St. Francis (Zollikofen)

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St. Franziskus Zollikofen

The Church of St. Franziskus is the Roman Catholic parish church of Zollikofen near Bern and is consecrated to St. Francis of Assisi . It was built in 1959 at the same time as St. Michael in Wabern and St. Antonius in Bümpliz . The parish of St. Franziskus belongs to the entire parish of Bern and the surrounding area. The catchment area of the Parish covers: Kirchlindachstrasse , Oberlindach , Zollikofen, Münchenbuchsee , Deisswil , Wiggiswil , Diemerswil , Ruppoldsried , Rapperswil BE , Lätti , Dieterswil , Moosseedorf , Jegenstorf , ball moss , Münchringen , Zuzwil , Iffwil , Urtenen-Schoenbuehl and Mattstetten .

history

The agglomeration community of Zollikofen received the influx of many Catholics from other cantons between 1940 and 1960, as well as a large number of mainly Italian guest worker families.

Zollikofen and the surrounding towns have belonged to the parish of St. Marien , Bern , since it was founded in 1932 . The Catholics were looked after by Pastor Ulrich von Hospenthal (1901–1969) and Vicars Hans Stark, Otto Wüst and R. Schnell of the Marien parish. From November 1942 the first church services took place in the lower hall (bowling alley) of the Bären inn. To promote solidarity, the family association and a choir group were founded. From 1956, the services were held in the secondary school singing hall with a harmonium . In 1956, the entire parish of Bern decided to implement various construction projects in the region with a loan. In the same year, the family association succeeded in swapping a plot of land in Wydacker for the area in Kreuzmatte donated by Otto Marti, Ziegelei AG. In 1958, the assembly of the entire parish in Bern approved the “Tent of God” project by the Bernese architect Julius Nussli for the church building planned there, with a contribution of 775,000 francs. This was followed by the laying of the foundation stone and blessing by Bishop Franziskus von Streng on October 4, 1958 and the foundation of the St. Franziskus Zollikofen church choir on November 22 of the same year. On May 1, 1959, Vicar Hans Stark became rector of the newly established parish rectorate of St. Francis. The solemn consecration of the church by Bishop Nestor Adam von Sitten took place on September 27, 1959. The parish of St. Franziskus, which was established at the same time, comprised: Zollikofen- Tiefenau - Bremgarten -Münchenbuchsee-Urtenen-Mattstetten-Münchringen-Jegenstorf-Iffwil and Zuzwil. Their first pastor was Hans Stark. In 1962, with the establishment of the Heiligkreuz parish, the Tiefenau and Bremgarten areas were separated. For the first time since the Reformation , Catholic services were held again in 1966 in the Reformed churches of Münchenbuchsee and Jegenstorf. This ecumenical hospitality has been cultivated - since 1983 also in Urtenen - to this day.

Recent history

Due to the shortage of priests and the falling tax revenue, some Bern parishes were merged into pastoral rooms. Robert Geiser was the last pastor to officiate in the parish of St. Franziskus, and since 1997 the parish leadership has been in the hands of lay theologians. The neighboring parish Heiligkreuz Bern had a similar experience, so both parishes were connected in the pastoral area Bern-Nord. Paul Hengartner took over the parish leadership of both parishes. After the sale of the Heiligkreuzkirche at the end of 2018, the activities of the Heiligkreuz parish were limited to the converted Johannes Center in Bremgarten. On May 15, 2018 , Bishop Felix Gmür built the pastoral room in Bern from the five pastoral rooms in the region .

Pastor and parish leadership

Since the founding of the parish of St. Franziskus Zollikofen:

  • Hans Stark, 1959-1967
  • Max Estermann, 1967-1977
  • Josef Emmenegger, 1977–1985
  • Robert Geiser, 1985-1996

Parish leader

  • Karl Mattmüller, 1997-1999
  • Karl Graf, 2000-2004
  • Rita Iten, 2005-2013
  • Paul Hengartner, since 2013

Architecture and equipment

Choir of the Franziskuskirche

The church of St. Franziskus was built by the architect Julius Nussli as a solid structure on a fan-shaped, irregularly polygonal floor plan. With the rectory and the free-standing bell tower, they form an architectural unit that is not significantly disturbed by the later addition of the parish hall and the elevator tower. The two entrance doors lead under the gallery to the wide, unified room over which the ceiling arches like a tent. (The original asbestos plastering of the ceiling was removed during the last renovation phase and replaced by an acoustic plaster). High windows next to the gallery and on both sides of the altar illuminate the room.

Works of art

The windows in the chancel, used 1972–1973 with the redesign of the chancel in line with the 2nd Vatican Council, depict the Eucharist with grapes and ears of corn, the crucifixion in the left window and the resurrection in the right window. Two window pictures next to the entrance doors symbolize the sun and moon the Canticle of the Sun of Francis. Like the window with the theme “Rich fish, rebirth from the water and the Holy Spirit”, which was built into the baptistery in 1959, they are the work of the Bernese glass painter Emil Reich . The Way of the Cross on 14 ceramic panels on the left side wall is signed " B. Geiger ". Contrary to the traditional rule, there are twelve wrought-iron chandeliers with twelve consecration crosses .

The new equipment with the free-standing bronze tabernacle , the ambo and the oak seating was supplemented with a baptismal font and a candlestick made of the same wood. The baptismal font, a glass bowl by Roberto Niederer , rests on a cross-shaped wooden structure that, like the candlestick, was designed by Beat Schildknecht and manufactured by Francesco Balzardi. During the patronage festival, the simple wooden cross is regularly replaced by a copy based on the cross of San Damiano . Another reference to St. Francis is the multi-part installation from 1996 by the Zollikofen artist Ernst Jordi . Three boulders from the Maggia Valley, with arrows carved into them, lead to a niche mirrored on both sides, where the viewer sees himself in endless succession alternating with the inscriptions "DISPOSE - BEING SISTERS - SHAPING THE WORLD". Further in the direction of the altar, three wrought-iron, winged sculptures float on the ceiling, reminiscent of birds from the legendary sermon of the birds by Francis.

organ

Organ of the Franziskuskirche

Shortly after the church was inaugurated, the parish decided to buy an organ . Because of the difficult financing, contrary to the original idea of ​​a two-part work like in Bern's Marienkirche, only one instrument could be acquired that was limited to one gallery. Orgelbau Graf AG Sursee built this organ with 15 registers on two manuals and a pedal with mechanical action and registration and with a slider . The inauguration took place on May 23, 1965 by Dean Ulrich von Hospenthal. In a later revision, another register and swell were added.

I Manual C-g 3
Principal 8th'
Reed flute 8th'
Octave 4 ′
Covered flute 4 ′
mixture 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
II Manual
(partially swellable) C – g 3
Wooden dacked 8th'
Gemshorn 4 ′
Principal 2 ′
Sesquialtera 2f. 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′ + 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Sif flute 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
cymbal 1 ⁄ 3 ′
shelf 8th'
tremolo
Pedal C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Quintatön 8th'
Dulkan 4 ′

Bells

On December 12, 1959, Bishop Franziskus von Streng consecrated the chime cast by the Rüetschi foundry in Aarau. The bells are tuned according to the Te Deum motif with the tones e 'g' a '.

  • Bell 1, tone e ', 1104 kg, 1230 mm Ø
  • Bell 2, tone g ', 642 kg, 1030 mm Ø
  • Bell 3, tone a ', 462 kg, 930 mm Ø

The three bells were donated by the C. Gartenmann-Ringold family, Zollikofen.

literature

  • Marie-Therese Barth et al: Chronicle . 50 years of the parish of St. Franziskus Zollikofen 1959–2009. Parish of St. Franziskus, Zollikofen, Zollikofen 2008.
  • Beat Schildknecht et al .: In the parish of St. Franziskus, Catholic services are celebrated in four locations . 50th anniversary brochure. Catholic Association Jegenstorf and the surrounding area, Jegenstorf 2009.
  • Gabriela Hanke, et al .: Catholic Bern from 1799 to 1999 . A stopover. Total Roman Catholic parish of Bern and the surrounding area, Bern 1999.
  • Catherine Stritt: Public Art in Zollikofen . a book about art and artists. Kulturforum Zollikofen, Zollikofen 2000, p. 36-39 .

See also

List of Roman Catholic churches in the canton of Bern

Web links

Commons : St. Franziskus (Zollikofen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Website of the entire parish of Bern
  2. ↑ catchment area of ​​the parish
  3. ^ Catherine Stritt: Public Art in Zollikofen . a book about art and artists. Kulturforum Zollikofen, Zollikofen 2000, p. 38-39 .
  4. ^ Catherine Stritt: Public Art in Zollikofen . a book about art and artists. Kulturforum Zollikofen, Zollikofen 2000, p. 36-37 .
  5. ↑ Beat Schildknecht: In: Brochure for the 50th anniversary of the parish
  6. ^ Organ history according to Testimony from contemporary witnesses
  7. ^ Organ profile of the Catholic Church of St. Franziskus Zollikofen. In: Organ directory Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  8. ↑ Description of the chimes on the YouTube channel of Resurrection Bell

Coordinates: 47 ° 0 '0.7 "  N , 7 ° 27' 19"  E ; CH1903:  601 265  /  205460