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| The black pulpit contrasts starkly against the all-white interior of the Theatine Church of St. Cajetan in Munich. |
Prof.
Carmelo Tamayo is the reason images come into my mind when I hear the words Baroque, Rococo, Romanesque and Gothic
architecture – which he used a lot when he took us on a tour of churches in the
south of Cebu.
I
remembered him when my family and I had
the chance to visit churches in parts of Germany and Austria recently. Would he have remained articulate in describing and explaining the influences on the
architecture and design of the churches in that part of the world, or would he
have been rendered silent by their magnificence?
Because I
was struck dumb. There are no words. It’s all feeling. The first few minutes inside
the church doors are spent trying to take it all in. There’s just so much
happening at once and it’s all beautiful.
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| The towering alter piece called Fall of the Angels(1782) by Karl Georg Merville inside St. Michael's Church in Vienna. |
I do not know how many churches there are in Europe, but we were able to visit 18 churches and three chapels during our two-week stay in parts of Germany and Austria.
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| This view of the Old Town of Salzburg reveals as many as three churches in one area: Kollegienkirche (Collegiate Church), Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan Church) and the Salzburg Cathedral. |
Most of these visits were unplanned. We simply walked into these churches because they were in the vicinity of tourist spots and within walking distance of each other.
In
Germany, there was the St. Nikolaus Church in Muhldorf am Inn; Theatine Church
of St. Cajetan and Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady) in Munich; Shrine of
Our Lady of Altotting or the Chapel of Grace, Basilica of St. Ann and Brother
Konrad Church in Altotting; and
the Parish of Maria Himmelfahrt Partenkirchen in Garmisch- Partenkirchen.
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| Inside the Hospital Church of the Holy Ghost in Innsbruck, Austria |
Charming and smaller were St. George’s Chapel
located inside the Hohensalzburg Fortress in Salzburg, St. Barbara’s chapel (it
was more an image protected by a structure) on the way to the salt mine in
Hallstatt and the Maria Heimsuchung chapel on the slopes of Zugspitze.
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| Taking of photos is not allowed inside the Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of Grace), seen here in the middle of the square in Altotting. Behind it is the Church of St. Magdalena |
I ask my 14-year-old daughter who tuned out by
the third? fourth? (“see one, see all
Mommy”) church which ones stood out to her and she shrugs. “The small one that had this silver stuff on
the walls and was very dark, and where people were praying.” I ask why and she
says, “It was the most quiet and holy. And it was small.”
She is referring to the Chapel of Grace that
houses the “Black Madonna,” a wood carving of a standing Mother Mary carrying
the child Jesus, whose miraculous healing power draws over 1 million pilgrims
each year to Altotting.
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| Votive offerings line every available space on the chapel's exterior ceiling and walls. |
When I
ask my husband the same question, he ruefully confesses that the churches are
all one magnificent blur, but reconsiders. “Okay, the one with the hearts.”
Like my daughter, he picks the Chapel of Grace.
It is easy to see why he remembers the silver urns containing the hearts of the Bavarian
dukes, kings and prince-electors that stand in the wall niches of the chapel,
“placed as a princely guard of honour” opposite the image of the Black Madonna.
He
explains his choice further. “I like all the votive offerings outside the
structure.” Framed drawings and pictures offered in thanksgiving to Our Lady for
prayers granted line every space available on the exterior walls, posts and
ceiling of the chapel.
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| Outside St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna |
The mind struggles to catch up with the eye
that wanders from the Giant’s Door dotted with dragons, birds, lions, monks and
demons, the two spires above it, the colored roof covered by glazed tiles, the Gothic
south tower which soars above the city, etc.
Inside, it is even more beautiful with giant sculptural columns soaring high over the three-aisle church. We could
not enter the main section which had been closed off for an event or see the High
Altar, which was covered by a gigantic projector screen. Still, there was
enough for the eyes to feast on. Among them, the pulpit that spirals around a
column and side altars which include the Wiener-Neustädter Altar.
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| The Wiener-Neustädter Altar inside St. Stephen's Cathedral |
We did not have enough time to explore the
entire church, but I remember thinking that the beauty and splendor of St.
Stephen’s Cathedral also makes it the most tourist-infested.
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| There are very few of us inside the St. Peter's Abbey Church in Salzburg. |
There is material online that says a number of
churches in Europe has been closed down or re-purposed because they are too expensive
to maintain. The numbers of the faithful have dwindled over the years, with
less and less people going to church.1
I find this a pity because I come from a
country where it can be difficult to find a seat in Church if you don’t come
early to mass (and not just on Sundays), and where you can always find people
inside praying, lighting candles, standing in line to pray before miraculous
images and even walking on their knees all the way to the altar while praying
the Rosary.
If only these churches were in the Philippines, professors like Mr. Tamayo and the country's dominantly Catholic population (80.3 million or 79.5 percent) would
have a blast. 2
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1 Europe's
church creatively rethinks as numbers plummet (https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/europes-church-creatively-rethinks-numbers-plummet)
