Africa chapel

The Africa Chapel is a sacred building on the Schaumberg near Tholey . She bears the patronage To the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady of Africa .

history

The history of the chapel goes back to the time shortly after the Second World War , when up to 4,000 prisoners of war were imprisoned in the Ram-Ram POW camp in southern Morocco . The prisoners found consolation in their faith and so it came about that they made pieces of equipment for a barrack used as a chapel, including a Pietà depicting Our Lady of Sorrows . After the prisoners returned to their homeland in 1948, this pietà was initially brought to Tholey Abbey . As a result of a vow by the prisoners, the foundation stone for today's Africa Chapel was laid on the northern slope of the Schaumberg in 1957, which was founded on September 14, 1958 by the Tholeyer Abbot Dr. Petrus Borne was solemnly designated.

Building description

The building has a heptagonal floor plan based on the Patronage of the Seven Sorrows of Mary. The seven concrete pillars at the corners point out over the roof edge of the chapel. Inside, the seven corner pillars bend and meet at the highest point of the tent-shaped roof, which is crowned by a small cross at this point. Below the ceiling, a narrow ribbon of glass blocks extends around the entire chapel. On the side opposite the entrance there is a slightly raised altar island and on the altar the Pietà of the Black Madonna , which gave the chapel its name.

Web links

Commons : Afrikakapelle (Tholey)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Detailed chronicle of the Africa band
2. ↑ Description of the building based on the photos.

Coordinates: 49 ° 29 ′ 16.6 ″  N , 7 ° 1 ′ 16 ″  E