Alex Hueneburg’64 Named 2026 Saint Bede Distinguished Alumnus

The Saint Bede Alumni Association and Saint Bede Academy are proud to announce that the recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Alumnus Award is Alex Hueneburg, Class of 1964. 

“Coach” Hueneburg is a familiar face on the Saint Bede Academy campus.  His ties to Saint Bede are strong and his contributions to the students of Saint Bede over the years, in so many ways, made him the unanimous choice of this year’s selection committee. 

Alex was born in Germany at the end of World War II.  After living in the East German/ Russian sector for eight years after the war, his family crossed the border as refugees into West Germany, where he and his family lived in a refugee camp for three years before coming to the U.S. in 1956.

He grew up in Spring Valley and attended Saint Bede where he played football, basketball and track all four years. 

In 1968, returned to Saint Bede as a teacher and coach before being drafted into the U.S. army in 1969. During his military training, he learned Vietnamese at the Defense Language Institute at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX – a skill he would later use during his tour of duty in Vietnam.  

After the service, he returned to Saint Bede in 1971 as a teacher and coach.  He taught and coached at Saint Bede until 1979, when he started a successful insurance and investment advisory business called Hueneburg Financial Group, that continues to be owned and operated by his son, Alec Hueneburg, and Stacy Newell, a business partner of over 30 years. Over the course of his insurance career, Alex has received several honors as a top producer.

He has been married to his wife, Linda, for 59 years and they continue to live in the Illinois Valley where they raised their children, Kimberly Meinert, Erika Hueneburg and Alec Hueneburg, who all attended Saint Bede. 

Alex also has five grandsons, including Callan and Halden Hueneburg, who graduated from Saint Bede and like their grandfather and father, Alec, played three sports. Grandson Blake Hueneburg is currently a sophomore at the Academy and is continuing the tradition of playing three sports, started by his grandfather.

Throughout his career, Alex has given back to his community by supporting various organizations, charities and clubs in the Illinois Valley. That community service includes his continued financial support of the Saint Bede mission, including organizing anonymous contributions to support students in the Illinois Valley who needed assistance to finance their education at Saint Bede.  He says, “I was there once myself and I am forever grateful for my education at Saint Bede and the values that were instilled in me.”

He is actively involved in local grade schools and speaks at those schools annually about the benefits of Saint Bede when the new class is considering Saint Bede over the public schools in the community. He continues to be a cheerleader for the Saint Bede family and has volunteered and organized many projects for the betterment of the Academy and the monastery.

Alex is proud of the tradition that he has passed to his children and grandchildren around team sports at Saint Bede. As a participant, coach and now a cheerleader for his grandchildren, he has seen the benefits of team sports for one’s character development and future personal success.  

Given his tireless contributions to Saint Bede in so many ways over his lifetime, Alex Hueneburg exemplifies how one should live in accordance with the Rule of St. Benedict. 

The Saint Bede Alumni Association is proud to honor Alex Hueneburg as the 2026 Distinguished Alumnus. He will be recognized on Sunday, Oct. 4, during the annual Alumni Brunch over Homecoming weekend at Saint Bede. Alumni and friends are welcome to attend the brunch in support of Alex. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased by contacting Claire (Perona) Murphy ’78 at cmurphy@sperlingkenny.com. The brunch is held in the Perino Science Center.

We Are in the Boat Together

Abbot Michael’s Homily for a Community in Mourning

There are moments when words seem inadequate. There are moments when we gather for Mass not because we have answers, but because we need God—and because we need one another.

Today is one of those moments. We come together carrying a profound grief: the death of Alex Dittmar, at the age of 25, who was so well loved by his classmates and teachers; and the tragic death in a car accident of two-year-old Jack McLaughlin.

Two lives, very different in age and circumstance, yet each precious beyond measure. When death comes suddenly and tragically, especially when it involves someone so young, one question inevitably arises:

Where is God? Today’s Gospel gives us a remarkable image for that question. Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee when a violent storm arises. The waves are breaking over the boat, and the disciples are terrified. And Jesus? What of his whereabouts? He is asleep. The disciples wake him and cry out: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

The question the disciples ask can sound very familiar to us. Do you not care? Why did this happen? Why Alex? Why Jack? Why now? Why could the storm not have been stopped?

Those are not questions of weak faith. They are the honest questions of people who are grieving. The Gospel does not give us a simple explanation for suffering. Jesus does something else. He stands in the midst of the storm and says: “Quiet! Be still!”  The wind ceases. But notice something important: Jesus does not promise his disciples that there will never again be storms. Faith does not mean that we will never suffer. Faith does not mean that faithful people will be protected from tragedy. Faith means something deeper: We do not face the storm alone. Jesus is in the boat. That is an important message for us today. Some of us may feel that our boat is being overwhelmed by grief. Some may feel anger, confusion, sadness, or even an unsettling silence from God. But Christ is still in the boat.

The first reading from the book of Wisdom gives us the promise that lies at the heart of our hope: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God.” Not in the hands of fate. Not lost in meaninglessness. Not erased by death. In the hand of God.

The Book of Wisdom acknowledges that death can appear to be destruction. From the human perspective, those who have died may seem to have been taken from us. But Wisdom says: “They are in peace.” Then it speaks of a hope that goes beyond what we can see: “Their hope is full of immortality.” That is what we proclaim today. We do not pretend that death does not hurt. It hurts precisely because we love. We do not tell grieving families simply to “move on.” We remember. We mourn. We weep. We entrust those whom we love to God.

Today we entrust to God, Alex whose life had already accomplished much, but whose future held so much more. For those of you who taught him, he was not simply a student who earned excellent grades. He was part of this community.

Teachers know something about this kind of loss. We teach students, but over the years we also come to know them and love them. We watch them grow. We celebrate their accomplishments. We worry about them. We hope for their futures. And when someone like Alex dies, it can feel as though a piece of the school’s own story has been taken away.

Today we also entrust to God, Jack McLaughlin. There are few things more difficult for the human heart to comprehend than the death of a child. A child that age should be discovering the world, growing, laughing, learning, and being surrounded by the ordinary experiences of family life. We cannot adequately explain why such a life should end so soon. Perhaps we should resist the temptation to offer easy explanations.

Sometimes the most honest prayer is simply: “Lord, we do not understand.” But even when we do not understand, we can still trust. We can trust the words of the book of Wisdom: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God.” We can trust the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ—a God who knows human suffering from the inside.

Jesus himself knew grief. He stood at the tomb of Lazarus as recorded in the gospel of John. He wept. He experienced betrayal and abandonment. He suffered and died upon the cross. Because Christ entered fully into human suffering, we can bring our suffering to him.

There is another dimension of today’s Gospel that is especially meaningful for us as at St. Bede Academy with its Benedictine tradition. When the storm comes, the disciples are in the boat together. That is what we are called to do today. Stay together. Pray together. Grieve together. Support one another.

There may be times when we do not know what to say to a grieving colleague or friend. We may be afraid that we will say the wrong thing. Sometimes the most appropriate thing is simply to be present. To sit with someone. To listen. To pray. To say, “I am here.” That is community and it is profoundly Benedictine.

St. Benedict begins his Rule with the invitation: “Listen carefully, my son.” Today we are called to listen carefully—not necessarily for an explanation of why these tragedies occurred, but for the voice of Christ in the midst of our storm.

Listen for the voice that says: I am here. Listen for the voice that says: Your loved ones are in my hands. Listen for the voice that says: You do not have to carry this grief alone.

Perhaps this tragedy also reminds us of the sacred responsibility we have as educators. Every young person who walks through the doors of this school with its Benedictine tradition is someone’s beloved child. Every student carries hopes, dreams, fears, struggles, and gifts. We do not know how long any of us has been given. That should not make us fearful. It should make us attentive. It should make us teach with greater patience. Listen more carefully. Forgive more readily. Encourage more generously. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give a young person is the knowledge that he or she is known, valued, and loved.

Today, we do not ask God for an easy answer. We ask for faith. We ask for strength. We ask for peace. We ask for the grace to entrust those whom we love into God’s hands. We do not stand before death and pretend that it is not painful. We stand before death and proclaim: Death is real, but death does not have the final word. Christ has the final word. Christ’s final word is: life.

Today we commend these two precious lives to God’s mercy. We pray for their families, their friends, their classmates, their teachers, and all who mourn. We pray for. Nick and Laura McLaughlin who are carrying an unimaginable loss.

We pray for the members of our school community whose hearts are broken. We pray for ourselves—that God will give us the courage to remain together when the storms come. The storm may still be raging. We may not yet understand why.

Know these three things: 1) Jesus is in the boat. 2) We are in the boat together. 3) The souls of those whom we love are in the hand of God.

May Christ calm the storms within our hearts. May he give peace to those who mourn. May he welcome Alex and Jack into eternal life. May their memory deepen within us the gift of compassion, gratitude, and love.

From the Office of the Superintendent: Building the Foundation for the Future

Dear Alumni, Parents, Students, Faculty, Staff, Monastic Community and Friends,

With hearts full of gratitude, we begin the celebration of the 135th Anniversary of Saint Bede
Academy.

For 135 years, Saint Bede has been a place where young people are invited to seek God, pursue
excellence and grow into lives of purpose, leadership and service. Rooted in the Benedictine
values of faith, community, hospitality, stewardship and scholarship, our Academy has shaped
generations of students while remaining faithful to its founding mission..

As we celebrate this milestone, we give thanks for all who have been part of the Saint Bede
story: the monks whose vision established the school, the faculty and staff who have dedicated
their lives to its mission, the families who have entrusted us with their children, and the alumni,
benefactors, and friends whose generosity has sustained this community across the decades.

Our anniversary invites us to remember a remarkable beginning.

On the 7th of September, 1891, Saint Bede opened its doors on this historic site overlooking the
Illinois River Valley. What emerged from the rich farmland of north-central Illinois was more than
a school. It was a bold act of faith and a commitment to the transformative power of Catholic
education. The Benedictine monks who founded Saint Bede believed that education was a
sacred ministry—one that would form both minds and hearts.

At a joyous celebration at Saint Bede on October 10, 1891, Bishop John Lancaster Spalding
delivered his Dedication of St. Bede College address remarking on the enduring contribution of
the Benedictine tradition, observing that “faith and love, humility and patience are the saving
principles. They fertilize the earth, illumine the mind, strengthen the heart.” More than a century
later, his words still capture the mission of Saint Bede Academy.

Saint Bede today looks different from the Academy that opened in 1891. In those early years,
nearly every role on campus was filled by monks—teachers, prefects, administrators, coaches,
maintenance staff, groundskeepers, and spiritual leaders. Over time, as the monastic community
evolved, a new generation of talented lay educators and staff stepped forward to continue this
important work. Today, Saint Bede is blessed with exceptional faculty, dedicated personnel, and
support staff who, under the guidance and inspiration of the monastic community, faithfully
advance the Benedictine mission. The people have changed, but the values endure.

Those founders built for a future they would never see. We are the beneficiaries of their faith,
sacrifice, and foresight. Now the responsibility is ours.

As we honor our past, we must also prepare for our future. A strong future for Saint Bede
depends on remaining accessible, mission-driven, and financially sustainable. Central to that
future is our responsibility to build a lasting endowment.

An endowment is more than a financial asset; it is a lasting investment in the Academy's mission.
it supports scholarships and financial aid, strengthens academic and student programs, attracts
outstanding faculty, and provides stability during changing economic times. In many ways, an
endowment is the bridge between generations—linking the generosity of yesterday with the
needs of tomorrow.

One of the greatest benefits of a strong endowment is that it helps keep a Saint Bede education
within reach for families. While tuition remains essential, tuition alone cannot sustain everything
that makes this school exceptional. Simply put, endowment is what allows a school to make
decisions based on mission rather than financial pressure.

As stewards of this institution, we are called not merely to preserve Saint Bede, but to
strengthen it. May this anniversary deepen our gratitude, renew our commitment to our

mission, and inspire us to invest boldly in the future.

Together, let us celebrate 135 years of Benedictine education and ensure that Saint Bede
continues to flourish for generations to come.

With gratitude and prayers,

Eve Postula ’84

Saint Bede Academy Superintendent

"That in all things God may be glorified."
— Rule of Saint Benedict 57:9

From Europe to the Illinois Valley: The Journey that Led to Saint Bede

Long before the first students walked through the doors of Saint Bede in 1891, the Academy's story had already crossed continents.

It began more than 1,300 years ago with St. Benedict of Nursia, whose Rule shaped a way of life centered on prayer, learning, community and hospitality. That Benedictine tradition spread throughout Europe, eventually taking root at Metten Abbey in Bavaria. From there, a young monk named Fr. Boniface Wimmer, OSB carried the Benedictine mission across the Atlantic, finding Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pa, in 1846.

Just 15 years later, Benedictine monks arrived in Illinois to serve the growing German Catholic community at St. Joseph Church in Chicago. As they traveled throughout northern Illinois, they recognized another opportunity - not simply to serve parishes, but to establish a school that would educate young men while forming them in the Benedictine tradition.

Their vision found an eager supporter in Bishop John Lancaster Spalding of Peoria. Together, they selected a 200-acre farm between Peru and Spring Valley as the future home of the new school. Construction began in 1889, but the project was anything but easy. Money was scarce, and the monks borrowed heavily to keep construction moving while overcoming obstacles that included finding a reliable water supply. Their perseverance paid off.

On Sept. 7, 1891, Saint Bede College welcomed its first class of 50 students. Named for the Venerable Bede - an English monk, scholar and teacher whose lifelong pursuit of knowledge reflected the school's mission - the new institution quickly became a place where faith and education flourished together.

When the college was formally dedicated on Oct. 12, 1891, hundreds of guests from around the Illinois Valley and beyond gathered to witness the opening of the new Benedictine college, Bishop Spalding marked the occasion with a special address on the front steps of the Academy. In the address, he declared Saint Bede would educate both the mind and the soul. He challenged the new college to become a place where faith, scholarship and service would shape generations of students. Now, 135 years later, that vision continues to guide Saint Bede Abbey and Academy. 

Saint Bede Academy to Celebrate 135 Years this September

By Fr. Ronald Margherio, OSB ’68, Campus Historian

In September 1891, a group of young men arrived at a new Benedictine school overlooking the Illinois Valley. They wore different clothes, studied different subjects, played different sports, and lived in a world that would be almost unrecognizable to today's students.

This fall, the 135th freshman class will walk through those same doors. Much has changed in the years between.

The student body is now young men and women. Classrooms contain technology that the founders could never have imagined. Athletic opportunities have expanded dramatically. The campus has grown and evolved. Even the cost of attending Saint Bede Academy tells the story of a changing world.

Yet these photographs reveal something remarkable. Beneath the obvious differences lies a deeper continuity.

The question is not simply what has changed. The more interesting question is this: What would the students of 1891 recognize in the students of 2026? I suspect they would recognize quite a lot.

They would recognize young people arriving with hopes for the future. They would recognize friendships being formed in classrooms, hallways and on athletic fields. They would recognize teachers who challenge students to grow, not only academically but personally. They would recognize a community that seeks to form character as well as intellect. Most of all, they would recognize a school rooted in faith.

For 135 years, Saint Bede Academy has remained grounded in the Benedictine values upon which it was founded: faith, community, hospitality, respect, stewardship and the pursuit of wisdom.

These values have outlasted changing fashions, changing technologies, changing educational methods and changing generations. They continue to shape the life of the Academy today just as they did when the first students arrived in 1891.

Having arrived at Saint Bede as a freshman in 1964, I have had the privilege of knowing monks who remembered alumni from the 1920s and 1930s, and students who will graduate in 2029 and beyond. That experience has taught me something important: Saint Bede Academy belongs to no single generation. Each generation receives a gift, cares for it and passes it on. That has been the story of Saint Bede for 135 years.

As Benedictines, we often speak about stability. Stability is sometimes misunderstood as resisting change. In reality, Benedictine stability is something much deeper. It means remaining rooted while continuing to grow. An oak tree is stable not because it remains small, but because its roots are deep enough to support new growth year after year.

The story of Saint Bede Academy is much the same.

The school has never stood still. It has adapted to new times, welcomed new generations, embraced new opportunities and responded to new challenges. Yet throughout those changes, it has remained faithful to its mission of educating young people in a community shaped by Benedictine values.

Each generation has received a gift from those who came before. Students, parents, faculty, monks, alumni, benefactors and friends have all played a role in preserving and strengthening that gift. In turn, each generation has passed it on to the next. That may be the most important lesson of this anniversary.

The history of Saint Bede Academy is not merely a story about buildings, classrooms, athletic teams or tuition costs. It is the story of people. It is the story of thousands of young men and women whose lives were shaped here. It is the story of a community that has endured because each generation cared for something larger than itself.

For 135 years, the faces have changed. The mission has not.

Different generations. The same Benedictine foundation.