Cross of Mercy (Mainz)

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The Mainz Mercy Cross, engraving from 1868

The Mainz Gnadenkreuz is a Gothic wooden crucifix in Mainz that is venerated as a miraculous image .

history

In the traditions of the Mainz diocese history it is mentioned that in 1383 a "raw man who was devoted to drinking" by the name of "Schelkropf" , also "Schölkropf" or "Schelkropp" , lost a lot of money in the tavern "Zur Blume" in the suburb of Vilzbach would have. He passed a Marienkirche , which was between Mainz and Hechtsheim in the field and was called " Maria auf dem Felde " to distinguish it from other Marienkirchen in the city . She was very old and is already mentioned 765 and 808. Archbishop Erkanbald elevated the church to a collegiate church around 1011, whereby it still bore the Marian patronage.

In order to give free rein to his anger over the lost money, “Schelkropf” struck several times with a sword on a crucifix hanging there in the church mentioned, whereby he also severed the head. According to tradition, the body of Christ then started to bleed, which terrified the perpetrator and led to passers-by holding him and handing him over to the authorities for punishment. The cross was repaired and from then on it was considered a miraculous image, to which pilgrimages soon began. The church was named "Kreuzkirche" and "St. Cross “known as a place of pilgrimage.

However, Archbishop Peter von Aspelt (1306–1320) had a larger church built there and personally laid the foundation stone for it. At the time of this new building, at the beginning of the 14th century, the name “Kreuzstift” or “Heiligkreuz” appeared for the first time next to the old name “Maria im Felde” . The dating of the desecration of the cross to 1383 is therefore questionable and it could also have taken place earlier, especially since the crucifix dates from the early 14th century.

From October 1542 to April 1543 St. Petrus Faber worked in Mainz, who particularly venerated the local cross of grace and often prayed before him. He also mentioned it several times in his “Memoriale” , the spiritual diary.

In 1552 the troops of Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach cremated the monastery in the Second Margrave War . The canons fled to St. Ignaz with the cross and then used the Heiliggeist Church on Rheinstrasse until 1573 . Then the community returned to their renovated monastery with the cross of mercy.

During the Thirty Years' War , during the Swedish occupation of Mainz , the crucifix came to the city ​​church of St. Christoph between 1631 and 1636 (withdrawal of the Swedes) . On March 25, 1636, it was brought back to its original place in a solemn procession. The auxiliary bishop of Mainz , Ambrosius Seibaeus , carried the image personally, supported by two abbots and under the entourage of Elector Anselm Casimir Wambolt von Umstadt . In 1643 it was relocated to St. Christoph again because of the approaching French, to return in 1650. The same thing happened in 1668 and 1734–1737. A particular admirer of the cross was Elector Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655–1729). In 1768 a cross fraternity in Mainz was founded in relation to the miraculous image , which Pope Pius IX. still awarded indulgences in 1856 and issued a memorial booklet in 1868. The last time the cross was brought to the St. Christopher's Church in Mainz in 1792 to protect it from the French revolutionaries. On June 10, 1793, they burned down the Holy Cross monastery and it was never rebuilt. The crucifix stayed in the church of St. Christoph and was venerated there. At times it stood on the high altar, later it was given its own altar so that the faithful could come closer. During the Second World War , during the great air raid on Mainz on August 12 and 13, 1942, St. Christoph burned down and remained in ruins; the cross was saved and went to the Mainz seminary .

Today (2015) the miraculous image is in a central place in the Francis Chapel. On February 5, 2014, Bishop Karl Lehmann consecrated the altar of the newly designed chapel and also preached about St. Petrus Faber and the Mainz Cross. In Mainz, the Way of the Holy Cross reminds of the miraculous image and the monastery formerly located there, as does the nearby street Am Fort Heiligkreuz . In the ruins of the Christophskirche, in the choir chapel there, a copy of the cross of grace hangs.

nature

It is a Gothic wooden crucifix from the early 14th century, the arms of which end in squares with the symbols of the evangelists . The Christ body measures 30 cm. The head with a crown of thorns is bowed to the chest, the eyes are closed and the face is very expressive. The entire cross and the body are covered with canvas, on which there is a chalk background with painting. The canvas possibly served to stabilize the image of grace as a result of the damage.

literature

  • Agidius Müller: The holy Germany: history and description of all existing pilgrimage sites in the German Empire , 4th edition, 1897, 1st part, pp. 423-427
  • The Cross of Mercy in the St. Christophskirche in Mainz , Mainz, Brotherhood of the Cross, 1868, (digitized version of the book)
  • Karl Johann Brilmayer : Rheinhessen in the past and present: history of the existing and departed cities, spots, villages, hamlets and farms, monasteries and castles of the province of Rheinhessen together with an introduction , 1905, reprint from 1985, p. 211; (Detail scan)
  • Rita Heuser: Names of the Mainzer streets and localities: collection, interpretation, linguistic and motivational historical evaluation , (= historical regional studies, Johannes Gutenberg University, Institute for historical regional studies volume 66), Mainz 2008, p. 252, ISBN 3515085742 ; (Detail scan)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Newspaper article of the Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz, August 4, 2014, on St. Petrus Faber, with mention of the cross
  2. ^ The Cross of Mercy in the St. Christophskirche in Mainz , Mainz, Kreuzbruderschaft, 1868, p. 11
  3. ^ Report of the diocese of Mainz on the event
  4. ^ Website of the ruined church of St. Christoph