GERMANY: Small Bavarian pilgrimage town of Altoetting prepares for a visit from Pope Benedict XVI

The small Bavarian town of pilgrimage Altoetting is preparing for a very special visitor, mayor Herbert Hofauer explained to Reuters on Friday (August 25). During his visit to Germany, Pope Benedict XVI is going to pay a call to Altoetting, famous for its ancient peasant shrine and aim of millions pilgrims from all over the world. "This visit is very special for many reasons. It is a historic event for every town when the pope in office comes to visit. Even for a place of pilgrimage that is welcoming the third pope in its history, it is a distinct decoration getting this special kind of attention. Especially with Pope Benedict this is the case, as he is from Germany, from Bavaria and from this area between the river Inn and Salzach", mayor Hofauer told Reuters. The diocese´s bishop Wilhelm Schraml feels confident the pope will feel welcome in Altoetting: "What is special about Altoetting is the Chapel Square, the Shrine Chapel, all the buildings, all the churches and a certain kind of intimacy that is specific to this town. It´s familial and familiar. That is why he (the pope) will feel at home again very quickly as this is where he came to even when he was a child. The last time he visited was january last year. This place is close to his heart, it is where he came came back to with his family, his parents and siblings" Schraml said. Altoetting is one of the oldest of the many peasant shrines of Central and Eastern Europe. Most of the hundreds of Bavarian pilgrimage churches date from the age of counter-reformation. The origin of Altoetting goes back to the eighth century. Since then, worshippers have travelled to Altoetting to visit its chapel of mercy. Some experts claim that if records had been kept of the number of visitors to the shrine, the chapel might prove to be one of the most frequented ones in the world. The shrine chapel in the middle of town square is the oldest of its kind in Germany. The formerly Roman temple became a Christian chapel around 680 and still houses the statue of Our Lady of Altoetting today. The chapel has an unusual octagonal shape and has been built from volcanic rock. Despite many crises the town of Altoetting went through during wars and natural disasters over the centuries, chapel and shrine were always left intact. During his fourth international trip, from Sept. 9-14, Benedict XVI will visit some of the places that had great impact on his life. The most important visits will be to Munich, the city of which he was archbishop from 1977 to 1982; followed by the Altoetting Shrine, symbol of Bavarian Catholicism; Marktl am Inn, his birthplace; and Regensburg, the city in which he was a university professor and where his brother lives and his relatives are buried. According to the official program published by the Vatican press office, the papal plane will land on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 3:30 p.m. at the Franz Joseph Strauss International Airport, where the welcome ceremony at Munich will be held. The first papal ceremony will be a prayer before the Column of the Virgin in Marienplatz.

ITN Source | August 31, 2006

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