Sanctuary tour Mönchengladbach

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The Mönchengladbach sanctuary tour takes place every seven years and is closely related to the great Aachen sanctuary tour and the Kornelimünster and Maastricht shrine tours .

Creation of the abbey

The founding story of Gladbach Abbey , which dates back to the 11th century, tells that the Archbishop of Cologne Gero and the Benedictine monk Sandrad built a monastery on a wooded hill above a stream in 974 , which was consecrated to Saint Vitus . The choice of St. Vitus as patron was no accident. He was especially venerated in Saxony, to whose tribe Gero belonged. The church was the original cell of the settlement, which took the name of the stream that flowed at the foot of the abbey. History is very clearly reflected in today's place name Mönchengladbach. The second part of the name refers to the shiny (= smooth) brook, the first to the Benedictine monks who came here from 974 onwards.

Sanctuaries and Sanctuary Tour

Last Supper Shrine from 1895

Tradition describes the following incident: When Gero and Sandrad came to the ruins on the Abbey Hill in search of a suitable place for the intended monastery foundation, they heard a bell inside the mountain. They followed the sound and found relics of Saints Vitus, Cornelius , Cyprianus , Chrysanthus and Saint Barbara hidden in a hollow stone. So they knew that the monastery should be founded here. The discovery of the relics and the gift of the Christian relic of the Lord's Supper were the reason for the journey to the shrine.

When and under what circumstances the piece of cloth came to the Gladbach Abbey is no longer known. The cloth is listed for the first time in a relics register from the 14th century. Another piece of the cloth with the same color and appearance is part of the imperial regalia in Vienna . Scientific studies assume that the cloth is real and definitely dates from the first century.

In the treasury there is the sacrament shrine, which serves as a storage chest for the Christian relic. This cloth that Jesus the Last Supper is said to have placed on the communion table, is at the center of the sanctuary ride that was first performed annually in the seven-year rhythm. The sacrament shrine is opened for the events during the sanctuary tour and the sacrament shroud is displayed for the believers. The shrine is traditionally opened by the Aachen bishop. The Lord Mayor of the City of Mönchengladbach, who represents the public and worldliness in the act, takes part as a companion and witness.

  • St. Vitus Minster

  • View of the cathedral from the Geroweiher (2014)

  • Bust reliquary of St. Vitus (1875)

  • Reliquary box wood / ivory (12th - 13th centuries)

  • Bust reliquary of St. Stephen (1875)

Shrine Tour 2014

In 2014 another sanctuary tour took place in Mönchengladbach. It began with the Vitus Festival on June 13, 2014 and ended on Corpus Christi , June 19, 2014. It was under the motto: "You set the table for me ..." (from Ps 23.5  EU ).

literature

  • Albert J. Urban (Ed.): Lexicon of pilgrimage sites - their history and today's importance , Voltmedia Verlag, Paderborn 2006, ISBN 3-938478-35-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sanctuary tour shows the Lord's Supper. Rheinische Post, May 22, 2013, accessed on March 21, 2014 .