Start for “House of the Church” in Reutte
Innsbruck, April 3rd, 2022 (KAP) The former Franciscan monastery in Reutte will become a “House of the Church”. On Sunday, the diocese of Innsbruck officially took over the building, as the diocese announced. In the parish church of St. Anna, Bishop Hermann Glettler, Franciscan Provincial Fr. Fritz Wenigwieser and Dean Franz Neuner celebrated the festive service together, which was also attended by the political representatives of the market town of Reutte.
“It is of great importance that the monastery in the middle of the district capital Reutte remains a meeting place and a spiritual center in the future,” stressed Bishop Hermann Glettler. In this he was in agreement with Dean Neuner and Provincial Little Wieser. The joint service can also be seen as a new beginning. “I am pleased that the monastery will continue to be used by the church,” emphasized Provincial Wenigwieser.
“The spiritual quality of the place is particularly important. It is provided daily by a chapel in which regular times of prayer are offered,” explained Bishop Glettler. In addition to a service point for the diocese and the rooms already used by the parish, Caritas with a regional social counseling service, socio-pedagogical family support and a learning café for children and young people should also find space. “The final details on the usage concept are currently being worked out,” says diocesan economist Rainer Kirchmair. This includes, among other things, whether the former living quarters of the Franciscans are suitable for accommodating people who have been displaced from the Ukraine. In the medium term, there is a wish from all causes to accommodate a small religious community in the house again.
“Now we can, under new conditions and with refreshing impulses, continue to shape parish life in concrete terms,” said Dean Franz Neuner, who as pastor is responsible for the management of the parish together with parish curator Gerhard Kuss. For the former monastery and the garden, most of which the municipality has acquired, the further procedure should be well coordinated. This was underlined by the congregation, parish and diocese. “Now it’s time to look ahead and work on a common concept,” said Mayor Günter Salchner.
Long relationship with the municipality of Reutte
“I would like to thank the population for their enormous patience at the time the monastery was taken over by the Franciscan community. Since the Franciscans left in 2014, it has taken a long time before a new solution could be found, at the time to fill the special place with life again,” said Bishop Glettler. Although the Franciscans withdrew from the market town years ago, they still have a strong connection to Reutte, as Provincial Little Wieser emphasizes: “A large part of the brothers spent their novitiate here. They all have fond memories of Reutte and a special relationship with the community.”
The history of the religious establishment dates back to 1628, when Archduke Leopold V laid the foundation stone for the monastery and the Franciscans entrusted the pastoral care of the adjacent church of St. Anna, which became its own parish in 1945. Several times – after looting by Swedish soldiers in the Thirty Years’ War and fires in 1703 and 1846 – the monastery had to be rebuilt. In the 18th century there was a separate theology course for Franciscans in the monastery, in the 19th century and later again from 1977 to 2000 Reutte was a novitiate monastery.