House of Silence (Heiligenkreuz am Waasen)
The House of Silence has been a Franciscan community of women and men in Heiligenkreuz am Waasen in Styria since 1979 . It was founded by Franciscan Father Karl Maderner and supported by the " Association House of Silence". There is a regular range of courses focusing on meditation , the Bible , Franciscan spirituality and peace . The community provides shelter to asylum seekers in its buildings .
history
The house was originally a convent of the Redemptorists , built around 1960 and consecrated on October 7, 1962 , which was acquired in 1978 by the then existing association “Leben aus der Mitte” (founded in 1977). After an initial renovation phase, it was opened as the House of Silence in autumn 1979. Until the mid-1990s, the house was continuously expanded and added, such as a chapel and an auditorium, and today it offers space for around 60 people in guest and course operations. Due to the proximity of the house to the Franciscan Community, meetings of the Inter-Franciscan Working Group INFAG take place in the House of Silence.
offer
The House of Silence was founded with the intention of accepting individual guests and groups who are looking for silence - also to prevent burnout experiences. Both psychological counseling and spiritual support are possible in the House of Silence. However, the house is not a medical therapy center .
Projects
In 2006 the community decided to erect a peace sign. The occasion was the 20th anniversary of the meeting of important religious representatives in Assisi . The artist Thomas Resetarits made 12 steles which symbolize all religions represented in Assisi . The different types of stones from different continents express the diversity of the religions and the consistently same color of the symbols express what connects all religions. An additional column in the middle has been left free. The line on which the steles stand symbolizes the entire world . In the center of the memorial, the leitmotif "Peace is waiting for its builders" hovers over a symbolic globe.
In order to give the cause of peace more presence, a peace room was set up with literature, current information from various peace initiatives and symbolic objects from various war and crisis regions.
A 4-kilometer-long thematic pilgrimage route "Markusweg" has been leading since 2009 with 13 artistic and content-related stations from the parish church of Heiligenkreuz am Waasen to the House of Silence. In 2010 the Markusweg was supplemented by the “encouragement path”, which leads back to Heiligenkreuz with 7 encouragement signs. This now results in an approx. 8.5 km long circular route. A circular path through the garden at the House of Silence was designed in 1988 by the artist Wiltrud List with stations on the Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi .
“72h without Compromise”, Austria's largest youth campaign for social engagement, a project of the Catholic Youth Austria in cooperation with youngCaritas and Hitradio Ö3 , has already taken place several times in the House of Silence.
The House of Silence has brought around 300,000 song books Du with us into circulation since 1977 .
Web links
literature
- Father Karl Maderner: Out and about with people. My life - the house of silence . Leykam Buchverlag, Graz 2012, ISBN 978-3-85489-171-0 .
- Father Karl Maderner: Choose life - Father Karl Maderner from the House of Silence in conversation with Thomas Pöll . Self-published, 2017
Coordinates: 46 ° 58 ′ 29.9 ″ N , 15 ° 32 ′ 45.3 ″ E