kathy M. Cooney, Bloomington, MN
\nAdvancement Committee Chair: Charlie Kelley, Orono, MN
\nAt-large Representative: Thomas Joyce, Minneapolis, MN
\nAt-large Representative: Patricia Simmons, Saint Paul, MN
\nSaint John’s University Appointed Representative: LeAnne Stewart, Fort Myers, FL<\/p>\n

2023-2024 Board<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dusica Babovic-Vuksanovic, Rochester, MN
\nCatherine Shannon Ballman, Saint Paul, MN
\nThomas Barrett, Minneapolis, MN
\nAlbert J. Colianni, Jr., Minneapolis, MN
\nKathy M. Cooney, Bloomington, MN
\nLucia Lahiff Crane, Edina, MN
\nJudith Healey, Minneapolis, MN
\nElliot J. Jaffee, Minneapolis, MN
\nThomas Joyce, Minneapolis, MN
\nCharlie Kelley, Orono, MN
\nSteven Kennedy, Medina, MN
\nLyndel King, Minneapolis, MN
\nWendy Pradt Lougee, Golden Valley, MN
\nRachel McGarry, Deephaven, MN
\nJoseph S. Micallef, Saint Paul, MN
\nBr. Dan Morgan, OSB, Collegeville, MN
\nShelly Regan, Minneapolis, MN
\nMarc Robins, Minneapolis, MN
\nMary Rohman, Santa Fe, NM
\nTamrah Schaller O\u2019Neil, Minneapolis, MN
\nRachael Scherer, Minneapolis, MN
\nSue Shepard, Sartell, MN
\nPatricia Simmons, Saint Paul, MN
\nKeyna Skeffington, Minneapolis, MN
\nLeAnne Stewart, Fort Myers, FL
\nBrad Wallin, Edina, MN
\nCorine Wegener, Alexandria, VA<\/p>\n

Father Peregrin Berres<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former HMML staff include Father Peregrin Berres<\/strong>, one of many individuals [ View<\/a> ] from the St. John’s community who have credible claims of misconduct against them.<\/p>\n

Collegeville Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

After all that this community has been through, this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Father Columba Stewart, OSB was contacted on four occasions via email (July 23, 2021; October 24, 2021; March 1, 2024; April 5, 2024) to discuss his Grindr account. Father\u00a0Stewart did respond once, on July 23, 2021: “… if you have … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[545,94,6,547,546,74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collegeville-institute","category-columba-stewart","category-john-klassen","category-linda-orzechowski","category-lyndel-king","category-peregrin-berres","wp-image-borders"],"views":98,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10006"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10314,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10006\/revisions\/10314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.behindthepinecurtain.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}