St. Ottilien Archabbey (St. Ottilia's Archabbey) is a
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery in Emming near
Eresing
Eresing is a municipality in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and ...
Oberbayern
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is the
motherhouse
A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute
A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow memb ...
In the 16th century a small castle was built at Emming, including a chapel dedicated to Saint Ottilia. Both castle and chapel were made over in the Baroque style in the 17th century.
After several changes of owner, and the demolition of much of the castle in 1884, in 1886 the estate came into the possession of Andreas Amrhein, formerly a Benedictine from
Beuron Archabbey
Beuron Archabbey (in German Erzabtei Beuron, otherwise Erzabtei St. Martin; in Latin ''Archiabbatia Sancti Martini Beuronensis''; Swabian: ''Erzabtei Beira'') is a major house of the Benedictine Order located at Beuron in the upper Danube va ...
. His vision of combining the Benedictine way of life with engagement in the Christian mission field had proved impossible to realise within the
Beuronese Congregation
The Beuronese Congregation, or Beuron Congregation, is a union of mostly German or German-speaking religious houses of both monks and nuns within the Benedictine Confederation. The congregation stands under the protection of Saint Martin of Tou ...
, and for that reason he sought to found a new and independent group. After an initial foundation in Reichenbach in the district of Cham in 1884, the community moved to Emming in 1887, where the monastery took its name from the already existing chapel of Saint Ottilia. In 1886/1887 the adjunct Rhabanus-Maurus-Gymnasium St. Ottilien was founded as a school for young Benedictine monks and the first group of missionaries were sent to Africa the same year.
Development
In 1895 Andreas Amrhein resigned from the community, which then became a priory. In 1902 St. Ottilien was elevated to the status of an
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The con ...
. After the foundation of another three abbeys, St. Ottilien was chosen in 1914 as the archabbey of the St. Ottilien Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation, also known as the Missionary Benedictines. The Archabbot of St. Ottilien has ever since been ex officio the head of the St. Ottilien Congregation.
The abbey grew rapidly until 1930, developing missions in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and China. St. Ottilien was extended during this period in order to accommodate the expanding community, which grew to almost 400 people.
In 1941 the abbey was suppressed by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...
. The monks returned in 1945.
From April 1945 until May 1948 the abbey served as a Displaced Persons (DP) camp to some 5,000
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
survivors.
The abbey continued to sponsor the Rhabanus-Maurus-Gymnasium St. Ottilien until 1973, when this task was handed over to the
Diocese of Augsburg
Diocese of Augsburg is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich.Sacred Heart, was built between 1897 and 1899. Its pointed octagonal spire, 75 metres high, can be seen from a great distance around. In the bell tower hang eight bells, sounding one of the deepest tones in southern German
The three-aisled Gothic Revival architecture, Neo-Gothic abbey church was consecrated in 1903. The mission museum, in the Art Nouveausacristy to the south of the church, was opened in 1911.
Over the years St. Ottilien has added many new facilities: a school (the '' Rhabanus Maurus Gymnasium''), retreat- and guest-houses, a publishing house, workshops and buildings for farming and horticulture.
Notker Wolf
Notker Wolf (born June 21, 1940) is a Germans, German Benedictine monk, priest, abbot, musician, and author. He is a member of St. Ottilien Archabbey located in Bavaria, Germany, which is part of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien. H ...
Territorial Abbey of Tokwon
Tokwon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien, located near the town of Wonsan in what is now North Korea. Founded as a monastic mission in Seoul, the community transferred to Tokwon in ...
, martyr in Korea
*
Thomas Spreiter
Thomas (Franz Xavier) Spreiter, OSB (28 December 1865 – 27 January 1944) was a German missionary, one of the first of the Missionary Benedictines, who worked in German East Africa and later South Africa. He was the ordinary of the Roman C ...