St. Boniface's Abbey, Munich
Encyclopedia
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It was founded in 1835 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
, as a part of his efforts to reanimate the country's spiritual life by the restoration of the monasteries destroyed during the secularisation of the early 19th century. The abbey was formally dedicated in 1850. The abbey, erected in Byzantine style, was destroyed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and only partly restored. The church contains the tomb of King Ludwig I.
St. Boniface's is situated in a city, which is rather unusual for a Benedictine monastery. To ensure the material provision of the monks, King Ludwig bought the former Andechs Abbey, which had been secularised in 1803, along with its supporting farmlands and gave it to the new abbey. Andechs is now for this reason a priory of St. Boniface's Abbey.
The monks work in the pastoral care of the parish, in scholarly and educational fields and in the care of the homeless. The present abbot (as of 2005) is Johannes Eckert, whom the monks elected on 23 July 2003 on the retirement of the previous abbot, Odilo Lechner.
St. Boniface's Abbey is a member of the Bavarian Congregation
Bavarian Congregation
The Bavarian Congregation is a congregation of the Benedictine Confederation consisting of monasteries in Bavaria, Germany.It was founded on 26 August 1684 by the Blessed Pope Innocent XI .-First Congregation:...
within the Benedictine Confederation
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...
.