Tholey
Tholey () is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately west of Sankt Wendel, and north of Saarbrücken.
History
Local history
The first traces of settlement in the area of today's Thole ...
, in the district of
Sankt Wendel
Sankt Wendel is a town in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. According to a survey by the German Association for Hou ...
in
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
, 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 dedicated to
Saint Maurice
Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that Ma ...
. It is part of 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 Tours. ...
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 ...
.
History
As early as the 5th and 6th centuries a group of clerics had established themselves here in the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
ruins. On the instructions of
Magnerich Magneric of Tier (also called Magnerich, or Magnericus) (born c. 522, died c. 596) was a Franks, Frankish bishop of Trier. He is a Catholic and Orthodoxy, Orthodox saint, with a feast day on July 25. Magneric was one of the first bishops with a Germ ...
,
bishop of Trier
The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Wendelin as its head, who is thus counted by tradition as the first abbot of Tholey.
The Benedictine history of Tholey is thought to have begun in about 750. At the end of the 15th century the abbey joined the
Bursfelde Congregation
The Bursfelde Congregation, also called Bursfelde Union, was a union of predominantly west and central German Benedictine monasteries, of both men and women, working for the reform of Benedictine practice. It was named after Bursfelde Abbey.
Backg ...
.
In 1794 during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
the abbey was plundered and burnt down, and dissolved the same year. In 1798 the remaining buildings were auctioned off. In 1806 they became the property of the municipality, as the parish church and priest's house.
The present abbey was established by the Benedictines in 1949 and settled in 1950 by monks from St. Matthias' Abbey, Trier. The monks work in pastoral care and run the guesthouse and book shop. As of 2020, twelve monks from five nations at and reside in the monastery.
in 2008, with philanthropic support from Edmund and Ursula Meiser, the chapter house was renovated, and baroque-style pavilion was erected on the grounds of the abbey.
In 2020, the abbey installed stained glass windows created by German artists
Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, and also photographs and glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary German ...
and
Mahbuba Maqsoodi
Mahbuba Elham Maqsoodi (born 1957) is a German- Afghan artist based in Munich, Germany. She is recognized for miniature paintings and painting on glass, including designing 34 stained glass windows for Tholey Abbey in Germany. She is an advocate f ...
.Kate Brown, Rural German Monks Hope Their Abbey’s New Gerhard Richter-Designed Stained Glass Windows Will Help Convert Art Lovers to the Church, Artnet (Mar. 9, 2020), https://news.artnet.com/art-world/richter-tholey-abbey-window-1795800 Richter's three windows — with deep reds and blues prevailing on the two outer displays and the central one dominated by radiant gold — are more than 30 feet tall and made to a symmetrical design. Maqsoodi's 34 windows for the church feature figurative images portraying saints and scenes from the Bible.
Abbots since the re-establishment in 1949
* 1949–1976 Dr. Petrus Borne
* 1977–1981 Hrabanus Heddergott
* 1982–1985 Athanasius Weber (Prior Administrator)
* 1985–2007 Makarios Hebler
* 2008–present Mauritius Choriol (until 2014 as Prior Administrator)
References
* Manfred, Peter, 2005. ''Der heilige Wendelin – Die Geschichte eines faszinierenden Lebens''. Otzenhausen: Verlag Burr.