Boniface pilgrimage
The Bonifatius pilgrimage is a pilgrimage to the grave of St. Bonifatius , the apostle of the Germans, in the Fulda Cathedral . It takes place every year on a Sunday in early June for the Bonifatiusfest , the diocese festival of the Fulda diocese , on the occasion of the liturgical feast day of the saint on June 5th.
Course of today's pilgrimage
All parishes of the Fulda city dean's office traditionally go to the cathedral church in a star pilgrimage . There are also numerous pilgrimages on foot from other parishes, mainly from the Fuldaer Land, some of which start in the middle of the night to reach Domplatz around 9 a.m. Even from the more distant regions of the diocese, traditional hiking and cycling pilgrimages lasting several days lead to Fulda. The arriving groups of pilgrims are greeted by the ringing of the Fulda cathedral bells.
The conclusion and climax of the pilgrimage is a solemn pontifical mass with thousands of pilgrims, to which a foreign bishop is usually invited as concelebrant and preacher. In 2018 this was the Bishop of Limburg , Georg Bätzing . The solemn service is presided over by the diocesan bishop of Fulda, currently Michael Gerber as the main celebrant.
Anniversary celebrations
The largest Boniface pilgrimage in recent history took place in the Boniface year 1954 from May 29th to June 13th on the occasion of the 1200th anniversary of the death of St. Boniface instead. The highlight was the celebrations on June 13, 1954, in which a large number of abbots, auxiliary bishops, (arch) bishops and cardinals took part. The host was the Bishop of Fulda Johannes Dietz . The pontifical mass on the cathedral square was celebrated by the successor of St. Boniface in his capacity as a legate for Germania, the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Aloysius Muench , the ceremonial sermon was given by Joseph Cardinal Wendel , Archbishop of Munich and Freising. The procession and closing ceremony in the afternoon was headed by Josef Cardinal Frings , Archbishop of Cologne, as officiator. The anniversary celebrations were continued at the 76th German Catholic Day in Fulda from August 31 to September 5, 1954. On both occasions u. a. Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer .
literature
- Gaude Fulda. 754 - Boniface Jubilee - 1954. 76th German Catholic Day. A memory book . Parzeller, Fulda 1954.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Friedrich A. Wagner: This is a mountain range for hiking. In: Die Rhön (= Merian , vol. 17 (1964), volume 4), pp. 5–10, here p. 10.
- ↑ Fuldaer Zeitung: Bonifatiusfest: 9000 pilgrims on the Domplatz ( Memento of June 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (June 5, 2011)