Altötting is a city in Bavaria with around 13,000 inhabitants and the most famous pilgrimage site in Bavaria. The city is a pilgrimage destination for two reasons. It is the home of a statue of the Virgin Mary, at which there were many prayers heard and people cured by the intercession of the Virgin Mary. It was also the place where Saint Conrad of Parzham (Brother Konrad) worked as a porter of the local Capuchin monastery.
The chapel
The Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of Pilgrimage) is found at the center of the main square.
The first written record of the chapel dates back to 877, meaning it was already standing at that time, and it was expanded in the 15th century.
The pilgrimage
In 1489, a three year-old boy drowned in Altötting. His mother put him on the altar of the chapel and prayed fervently with others. The boy came back to life.
That same year, a six-year-old boy fell under a cart and was run over. The boy was near death, but they called upon the Mother of God for help, and by the next day he was healthy again. These miracles made Altötting famous.
Altötting became a pilgrimage destination and many people recorded that God heard their prayers through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. It became a tradition that people who had their prayers miraculously heard created little images/paintings/drawings with a short message of thanks and their name or initials.
Taking a closer look at the different images placed on the wall is well worth it. There are around 2000 images placed around the walls of the chapel, both inside and outside.
The statue
The statue called the „Schwarze Madonna“ (“Black Madonna”) is made out of lindenwood and is 64-66 cm high. It was made around 1330 in France and became black through exposure to soot from candles.
Bruder Konrad Kirche
The church was built under the name “St. Anna” from 1654 until 1657. The church was used by the Capuchins ever since, and this is the church where St. Brother Konrad attended Mass with his fellow friars. In 1953, the Sacred Congregation of Rites permitted the name change from St. Anna to St. Konrad. (pdf 7) The church was renovated 2017-2018.
Attached to the church is the Capuchin monastery, where Brother Konrad lived. Although large parts of the monastery were demolished and rebuilt during the years 1959-1961 and 2006-2008, the room of St. Konrad and the original monastery gate were kept. There is also a small museum-like room, where visitors can learn about the life of St. Konrad.
The tomb of St. Conrad is found behind the Novus Ordo altar.
There are seven beautiful glass windows depicting the life of St. Conrad in this church.
Stiftspfarrkirche
The Parish Church of St. Philip and St. James (Stiftspfarrkirche St. Philippus und Jakobus) was completed in the form existing today between 1499 and 1511. The original church was built in the 9th century.
It was renovated and remodeled various times over the following centuries. One of the highlights of the church is a cloister in the back of the church.
Basilica St. Anna
The basilica is one of the biggest churches in Bavaria: it is 83 meters long and 27,5 meters wide. It was built between 1910 and 1912 and was named “basilica minor” by Pope Saint Pius X the next year. The main reason for the construction was to accommodate the large numbers of pilgrims coming into the city.
St. Magdalena
This church has a varied history, with various religious orders operating it, starting with the Jesuits. The Sacrament of Confession and the blessing of religious items are offered in the church.
Traditional Latin Mass in the city
This church is about 250 meters from the center and less people seem to go there, but there is a TLM offered by the Institute of Christ the King (ICK) there. About 200 meters from the St. Anna Church, the SSPX also operates has a chapel.
The main square
The main square in Altötting is where most visitors go.
Since “Benedict XVI” was born in the town of Marktl, only about 15 kilometers from Altötting, he is commemorated at various places in the city. He is commemorated with a statue on the main square. A small square to the east of the main square, as well as a museum, are named after him.
The train station
Altötting has a train station on the the non-electrified Mühldorf-Burghausen line (RB 42). The trains on the line are generally somewhat older and tend to be crowded around holidays and weekends.
The shops
Around the main square of the city, around the chapel and on the street toward St. Konrad, there are various shops selling religious items like rosaries, St. Benedict medals, candles etc.
Saint Brother Konrad
Altötting is known not only for the pilgrimages and the miracles connected with Our Lady of Altötting, but also for a saint, who lived there.
The following part is based on the book “Die Heiligen des Kapuzinerordens” (“The Saints of the Capuchin Order”), published 1976 by the Capuchin priest Edelbert Lindner.
Brother Konrad was born under the name Johann Birndorfer on December 22, 1818 in Parzham, Bavaria into a family of farmers. He was the second youngest of 12 children Given that four of their children have died young, the father took the baby to the priest the same night to have him baptized.
When “Hans” (a German short form name for Johannes) went to school, he loved to pray the rosary on his way there. He got excellent grades. When he was a teenager, he lost his parents.
He entered seven different fraternities during his twenties. Johann also entered the Franciscan Third Order in Altötting at age 23. Konrad’s németben is, mert még Johannes, nem Konrad. His siblings urged him to take over the family farm. He worked as a farmer for a few years, but he felt more and more the call of God to the religious life.
In 1849, at the age of 31, Johann entered the monastery as a lay brother and got the name “Konrad”. During his novitiate, he was assigned to assist the gardener at the monastery in Laufen.
After he took his vows, he was assigned as the porter at the monastery in Altötting. Many were surprised, since that job was usually given to friars who had some experience already.
Konrad handed out bread and soup to the poor people of the area. He was very generous to the poor, especially to the poor children. There was always enough bread on hand. Konrad said: “Was man den Armen gibt, kommt alles wieder herein.” (“What you give to the poor comes back to you.”) (p. 325)
When Konrad was a novice, he wrote down the following promise: “I will strive to preserve brotherly love in myself and in others. I will take great care never to speak a word that goes against love. I will patiently bear with the faults, shortcomings, and weaknesses (of others), unless it is my duty to bring them to the attention of the one who can correct them (namely, the superior).” (p. 334)
Konrad received Holy Communion daily, which was at that time an extraordinary privileg. He prayed for many hours each day, so much so that sometimes his superiors had to order him to get more rest.
Konrad had at various times shown, that God had given him the gift of prophecy. For example, he once told a young man (Johann von Gott Winterl) visiting the monastery that he will become a priest one day. The man ran out, because he was studying medicine and intended to marry. However, it happened exactly as Brother Konrad predicted: he became a priest and a theologian.
Konrad died on April 21, 1894, with his last words being „Wie Gott will“ (“As God wills”).
St. Konrad canonized
After Konrad’s death, many people agreed that he was a saint and that he should be beatified. The beatification process started in 1912 and successfully concluded on June 15, 1930, with Pope Pius XI presiding over the ceremony. He was canonized four years later, on May 20, 1934, by the same pope.
The doctor of the monastery testified in the beatification process: “I was often privileged to observe the servant of God amidst the throng of pilgrims and the poor who sought food and drink, and to admire how this small, stooped, and increasingly frail brother carried out his arduous duties with unfailing kindness, astonishing patience, and incredible perseverance. […] It was not uncommon for him to be summoned two hundred times a day. A hundred times it was always good Brother Konrad who opened the monastery gate for me with a friendly smile and the same touching humility. And just as he did with me, so he behaved toward all who knocked at the gate. He never wanted to be ill, so that he might carry out his beloved vocation, and he dragged himself on until the increasing frailty of old age and shortness of breath forced the faithful servant of God onto his deathbed.” (p. 322)
He is currently buried in the St. Konrad Capuchin Church (Kapuzinerkirche St. Konrad). When there is no Mass (or at least the modern German version of the “Mass”), pilgrims can walk around the tomb of Brother Konrad. The monastery was renamed St. Konrad Monastery in 1961.