Monday, September 10, 2007

A Report from Heiligenkreuz

For those interested, there are quite a few more photos available here of the Pope's visit to Heiligenkreuz Abbey in Austria, including many images of the preparations, the monks and so forth.

Frater Edmund Waldstein who is a monk at the Abbey summarized the events for the NLM:

"The Holy Father came in and we sang the "Dixit Dominus" with the antiphon "Tu es pastor ovium, princeps apostolorum, Tibi traditae sunt claves regni caelorum." He processed up to the sanctuary and knelt down in silence before the relic of the true cross. Then he opened with the sign of the cross and the collect of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Then we listened in awe as Peter spoke to us words, "not of flesh and blood." He spoke about the St. Benedict's dictum, "opere Dei nihil praeponatur." We than sang "Nos autem gloriari" in the incredibly beautiful Cistercian version, and he closed with the Pater Noster and the blessing. He processed out to the sound of the great Marian gymn "Wunderschön Prächtige" to bless the pilgrims outside."

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