Our sites of service in the roman catholic church

Chapel and Convent of "St. Mary Fatima" at Trössing / Gnas

By Gods providence, in 2001 the chapel of St. Mary Fatima, a well known place of pilgrimage in Styria, and the monastery St. Mary Fatima were consigned to our community. The chapel is also known as "Chapel of Peace", because since 1957 on the outside there is a relief of "St. Mary, Queen of Peace".

For our community, the dedication of this place of prayer and pilgrimage to "St. Mary Fatima" and to the "Queen of Peace" is a good sign for the providence of God in wending our ways. In Fatima (Portugal), the Mother of God has called for prayers for peace on earth, and in Medjugorje (Bosnia and Herzegovina), where there are the roots of our community, She called again and is adored as "Queen of Peace". And now, our community lives again an a place dedicated to Her as "Queen of Peace".

The chapel was founded in May 22nd, 1955 - just one week after the international treaty was signed, which brought neutrality, independence, freedom and peace to Austria after the second world war.

The chapel and the monastery were built in thankful rememberance of St. Mary´s help in three cases: by her help, in 1955 Austria got freedom; by her help, a child of Bierbaum, a small village nearby, got well again from a bad disease; and, by her help, Mr. Sommer, who was mainly responsible for the realization of the Fatima Chapel and Monastery, has returned healthy from the second world war.

Year by year, the Fatima Chapel became a place of help for many in need of it, a place of pilgrimage in the styrian woods, an oasis of peace attracting people from far and wide.

Parish and Pilgrimage Church of the "Pietá" and Convent at Maria Lanzendorf

On October 1st, 2006, the pastoral duties of the parish of Maria Lanzendorf - Lanzendorf in the south of Vienna, and the duties of pilgrimage were given to the hands of our community by the archdiocese of Vienna, represented by the archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Dr. Christoph Schönborn. Since the beginning of 2007, Maria Lanzendorf is administered by P. Michele Pezzini.

Maria Lanzendorf is one of the oldest places of christian pilgrimage in Austria. Its roots date back to early times and nobody knows, when the first sanctuary was built there. One legend even says, that St. Luke, the apostle, has preached here in the years 70, 71 or 77 a. C., and another tells us, that in 174 a. C. christian soldiers of the roman emperor Marcus Aurelianus had built a chapel there after their victory against rebellious marcomanic tribes who lived there. These, and some other legends and myths, were written down in baroque times (1703 by P. Franciscus Caccia and 1744 by an anonymous franciscan chronicler).

Historical fact is, that in documents of 1145 an old chapel is already mentioned, which was destroyed and rebuilt. That´s the oldest historic document. The church of today was built between 1699 and 1703 under the auspicies of the Habsburg emperor Leopold I. (1640 to 1705) and his third wife, empress Eleonore Magdalena Theresia (1655 to 1720) (main building) and between 1728 and 1731 (presbyterium). The old chapel which existed before was integrated as "Chapel of Mercy" into the baroque church. The baroque church is provided with famous works of Matthias Steinl (in about 1644 to 1727), Johann Michael Rottmayr (1654 to 1730) and the franciscan brother Vogel (18th century). The church is consecrated to the Pietá. The small statue of the pietá seen in the "Chapel of Mercy" is a work of Anton Fiechtl (in about 1700).

The ensemble is completed by the monastery, built between 1698 and 1707, which belonged up to 1990 to the franciscan order and since then up to now to the archdiocese of Vienna, and the "Kalvarienberg", an artificial hill showing the martyrs, the death, but also the resurection of Jesus Christ (Felix Niering, also Nüring; 1699 to 1709).

The parish of Maria Lanzendorf - Lanzendorf connects the two independent villages Maria Lanzendorf and Lanzendorf. It dates back to the time before 1395, the first document, where an already existing parish is mentioned. Since 1784 the parish exists in the form of today. Today, 2.206 catholics belong to the parish.