Monastery history, monastery stories: Four monasteries in portrait

Theology

Monasteries and religious communities are experiencing a paradoxical situation. Monastic spirituality is highly popular. Temporary monastic stays and products that have a monastic connection in some way are booming. And yet there are very few people who want to enter the monastery and make their profession.

Benedictines promise a lasting attachment to the location of their community and the local sisters or brothers.
Among other things, it is this Benedictine stabilitas loci ("stability of place") that marks a contrast to modern lifestyles. At the same time, it is a core element of the local living communities from which monasteries have developed into historical centres of culture and power and into contemporary places of strength.

The lecture introduces four monasteries rich in tradition and sheds light on the background to their founding and their development through the centuries.

11 November
The beginnings of the Benedictines: Montecassino Abbey, Italy

18 November
Charlemagne and the Monastery of St. John, Müstair, Grisons 

25 November
The Heart of the Habsburgs: Muri Abbey, Aargau

2 December
The Jewel in the Desert: St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai/Egypt