Monasteries / Europe / St Ottilien

Name: Sankt Ottilien

Conventional Name: Sacred Heart Archabbey

Post Address: 86941 St. Ottilien

Germany

Tel. +49 8193 71 0

E-Mail: webmaster@erzabtei.de

Webseite:  www.erzabtei.de

Name of the Superior: Archabbot Jeremias Schröder

Number of Monks: 123  (April 2011)

Short History

On January 6, 1884, Fr Andreas Amrhein opened a mission house in the former Benedictine Abbey of Reichenbach (Diocese of Regensburg) which had been secularised in 1803. It was transferred to Emming-St Ottilien in the Diocese of Augsburg on 13 January 1887. St Ottilien became a conventual priory on December 13, 1896 and an abbey on June 28, 1902. Twelve years later, after three of its foundations had been raised to the rank of abbeys, St Ottilien was given the title of an archabbey. It was closed down by the Nazi regime on April 17, 1941, and reopened after the Second World War on May 15, 1945.

The Archabbey has two dependent houses, a priory at Jakobsberg (founded in 1960, it became a simple priory on July 22, 1962) near Mainz on the river Rhine and a foundation at Rabanal (2001) in northern Spain, about 80 km west of León.

Dependent Houses

Jacobsberg Priory

Rabanal

Apostolate

The Archabbey of St. Ottilien plays a very significant role in the pastoral activities within the diocese of Augsburg:

• The reknown Retreat House receives tens and hundreds of visitors who are looking for God in their lives. St. Ottilien offers, not only the place for such spiritual exercises, but also it makes its  monks available for this work. Young and old monks work hand in hand in providing spiritual needs to all those who visit the Retreat House.
• The Archabbey is also very actively involved in the pastoral work in different parishes within the diocese. Some of its monks are parish priests while others assist in parishes on weekends as well as during the weekdays.
• Through its liturgy. confession opportunity, individual spiritual guidance/retreats and the like; the Community of St. Ottilien plays an important role in leavening the faith of  the Christians around.
• Rhabanus-Maurus Secondary School which is under the Archabbey is one of the most successful schools in Bavaria. A good number of confreres are working not oly as teachers but also as spiritual guides for the pupils.

Photos from St. Ottilien