Ignatius Church (Frankfurt am Main)
The Ignatius Church is a Catholic church in Frankfurt am Main . The present church , consecrated in 1964, is the work of the important church architect Gottfried Böhm . Originally the parish church of the parish of St. Ignatius , which has existed since 1930, the Ignatius Church has been a rectorate church of the new cathedral parish of St. Bartholomew since 2014 after the merger of the Catholic inner-city parishes .
location
The Ignatius Church is located on Gärtnerweg in the Westend district in a residential area between Leerbachstraße and Reuterweg , near Rothschildpark . Opposite is the Frankfurter Welle building complex , which was the seat of the metal company until 1994 .
history
In 1919, at the instigation of the then Bishop of Limburg , Augustinus Kilian , the Jesuits founded the first religious establishment in the traditionally Lutheran Frankfurt. The Sankt Georgen University of Applied Sciences was founded in 1926 . On March 30, 1930, a new parish was finally established , which was looked after by Jesuits. The Ignatius community was formed from parts of the previous communities of St. Antonius in the Westend and St. Bernhard in the Nordend , the first church of which was Im Trutz Frankfurt 50 , which was particularly symbolic during the time of National Socialism . To this day the parish priest is always a Jesuit. The Ignatiushaus is located on Elsheimerstraße at the back of the church. Since 2008 it has not only housed a Jesuit community, but also parish offices and event rooms for the community.
The first St. Ignatius Church was damaged in the air raids on Frankfurt am Main in World War II and it also turned out to be too small. The Metallgesellschaft introduced in the early 1960s, a bomb site in Gärtnerweg for a new church building available and acquired in return the old church in order for an extension of the subsidiary Lurgi demolish.
On September 1, 1963 the foundation stone was laid for the new building designed by Gottfried Böhm . The topping-out ceremony was celebrated on November 19, 1963 and the new church was consecrated on October 17, 1964, the feast day of St. Ignatius of Antioch .
From September 1, 2007 to December 31, 2013, the former parishes of St. Antonius and St. Ignatius were merged to form a parish of St. Ignatius and St. Antonius . A smoldering fire on October 30, 2007 made extensive renovation work necessary. Therefore the Ignatius Church was not available for services until the end of November 2009. In the course of the formation of large parishes (a new type of parish ) in the Diocese of Limburg, the large parish of St. Bartholomew's Cathedral was created on January 1, 2014, in which the Ignatius Church has the status of a rectorate church . Priests from the Ignatius House were appointed church rectors.
Architecture and equipment
The church is built entirely of concrete and with its tent shape symbolizes the " wandering people of God in the desert". The church interior is on the first floor, supported all around by concrete pillars in shape and proportions like the slender, octagonal church tower. From here the roof folds up into three differently proportioned gables. The interior is dominated by a large triangular window above the altar showing the Burning Bush . The surrounding ribbon of windows with its rose petals is also reminiscent of the thorn bush, but also of the motif of the rosary . The chancel is flanked by two low side chapels.
Under the church is the baptistery with a marble baptismal font, so that the way into the church - typical for Gottfried Böhm - symbolically leads through the baptism.
The baroque figures with which the interior is decorated stand in contrast to the bare exposed aggregate concrete that characterizes the building structure. In the tower rising to a likely in the early 17th century is located in Piedmont resulting Madonna and Child . At the feet of the Madonna lies a snake-like monster, which the baby Jesus steps on the head.
The little Pietà in the left side chapel is a little older. It also comes from northern Italy, probably from the Domodossola area .
The right side chapel, where the confessionals were originally located, is now used as the communion chapel. In March 2000, for the seventieth anniversary, the community acquired a work by the American artist Robert Burke. The five panels with the title The Last Supper reproduce the painting The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci .
Church life
As part of the reorganization of the Catholic parishes in the inner city, the parishes of All Saints , St. Bernhard , Teutonic Order , Liebfrauen and St. Ignatius and St. Antonius with the parish of Dom / St. Leonhard became a new large parish of St. Bartholomew's Cathedral on January 1, 2014 merged. The previous parishes are to remain as church locations and ensure an active and interesting parish life. The leading priests of the religious communities Deutschorden, Liebfrauen and St. Ignatius are referred to as church rectors and not as pastors.
Around 4,000 members feel they belong to the parish of St. Ignatius. In 2014 the 50th anniversary of the parish fair was celebrated. The Ignatius Church also serves as a place of worship for a Filipino community and the Catholic university community.
literature
- Karin Berkemann : Post-war churches in Frankfurt am Main (1945-76) (monument topography Federal Republic of Germany; cultural monuments in Hesse), Theiss-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8062-2812-0 , Stuttgart 2013 [add. Diss., Neuendettelsau, 2012]
- Deutscher Werkbund Hessen , Wilhelm E. Opatz (Ed.): Once praised and almost forgotten, modern churches in Frankfurt a. M. 1948-1973 , Niggli-Verlag, Sulgen 2012, ISBN 978-3-7212-0842-9
- 50 years of Saint Ignatius. 1930. 1980. On the way - where, o. O. [Frankfurt am Main] o. J. [1980]
Web links
- Website of the Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius
- Church place St. Ignatius on the website of the Cathedral Parish St. Bartholomäus
Coordinates: 50 ° 7 ′ 8 ″ N , 8 ° 40 ′ 18 ″ E