St. Boniface's Abbey (german: Abtei St. Bonifaz) 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

Maxvorstadt Maxvorstadt (Central Bavarian: ''Maxvorstod'') is a central borough of Munich, Bavaria, Germany and forms the Stadtbezirk (borough) 3 Maxvorstadt. Since 1992, this borough comprises the former boroughs 5, 6 and 7 (Maxvorstadt-Universität, Maxvor ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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 was founded in 1835 by King

Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

, as a part of his efforts to reanimate the country's spiritual life by the restoration of the monasteries destroyed during the

secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of the early 19th century. The abbey, constructed in

Byzantine style Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the ...

, was formally dedicated in 1850. It was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and only partly restored. The church contains the tombs of King Ludwig I and of his queen,

Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxony-Hildburghausen (8 July 1792 – 26 October 1854) was queen of Bavaria as the wife of King Ludwig I. Biography Therese was a daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mec ...

. St. Boniface's is situated in a city, which is unusual for a Benedictine monastery. To ensure the material provision of the monks, King Ludwig bought the former

Andechs Abbey Andechs Abbey is a Benedictine priory in the municipality of Andechs, in the ''Landkreis'' of Starnberg, Upper Bavaria, Germany . A place of pilgrimage on a hill east of the Ammersee, the Abbey is famed for its flamboyant Baroque church and its ...

, which had been secularised in 1803, along with its supporting farmlands and gave it to the new abbey. For this reason Andechs is now 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 2014) 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 The Bavarian Congregation is a congregation of the Benedictine Confederation consisting (with one exception) of monasteries in Bavaria, Germany. It was founded on 26 August 1684 by Pope Innocent XI (1676-1689). First Congregation Until the secul ...

within the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Confœderatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti) is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monasti ...

Abbots

* Paulus Birker (1850–1854) * Bonifaz Haneberg (1854–1872) * Benedikt Zenetti (1872–1904) * Gregor Danner (1904–1919) * Bonifaz Wöhrmüller (1919–1951) * Hugo Lang (1951–1967) * Odilo Lechner (coadjutor 1964–1967; abbot 1967–2003) * Johannes Eckert (2013-)

References

Sources

* Lebendige Steine. St. Bonifaz in München. 150 Jahre Benediktinerabtei und Pfarrei. Eine Ausstellung der Benediktinerabtei St. Bonifaz München und Andechs und des Bayerischen Hauptstaatsarchivs zum 150. Jubiläum der Gründung durch König Ludwig I. München 2000 (Ausstellungskataloge der Staatlichen Archive Bayerns; 42) 'exhibition catalogue produced by the Bavarian State Archives for the 150th anniversary of the abbey's foundation''

External links

St. Boniface's website
{{Authority control

Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

Cultural heritage monuments in Munich Neoclassical church buildings in Germany