Mariawald Abbey

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Mariawald Abbey, aerial photo (2015)
Church of the Mariawald Abbey
Coat of arms with motto of Mariawald Abbey
Abbey church

The Mariawald Abbey (Latin Abbatia BM de Nemore ) is a former monastery of the Trappist Order near Heimbach in the Eifel in the Düren district , North Rhine-Westphalia ( Germany ).

Her motto was: Luceat lux vestra - Your light should shine ( Mt 5,16  EU ). In January 2018 the abolition and sale of the monastery was decided, on September 15, 2018 the monks left the monastery.

The owner of the monastery is the "Kloster Mariawald" association, which has been running the monastery since 2018.

Geographical location

The Mariawald abbey buildings are located in the North Eifel in the Hohes Venn-Eifel Nature Park and are surrounded by the Eifel National Park . They are located south above the core town of Heimbach in the northern part of the wooded Kermeter , near the elevations and slope spurs Altenberg (approx.  424  m above sea  level ) in the northeast and Griesberg ( 421.3  m ) in the north-northwest between 400 and 420  m altitude.

View of the Mariawald Abbey from the Ehrenfriedhof

history

Pietà (before 1470) in the Antwerp reredos (around 1520), today in the Heimbach parish church

Founding and development up to the repeal in 1795

The history of the Mariawald Abbey is rooted in the installation of a Pietà in the forest near Heimbach. In 1470 the Heimbacher thatched roofer Heinrich Fluitter bought a Pietà and set it up in a hollow tree trunk for worship. However, this place turned out to be too lonely, so that Fluitter built a wooden chapel at a crossroads and set up the Pietà there. As more and more pilgrims came to the Pietà, Fluitter added a cell to the chapel and looked after the pilgrimage site from there until his death.

In 1479 the Heimbach pastor Johann Daum replaced the chapel with a wooden church and asked the Cistercians from the Bottenbroich monastery for help with the pilgrimage care. With a document on November 10, 1480, Pastor Daum donated the church with the Pietà to the Cistercian order, who began building a monastery there. The church was consecrated on September 12, 1481. On April 4, 1486, the first monastic community moved into the newly built monastery, so that this day is considered the founding date of the abbey, which was named Nemus Mariae (Mariawald). 1494 began to replace the wooden church with a stone building. Around 1520, the Pietà was integrated into an Antwerp reredos showing various scenes from the life of Jesus - from the Annunciation to death and resurrection. In 1539 the new stone church was consecrated.

The next 100 years were a difficult time for the monastery. Like the rest of the population, the abbey suffered from various wars, in particular the Thirty Years War . Then began a phase of calm and good development in monastic life, which ended again with the outbreak of the French Revolution . When the French revolutionary army occupied areas on the left bank of the Rhine in 1794, the abbey came under French rule. On April 2, 1795, the monastery was closed. The land and inventory were auctioned. The Pietà von Mariawald was brought with the Antwerp reredos on June 22, 1804 to the Heimbach parish church of St. Clemens . Both objects are still in Heimbach today, now in the Salvator Church, which was consecrated on May 24, 1981 . Parts of the stained glass windows are now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Resettlement in 1861 and further history

In 1860, Ephrem van der Meulen , abbot of the Alsatian Trappist abbey in Oelenberg , bought the monastery. In February 1861 two brother monks came from Ölenberg to Mariawald and began to rebuild the monastery complex. Regular monastery life was resumed in April 1862. The reconstruction of the monastery according to plans by August Carl Lange could not be completed until 1891, as the construction work had been interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 and the Kulturkampf . Although the monks had to leave the monastery from September 1875 to October 18, 1887, the monastery could not be expropriated by the Prussian state because Ephrem van der Meulen was still registered as the owner of the monastery property.

On September 29, 1909, Mariawald was elevated to an abbey . During the First World War , 33 monks were drafted into the abbey for military service. Three of them died during the war. Like the rest of the population, the abbey was troubled by the difficult post-war period.

Cemetery of honor. 414 dead from World War II are buried in this cemetery.

The monks of Mariawald had to accept renewed impairments of monastery life up to and including dissolution during the National Socialist rule. During the construction of the western wall , construction workers were quartered in the monastery. After the outbreak of World War II , some monks were drafted into military service. Sometimes monks were arrested by the Gestapo . On June 21, 1941, the monastery was finally closed because of "subversive activities". The priest monks had to leave the monastery, the brother monks were employed as workers in the agriculture of the abolished monastery, which was made a community property. When the front moved near the monastery in autumn 1944, a field hospital was set up in the monastery. In February 1945, the distance from the monastery to the front increased, so that the field hospital was closed. 414 people died during their stay in the field hospital. They were buried by the monks on a slope west of the monastery. A memorial event takes place every year on the day of national mourning in the honorary cemetery on the monastery grounds .

The monastery was largely destroyed in the course of the Ardennes offensive . The brother monks who remained on the site were driven out. So the buildings stood empty for a while.

On April 28, 1945, Father Christopherus Elsen took possession of the monastery again. The abbot von Ölenberg had previously appointed him superior. Father Christopher contacted the displaced monks, most of whom returned to the monastery. However, three monks died during the war and four went missing. In addition, some of the Fathers died in exile. The monastery was rebuilt again. In December 1946, Christopherus Elsen was elected abbot. The repair of the war damage lasted until 1959.

The Heimbach war cemetery was built in the 1950s on the initiative of the German War Graves Commission in agreement with the abbot . It was inaugurated on September 20, 1953. There are a total of 414 fallen from the Second World War .

Between 1962 and 1964 the monastery church was renovated and adapted to the liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council .

In the 20th and 21st centuries, Mariawald Abbey was the only male Trappist monastery in Germany. In 2010, 14 monks, two novices, one applicant in temporary profession, one postulant and one oblate lived in the abbey under the direction of Abbot Dom Bernardus Peeters from Tilburg . In addition, there were three external confreres. By 2016 the number had decreased to nine monks, one temporary profession and two external monks. The monastery complex was managed by the monks as well as full-time and volunteer employees. In 1995 the Association of Friends and Patrons of the Mariawald Abbey was founded to support the monastery . V. founded.

Papal privilege (2008)

In a letter dated November 21, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI. complied with the request of Abbot Dom Josef Vollberg OCSO and granted the monastery permission to return to the celebration of the liturgy and observance in the custom of the Order of Monte Cistello in the version from 1963/64. This made the monastery community of Mariawald Abbey the first German-speaking to return to the pre-conciliar observances and the celebration of the liturgy according to the extraordinary form . The abbot and part of the convent hoped that this would provide new impulses for the abbey’s offspring. Instead, however, a rift ran through the community. Two novices dropped out, some elderly died, so that the number of monks in the abbey had fallen to 10 by 2016.

Priest training

The Mariawald Abbey wanted to train the priest monks from 2010 in their own "home study". This philosophical, theological, historical and linguistic training should be supported by the theologian Klaus Berger and the philosophers Robert Spaemann and Walter Hoeres . The offer was also open to monks from other monasteries and clerics from institutes of consecrated life. However, only a few students took advantage of the offer.

Resignation of the abbot in 2016

By 2016, the number of monks in Mariawald fell below the number of 12 monks required for an independent abbey. In May 2016, the abbot of the mother abbey of Tilburg , Bernardus Peeters, and the abbot of the English Trappist monastery of Mount Saint Bernard , visited. In a letter to the Friends' Association, the visitor emphasized the two forms of liturgy that existed side by side. Because the abbot and some monks celebrated the divine office according to the "old" rite, as the papal privilege allowed in the monastery church, while a larger group, primarily of the older monks, performed the divine office in parallel in the convent chapel according to the provisions of the Second Vatican Council.

Abbot Josef Vollberg announced his resignation in October 2016. From the 1st Sunday in Advent, November 27, 2016, Bernardus Peeters von Tilburg officiated as Father Immediat , Josef Vollberg was appointed prior of the monastery and remained head of the house.

  • West side of the abbey

  • East side of the abbey

  • Church portal with the figures of St. Bernhard von Clairvaux and the three founding abbots of the Cistercian order

Closure of the Trappist Abbey

In January 2018, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in Rome decided to close and sell the monastery that same year. The average age of the monks was 84 years and the convent - so the reason for the closure - could no longer take care of itself. Mariawald is supposed to remain a spiritual place even after the monks have left. The monastery restaurant, the monastery shop and the liqueur factory are continued by a sponsoring and supporting association. Ownership of the abbey buildings passed from the previous sponsoring association “Trappistenkonvent Mariawald”, to which only monks could belong, to the association “Kloster Mariawald”, to which non-monks appointed by the Bishop of Aachen can also belong according to the statutes; The diocese of Aachen is one of the members. The abbey was closed on September 15, 2018 with a thanksgiving service. The monks then left the monastery.

Several older monks and those in need of care moved into a nursing home together. Abbot Josef Vollberg joined a Cistercian monastery in the Czech Republic, the Vyšší Brod Abbey (Hohenfurth), in which the monks returned in 2011, as before in Mariawald, to the liturgy and observance in the custom of the Order of Monte Cistello in the version from 1963/64. In 2017, three monks with solemn profession and one wafer lived in Hohenfurth.

Today's management

The owner of the monastery is the association "Trappistenkonvent Mariawald", which renamed itself to Mariawald Monastery and changed its statutes. From now on, not only monks can become members. This ensures that the association can continue to run the monastery operations. “The association is the employer of all employees of the monastery business, all employment contracts remain valid.” The monastery businesses include, as in the time of the Trappists, a. a. Restaurant, monastery shop, book and art shop and a liqueur factory.

Life

Monk at the spiritual reading
Monk at private prayer
Scriptorium. This is where the monks gather for a spiritual reading.

The monks lived according to the Regula Benedicti , the monastic rule of Saint Benedict of Nursia , and the constitutions of the Cistercian Order of Stricter Observance. Traditionally, prayer, reading ( lectio divina ) and physical work determine the daily rhythm of the monks.

The foundation of monastic life in Mariawald was the contemplative way of life. It was important to be permeated by God's closeness in everyday life. The monks had withdrawn into solitude in order to seek God and to refer to his existence through their lives.

At 2:45 a.m. the monks got up. At 3 o'clock they performed the first of the eight daily times of prayer ( listening ), the vigils , which lasted about 75 minutes, and at 4:15 the second, the lauds . This was followed by private prayer and at 6:30 a.m. the communal spiritual reading in the scriptorium. Through the spiritual reading the monks should be able to understand more deeply the richness of God's Word. At 7:15 a.m., the monks gathered again in the church for the prayer of the Prim . The subsequent celebration of Holy Mass at 7:40 a.m. was the spiritual highlight of the day. After a simple breakfast and the third , the first phase of work began, which lasted about two hours. In various areas of activity (craft businesses, monastery administration, monastery shop, etc.), each of the monks contributed to the maintenance of the monastery, depending on their own skills and interests as well as the needs of the community. The Trappists particularly value physical work. It is not only considered a good balance in the spiritual life, but is also intended to connect the monks with the people who have to earn their living through physical work. At 12 o'clock the morning was ended with the prayer of the sext . Afterwards the monks ate lunch together in the refectory of the monastery. The meal always took place in silence with a table reading . Traditionally, Trappist food is simple in composition and preparation and basically meat-free. At lunchtime, the monks could rest, read or do some quiet work. At 2 p.m. the Non was prayed. This was followed by the second, approximately three-hour work phase. Vespers ended the afternoon at 5:20 p.m. Then dinner was like lunch in silence. After dinner, the monks had time for spiritual reading, study or prayer. The day ended at 7:15 p.m. with the prayer of Compline .

The texts of some prayer times can be downloaded as PDF files from the abbey website; There are also some vocal recordings available for download as MP3 files.

Daughter monasteries

The Mariawald Abbey had two daughter monasteries:

The Marienwald monk Franz Pfanner also founded the Mariannhill Missionary Monastery in South Africa . Since working as a missionary could not be reconciled with the contemplative and withdrawn life as a Trappist, the Mariannhill Monastery was separated from the Trappist order by Pius X in 1909 and made the mother house of the Mariannhill missionaries .

Areas of activity

According to Trappist custom, the Fathers did not take on pastoral care tasks outside the monastery. Her pastoral activity was limited to confessional counseling on site. The monastery also did not offer any retreats.

Agriculture, a former large area of ​​activity of the monastery, was no longer practiced by the monks in Mariawald. On January 1, 2006, the abbey leased 100 hectares of agricultural and forestry land to the Eifel National Park . There are bison are reintroduced.

Most recently, Mariawald Abbey was financed mainly by running a restaurant, a bookshop, a liqueur factory and a monastery shop.

Well-known Abbey products from own production were for example the Mariawald pea soup , the recipe of which was developed by the monks in the 1950s, honey, fruit spread, skin care cosmetics, chocolate and pralines.

A guest house was attached to the monastery, in which guests who wanted to renew themselves spiritually in the religious and quiet atmosphere of the monastery were accommodated for three to eight days. House guests of the monastery were able to participate in the atmosphere of silence and prayer.

  • Abbey guest house

  • Confessional chapel

  • Abbey bookstore

  • Abbey restaurant

Major superiors

  • Wilhelm Brewer from Hergarten, (1668−?)
  • Bonifatius Bieger, 1861–1866 ( Prior )
  • Eduardus Schepy, 1866–1875 (prior)
  • Franziskus Strunk , 1887–1889 (prior)
  • Stephanus Derksen, 1889-1891 (Superior)
  • Hubert Juchem, 1891
  • Johannes Baptist Dethier, 1891–1899 (prior)
  • Henricus Ahlert, 1899–1909 (prior)
  • Laurentius Wimmer, 1909–1929
  • Stephanus Sauer, 1929–1939
  • Exile 1939–1947
  • Christophorus Elsen, 1947–1961
  • Andreas Schmidt, 1961–1966
  • Otto Aßfalg, 1967–1980
  • Franziskus Heereman, 1980–1983 (Superior ad nutum )
  • Meinrad Behren, (1983 Superior ad nutum) 1983–1992 Dept.
  • Franziskus de Place, (1992–1993 Superior ad nutum) 1993–1999 Dept.
  • Bruno Gooskens, 1999-2005
  • Josef Vollberg , (2005–2006 Superior ad nutum), April 2006 - October 2016 Abbot, from November 2016 to September 2018 prior and superior
  • Bernardus Peeters ( Tilburg Abbey , Immediate Abbot from November 2016 until the abbey was dissolved on September 15, 2018)

Well-known Mariawalder

literature

  • Christian Quix : The Counts of Hengebach. The castles and towns of Heimbach and Niedeggen . The former monasteries Marienwald and Bürvenich and the Collegiatstift later Minoriten monastery before Niedeggen; represented historically. Hensen (ed.); Aachen 1839 ( E-Kopiw ).
  • Rhenish Association for Monument Preservation and Landscape Protection (ed.), Mariawald Abbey on the Kermeter in Heimbach (Eifel) (Rheinische Kunststätten 415) Neuss 1994 ISBN 3-88094-789-9
  • Bernardin Schellenberger: Breathe the silence. Life as a Cistercian . Cross. Stuttgart, 2005. ISBN 978-3-7831-2605-1

Web links

Commons : Mariawald Abbey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Topographical Information Management, Cologne District Government, Department GEObasis NRW ( Notes )
  2. ↑ Christophorus Elsen OCSO. March 10, 2016, accessed August 7, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Bernardin Schellenberger: Abbot Christophorus Elsen OCSO + . In: Cistercian Chronicle . tape 83 , 1976, pp. 142-144 .
  4. ^ Minutes of the general meeting of the friends' association on April 18, 2010 (PDF; 446 kB)
    Minutes of the general meeting of the friends of the friends on April 10, 2016
  5. ^ Summorum Pontificum.de: Usus from Monte Cistello
  6. ↑ a b Trappist Abbey returns to the Old Liturgy . kath.net , November 26, 2008 with press release from the abbey, accessed on June 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ Christian Füller The Silence of the Trappists in DIE WELT; September 18, 2018 p. 8
  8. ↑ Alexander Brüggemann: From for Mariawald Abbey . In: Paulinus , weekly newspaper in the Diocese of Trier, No. 5 of February 4, 2018, p. 5.
  9. ↑ Article: The beginning of the semester: Abbey Mariawald has again a home study from January 30, 2010 on Orden accessed online on January 30, 2010
  10. ↑ kloster-mariawald.de: Excerpts from a letter from Father Abbot Bernardus Peeters, Koningshoeven, to the members of the Association of Friends and Patrons of Mariawald Abbey from December 12, 2016 ( Memento from January 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ Decision made: Mariawald Monastery will be closed. Aachener Zeitung from January 23, 2018
  12. ↑ From for Germany's only Trappist monastery Mariawald. neueruhrwort.de, January 23, 2018, accessed on January 12, 2019.
  13. ↑ kloster-mariawald.de: Information on the situation of Mariawald. ( Memento from December 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (June 2018)
  14. ↑ aachener-nachrichten.de, August 6, 2018
    domradio.de: Eifeler Kloster Mariawald closes on September 15.
  15. ↑ https://www.radiorur.de/rur/rr/1521753/news/kreis_dueren
  16. ↑ https://www.aachener-zeitung.de/lokales/dueren/konvent-der-trappistenmoenche-in-mariawald-aufgeloest_aid-33020377
  17. ↑ https://www.aachener-nachrichten.de/lokales/dueren/letztes-trappistenkloster-schliesst-erste-moenche-verlassen-abtei-mariawald_aid-24591913
  18. ^ Summorum Pontificum.de: Usus from Monte Cistello
  19. ↑ Sandra Kinkel: The first monks have left the Mariawald Abbey. In: Aachener Zeitung. August 6, 2018, accessed January 29, 2019 .
  20. ^ Prayer and song ( memento from December 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on kloster-mariawald.de
  21. ↑ Hergarten is "one of the oldest places in the Eifel". Aachener Zeitung from September 3, 2014
  22. ↑ Kölner Stadtanzeiger, October 29, 2016.

Coordinates: 50 ° 37 ′ 10 ″  N , 6 ° 28 ′ 50 ″  E