St. Antonius Church (Egg ZH)

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St. Antonius Church with a transept in front
inside view
Church 1921
Church inside 1921

The Roman Catholic St. Antonius Church in Egg ZH is a pilgrimage church consecrated to St. Anthony of Padua . Because of its importance for Catholic pilgrims, it is also called "Little Padua on the pan handle ". Alongside the Maria Lourdes church in Zurich-Seebach, St. Antonius Egg is the only Catholic pilgrimage church in the traditionally reformed canton of Zurich.

history

prehistory

The medieval church of Egg was first mentioned in a document in 858, when Landolt exchanged his share in the basilica ekka with the St. Gallen monastery for property in Höngg . In the years 1340-1350, a new church in Gothic style was built in place of the first church , which in turn had to give way to a newly built nave in 1743 ; however, the Gothic tower was retained. When the Reformation was carried out in Zurich in 1524 , the church in Egg continued to be used for Reformed services. The Catholic cult was subsequently banned in the canton of Zurich until 1807.

When freedom of establishment was introduced in the 18th century , Catholics again moved to the Canton of Zurich as a result of industrialization . The Edict of Tolerance of 1807 initially permitted Catholic services again in the city of Zurich. When the Rheinau Monastery was abolished in 1862 , the so-called First Church Law in Zurich confirmed a Catholic parish in Winterthur , Rheinau and Dietikon as well as Zurich (the last two places were traditionally Catholic). However, other parishes were not recognized under public law, which is why the establishment of further parishes had to be carried out on the basis of private and association law. With the help of associations such as the Piusverein (founded 1857) and the Catholic Society for Domestic Missions (founded 1863), a number of pastoral care stations and later parishes in the canton of Zurich were established in quick succession from the 1860s: Männedorf (1864), Gattikon-Thalwil / Langnau (1864), Horgen (1865), Pilgersteg-Rüti / Wald (1866), Wald and Bubikon (1873), Uster (1876), Langnau (1877), Rüti (1878), Wädenswil (1881), Bülach (1882) , Wetzikon (1890), Bauma (1894), Adliswil (1894), Pfungen (1895), Dübendorf (1897) and Küsnacht (1901). So it came about that by 1900 there were already 20 Catholic parishes in the canton of Zurich, including the parish of Uster, of which St. Antonius Egg is a subsidiary parish.

Development and construction history

The wooden church was built in 1921 according to plans by the architect Joseph Löhlein and consecrated on October 30, 1921. Since the architect was willing to build at a lower price if the church was dedicated to his favorite saint , the newly built church was not designated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus , but to St. Anthony of Padua, contrary to the original plan . In 1925, the old rectory was built north of the church so that a pastor could live on site. The bishop then elevated the congregation to a parish and separated it from the mother parish Herz-Jesu Uster. Due to the beginning of the pilgrimage to Egg, the originally small wooden chapel has been steadily expanded. In 1933 the nave was extended to the west and a gallery was built in, so that the church could now accommodate 300 people instead of 150. Since this was not enough either, a transept was added in 1939 (initially called the auditorium ). In this way the demolition of the church, popular as a pilgrimage church, was prevented. When it became clear in the 1980s that the church was in a poor structural condition, a competition among five architects was invited to repair the church and to add a parish center to the existing building. The Swiss architect Miroslav Šik won this competition . Since the parish first had to build the second church, the Church of St. Franziskus in Maur-Ebmatingen, preparations for the construction of the parish center and the repair of the Egger church could not begin until 1991. On May 15, 1994 the ground-breaking ceremony took place for the parish center, which was ready for occupancy on September 3, 1995. The pilgrimage was then continued in the newly created large hall so that the church could be completely renovated. This took place from 1995 to 1997 according to the plans of Miroslav Šik. The architects Itten and Brechtbühl were responsible for the execution of the construction project. After the completion of construction activities which took place consecration of the church on March 23, 1997 Bishop Peter Henrici . Since it had meanwhile turned out that the rectory was also in poor condition, it was replaced in 2001 by a new building according to plans by the architect Studer.

Opposite the church, the Antoniusheim (today an inn) was built in 1931 and a house for the youth under the name Jugendhort with a small hall and room in 1933 . This was partially dismantled after the construction of the parish center after 1994 and today mainly contains the devotional shop . To the south of the church is today's rectory, to the north of it is the original, first rectory. As a thank you for surviving World War II , a peace altar was erected in the open air behind the church in 1945 .

  • Church 1925

  • Church and old rectory in 1925

  • Bell consecration 1934

  • Interior view 1933–1939

  • Exterior view 1933–1939

  • Peace altar from 1945

The parish of Egg also includes the political communities of Oetwil am See and Mönchaltorf . Catholic church services are held regularly in both parishes in the Reformed Church (in Oetwil since 1967, in Mönchaltorf since 1976). The Catholic parish Egg also operates a parish room in Mönchaltorf in the so-called Mönchhof , which was inaugurated in 1988 and is used for religious instruction and parish events. The parish in Oetwil am See also has an ecumenically used hall and two rooms in the center of Mühlegg . These rooms were inaugurated in 1995.

In addition to the parish of St. Antonius Egg, the parish vicariate of St. Franziskus (Maur-Ebmatingen) also belongs to the parish of Egg. The parish vicariate of Maur was founded in 1990 after the church there was built and is responsible for the community of Maur including Ebmatingen and Forch. In Forch, church services take place regularly in the chapel of the Zollingerheim . The parish of Egg, with its 6,762 members (as of 2017), is one of the larger Catholic parishes in the canton of Zurich.

The pilgrimage

High altar with Antonius statue in 1926

The pilgrimage to St. Antonius in Egg goes back to the miraculous recovery of Anton Bolte, the first pastor of the community. The doctors had predicted that he would only live two to three years. Pastor Bolte vowed that he would devote himself entirely to pastoral care following the example of St. Anthony and the veneration of this saint if St. Anthony gave him the strength to do so. Contrary to the medical prognosis, Pastor Bolte lived much longer, so that he was able to work as a pastor in Egg for 27 years until his death. Pastor Bolte then fulfilled his vow and founded the pilgrimage to St. Anthony in Egg. In 1926 a group from Egg made a pilgrimage to Rome to visit Pope Pius XI. He presented the pilgrims from Egg with an Antonius relic from Padua with the order that the pastor should present it to the believers and bless them with it. Then in 1927 an art fitter was cured of blood poisoning as a result of an answer to prayer . The needs and concerns of the Catholic population in the years of crisis and war that followed further promoted the pilgrimage to St. Antonius Egg, so that it increased steadily. In 1933 already 70,000 pilgrims came to Egg, in 1942 there were 200,000. In addition, numerous wedding couples decided to marry in this church under the protection of St. Anthony, so that the marriages increased from 3 in 1926 to 130 in 1934 and to 402 in 1948. Today there are still around 20,000 people who make pilgrimages to St. Antonius Egg every year. The popularity of the Antoniuskirche Egg as a place of pilgrimage is part of an expansion of the veneration of Antonius typical of the 20th century in this region. Numerous votive tablets , offered in gratitude for answered prayers, testify to the importance of the church as a place of pilgrimage. The pastor of the church, who was in office in 2012, also reported in a television interview of miraculous healings of Antonius pilgrims as answers to prayer.

Building description

Church tower and exterior

Portal of the Church

In 1921, the wooden church was smaller than it is today and only had a roof turret instead of the bell tower . As the pilgrimage grew bigger and bigger, the church was expanded in 1933: the church was extended to the east, a gallery was added and today's candle niche was built as a baptistery. In place of the ridge, today's bell tower was built south of the church. In 1939 the church was extended to the east, so that an additional room was created behind the high altar in which the baptismal font was placed; the previous baptistery could be rededicated as St. Antonius Chapel, in which the candles are lit today. The transept, which was originally called the assembly hall , was also built in 1939 . The space between the transept and the bell tower was enclosed with a wall so that an inner courtyard was created.

A year after its construction, the church tower received its current bells. The three-part chime, which was cast in the Fritz Hamm foundry in Staad near Roschach, was consecrated by the Bishop of Chur , Laurenz Matthias Vincenz , on May 31, 1934. There is also a fourth bell in the tower. It was originally hung in the roof turret. It was cast in 1863 and bears the inscription: I call the newborns to baptism, the deceased little ones to the grave. This fourth bell can be rung from the organ gallery using a rope.

number Weight volume dedication inscription
1 754 kg f St. Anthony “I am called Antonius and call town and country to faith. Forward in God's name! Up to heaven. Amen."
2 445 kg as St. Francis "I shall proclaim the Franciscan Spirit and hopefully ignite the world."
3 320 kg b St. Elisabeth "Elizabeth's supplication to the Queen of Heaven and Earth rises full of love for comfort and peace."

The parish hall, built in 1995, is one of the few analogue architecture buildings in Switzerland that proposes a synthesis of existing models with alienating elements and thereby attempts to overcome postmodern architecture . In its formal language, it takes up the metaphor of Noah's Ark . The parish hall and the new parsonage were clad with wooden shingles in the same way as the St. Antonius Church, so that the buildings visually form a harmonious whole despite their different times of construction.

Interior and artistic equipment

Furnishing

Stained glass window St. Anthony

The church of St. Antonius was built in 1921 as a single-nave church, which at the beginning did not have any high-quality works of art. The current furnishings with the main and two side altars and the paintings in the Art Deco style reflect the design of the choir from 1933. This was restored in 1997, supplemented by a people's altar.

The high altar came into the church in 1925 and is consecrated to the church patron, St. Anthony of Padua, whose statue with the baby Jesus is placed in the middle field. The statue of Anthony is flanked by two oval reliefs depicting the evangelists Lukas (right) and Markus (left). The motto of the Menzing sisters is affixed to the front of the cafeteria : In the cross is salvation . This reveals that the altar was originally intended for the chapel of a girls' home in Uster, which was run by the Menzing sisters. Since the altar turned out to be too big for the chapel there, the sisters donated it to the Egger St. Antonius Church. To the left and right of the high altar, two scenes from the life of the church patron can be discovered and above the altar the wish of all pilgrims who come to Egg is written in large letters: Saint Anthony of Padua, pray for us!

The left side altar was consecrated to Our Lady. To the right of the statue of the Mother of God is St. Clare of Assisi and to the left is St. Theresa of the Child Jesus . The right side altar refers to the originally intended consecration of the church, because it is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The statue of Jesus is flanked by Saints Anthony (left) and Francis (right). The ever-light lamps come from Madrid and refer to the presence of God in the tabernacle . The paintings in the arch and choir were refreshed when the church was renovated in 1996 and depict the heavenly liturgy as described in Revelation chapter 5.

In 1939, the so-called auditorium was added as a transept , which offers additional space for celebrating the services when there is a lot of visitors. During the church renovation in 1996, the floor of the transept was lowered to the same height as the church floor of the main nave. In addition, the opening to the chancel of the church was enlarged and the main altar was moved to the level of the former baptistery, so that a good view of the people's altar was also possible from the transept. On the opposite side of the transept is now the baptistery with baptismal font , which was created together with the popular altar by the sculptor Romano Fenaroli from Ebmatingen in 1996. On each side of the altar there are three words on the edge: Super totus praesidendo = God completely rules over it, Subter totus sustinendo = God carries everything underneath , Extra totus complectendo = God completely outside , Intra totus incomplendo = God completely penetrates inside. This text expresses God's omnipotence and closeness to people. In front of the altar are the relics of ten saints: Jakobus , Philomena , Verena , Gallus , Meinrad , Peregrinus , Brother Klaus , Benedikt Labre , Maria Goretti and Bernarda Bütler . They are people who each express a different aspect of religious pilgrimage. An early Christian labyrinth can be seen on the cover plate of the relics , which was found in North Africa.

In today's baptistery there are glass windows by Father Karl Stadler. The meditation picture of St. Brother Klaus is shown . The baptismal font is created as a fountain and bears a baptismal confession on the upper edge: Haec est fides catholica non hoc error sive noxa sicut dico sic et credo nec in partem pravam cedo = This is the Catholic faith, there is no error or damage, I think the way I speak, and I don't go the wrong way either.

The Way of the Cross by Georges Troxler and the two panels with scenes from the life of St. Joseph , which were painted by Josef Heimgartner, date from 1933 . Finally, the Exvoto plaques in the stairwell to the organ gallery point to its importance as a place of pilgrimage .

  • Transept

  • View to the organ gallery

  • Today's baptistery

  • St. Anthony Chapel

  • Vision of brother Klaus

Ceiling painting in the transept

Painting by Karl Stadler: Abraham and Mose

The pictures on the ceiling of the aisle and the church window by the baptismal font were designed in 1996 by Father Karl Stadler OSB from Engelberg Monastery. The ceiling paintings deal with "Paths of Life - Pilgrimage" and indicate that man is on a pilgrimage to God on his path through life. The upper part of the first picture shows the exodus of Abraham from Ur. Abraham is accompanied by his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot . The path in front of Abraham's feet is dark, he steps into the unknown. The city ​​of Ur can be seen in the background . The motif of the good shepherd is indicated by the flock of sheep . In the lower field, the first picture deals with the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt. Moses leads the procession and is accompanied by his siblings Miriam and Aaron . Levites carry the ark .

The second picture above shows Maria's visit to Elisabeth . She brings the good news that she will have a son. Zacharias is standing under the front door and is still looking on in disbelief. At the top left, the Holy Spirit can be seen in the form of the dove. The small picture shows the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt looking ahead. The lower field deals with the homecoming from the temple. The 12-year-old Jesus said to his parents: "Didn't you know that I have to be in what belongs to my father?" The small picture shows Jacob's fountain with the woman from Samaria. The water jug ​​stands next to the well and refers to the words of Jesus: "But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty."

The third picture shows the way of the cross in the upper field. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross. Jesus meets his mother and refers her to his disciple John: "Woman, see your son." Veronica hands the handkerchief to Jesus. In the background, the weeping women are visible and recall the words of Jesus: "You women of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for you and your children." The picture below deals with the walk to Emmaus . In the background the open grave and Magdalena are visible as one of the women who saw that the stone had been rolled away. The Emmaus disciples do not recognize Jesus for the time being. Jesus speaks to them, and their hearts warm to them. The small picture shows the Last Supper in Emmaus, when the disciples recognize Jesus by breaking the bread.

The last picture spans the history of salvation through to the life of the patron saint of the church, St. Anthony of Padua. Above the missionary journeys of the saint are shown: Anthony is on his way home from Morocco and looks out over the sea. The ship gets caught in a storm and Antonius lands in Sicily instead of at home in Portugal. The smaller picture shows Antony preaching to the fish when he fell on deaf ears in Rimini. Behind him a rose grows out of the barren rock. The lower image field finally shows the death of the saint: Antony has withdrawn from the world to Camposampiero. He has a heart attack or pulmonary edema. On the return transport to Padua he succumbs to his suffering in the Arcella monastery of the Franciscan Sisters outside the city walls of Padua. In the background you can see the white domes of the current pilgrimage church of Padua.

  • The Holy Family

  • Good Friday and Emmaus

  • St. Anthony

organ

When the church was built in 1921, the church received a single-manual harmonium from the mother church Herz-Jesu Uster, the predecessor of today's St. Andrew's Church. In order to be able to adequately accompany the pilgrimage services in the church, which was extended in 1933, after a few years a two-manual harmonium was installed on the newly built gallery, which was used until 1985. Since the harmonium had tonal limits, a pipe organ was then commissioned from the Späth Orgelbau company in Rapperswil, which was built in 1985. In 2016 the instrument was overhauled and expanded to include an 8 ′ flute bass in the pedal. The instrument has 12 sounding registers, distributed over two manuals including pedal.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Dumped 8th'
octave 4 ′
Sesquialter 2 3 ⁄ 3  ′ + 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Fifth (preliminary print) 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
octave 2 ′
mixture 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Dulciana 8th'
II Positive C-g 3
Reed flute 8th'
recorder 4 ′
Oktavlein 2 ′
Pedal C – f 1
Flute bass 8th'
Sub bass 16 ′

literature

  • L. Burgener, The pilgrimage sites of the cath. Switzerland, 1864
  • Guido Hoppeler: Katholisch Egg in the past and present. 25 years as a Catholic Egg. Egg 1946.
  • Heinrich Müller: Egg near Zurich. For the 1200th anniversary of the community of Egg. Egg 1975.
  • Episcopal Ordinariate Chur (ed.): Schematism of the Diocese of Chur. Chur 1980.
  • Hermann Würsch: History of Katholisch Egg near Zurich. Egg 1991.
  • Roman Catholic parish and parish church foundation Egg ZH (ed.): Inauguration of the parish and pilgrimage church St. Antonius and opening of the parish center St. Antonius. Egg 1997.
  • Alfred Suter: Egg ZH - St. Antonius of Padua. In: Lothar Emanuel Kaiser (Ed.): Pilgrimage Guide of Switzerland. Emmen 2013, pp. 176–177.
  • Claudia Cecilia Troxler-Ardila: My church and my sacristan service. Examination paper at the Swiss School for Sacristans. Egg 2019.

Web links

Commons : St. Antonius Church Egg ZH  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : St. Antonius Church Egg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1] , Tages-Anzeiger from January 31, 2012; accessed on March 31, 2012.
  2. ↑ Bischöfliches Ordinariat Chur (Hrsg.): Schematismus. P. 203.
  3. ^ Christian Renfer: Catholic Church Bülach. Pp. 4-5.
  4. ^ Peter Niederhäuser and Flurina Pescatore: St. Peter and Paul. The mother church of Katholisch-Winterthur. Pp. 7-17.
  5. ↑ Tabular overview of the parish history (source: Antonius Pfarrei Egg) ( Memento from July 22, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  6. ↑ Bischöfliches Ordinariat Chur (Hrsg.): Schematismus. P. 203.
  7. ↑ [2] , list of buildings by Miroslav Sik; accessed on March 31, 2012
  8. ^ [3] , Curriculum Vitae of Prof. Miroslav Sik at the ETH Zurich; accessed on March 31, 2012.
  9. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Catholic parish gazette; accessed on March 31, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.forum-pfarrblatt.ch
  10. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Tabular overview of the parish history (source: Antonius Pfarrei Egg). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.antoniuskirche-egg.ch
  11. ↑ Website of the parish, section article on the opening of the parish room in Mönchaltorf. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  12. ^ Archives of the parish.
  13. ^ Website of the parish vicariate Maur. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  14. ↑ Catholic Church of the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Annual Report 2017. P. 83.
  15. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Tabular overview of the parish history (source: Antonius Pfarrei Egg), accessed on March 31, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.antoniuskirche-egg.ch
  16. ^ Roman Catholic parish and parish church foundation Egg ZH (ed.): Inauguration of the parish and pilgrimage church of St. Antonius and opening of the parish center St. Antonius. P. 43.
  17. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Tabular overview of the parish history (source: Antonius Pfarrei Egg). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.antoniuskirche-egg.ch
  18. ↑ [4] , Tages-Anzeiger from January 31, 2012; accessed on April 19, 2018
  19. ^ Rainald Fischer: Antonius von Padua. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . July 19, 2001 , accessed April 1, 2012 .
  20. ↑ [5] , Tages-Anzeiger from January 31, 2012. Accessed April 1, 2012.
  21. ↑ [ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ], Switzerland Current from March 23, 2012 19:00; called from SF Videoportal on April 1st, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.srf.ch
  22. ^ Parish website, Beginnings section. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  23. ^ Hermann Würsch: History of Katholisch Egg near Zurich , pages 20 and 33.
  24. ^ Archives of the parish.
  25. ^ Hermann Würsch: History of Katholisch Egg near Zurich , p. 30.
  26. ^ Roman Catholic parish and parish church foundation Egg ZH (ed.): Inauguration of the parish and pilgrimage church of St. Antonius and opening of the parish center St. Antonius , p. 20.
  27. ^ Hermann Würsch: History of Katholisch Egg near Zurich , pp. 24-25.
  28. ↑ Claudia Cecilia Troxler-Ardila: My Church and My Sacristy Service , p. 12.
  29. ^ Roman Catholic parish and parish church foundation Egg ZH (ed.): Inauguration of the parish and pilgrimage church of St. Antonius and opening of the parish center St. Antonius. Pp. 20-23.
  30. ↑ [6] , explanation of the picture ceiling (source: Antonius Pfarrei Egg), accessed on March 31, 2012.
  31. ↑ [7] , explanation of the picture ceiling (source: Antonius Pfarrei Egg), accessed on March 31, 2012.
  32. ^ Organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein, section Pilgrimage Church St. Antonius Egg ZH. Retrieved July 17, 2020.

Coordinates: 47 ° 17 ′ 58 "  N , 8 ° 41 ′ 12"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred and ninety-four thousand three hundred ninety-five  /  239474