Thursday, April 11, 2013

Sunday Masses in Ratisbon

On a Sunday earlier this year, I visited one of the most historic and ecclesiastically important cities in Germany: Ratisbon. Here are pictures from a few Masses I attended that Sunday which might be of interest to readers.



Holy Mass at the Collegiate Church of St. John. One of the concelebrants (you can see him sitting with his crutches) is Msgr. Georg Ratzinger. Little did I know that only a week later his brother would announce his renunciation of the papacy.



Mass at the collegiate church of the Old Chapel, one of the most exquisite churches of the Bavarian late baroque. Pope Benedict blessed the organ there at his visit to Ratisbon in 2006.



Pontifical Mass at Ratisbon Cathedral. It happened to be the first Pontifical Mass of the new bishop, who had only been consecrated a week before. The famous Ratisbon Cathedral Choir, which Msgr. Ratzinger directed for 30 years, sang as it does every Sunday.





Solemn Mass in the usus antiquior in the church of St. Emmeram, a former Benedictine abbey and burial place of Saint Wolfgang and Saint Emmeram, as well as Saint Aurelia and five Blessed (three bishops of Ratisbon, an abbot of St Emmeram, and a German Queen).



A picture of St. Emmeram earlier in the day, to give you a better idea.

To finish, two items from the diocesan museum, where, incidentally, I was pleased to notice that several items had been removed for the use of the new bishop.



The so-called chasuble of St. Wolfgang, 12th c., made from Byzantine silk with pearl embroidery.



A rationale, a particular liturgical vestment, which today is only worn by the bishops of Paderborn, Eichstätt, Cracow and Toul. Early 14th c.

I apologise for the poor quality of the pictures; inadvertently, I had chosen the lowest resolution of my camera.

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