Tholey Abbey

Tholey Abbey (German: Abtei Tholey) in Tholey, in the district of Sankt Wendel in Saarland, is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Maurice. It is part of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation.

Tholey Abbey
Abtei Tholey
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Benedictines
Patron:Saint Maurice
Location:Tholey, Saarland, Germany
Date of Foundation:5th-6th century
Style:mixed, Gothic - Contemporary
First Abbot:Paulus (Bishop of Verdun)
Current Prior Administrator:Mauritius Choriol

History

As early as the 5th and 6th centuries a group of clerics had established themselves here in the Roman ruins. On the instructions of Magnerich, bishop of Trier from 566 to 600, these hermits formed themselves into monastic communities. One of the earliest of such communities, at the foot of the Schaumberg, is said to have had Saint Wendelin as its head, who is thus counted by tradition as the first abbot of Tholey.

The Benedictine history of Tholey is thought to have begun in about 750. At the end of the 15th century the abbey joined the Bursfelde Congregation.

In 1794 during the French Revolution the abbey was plundered and burnt down, and dissolved the same year. In 1798 the remaining buildings were auctioned off. In 1806 they became the property of the municipality, as the parish church and priest's house.

The present abbey was established by the Benedictines in 1949 and settled in 1950 by monks from St. Matthias' Abbey, Trier. The monks work in pastoral care and run the guesthouse and book shop. As of 2020, thirteen works work at and reside in the monastery.[1]

In 2020, the abbey installed stained glass windows created and gifted by German artist Gerhard Richter.[2]

Abbots since 1949
1949 - 1976 Dr. Petrus Borne
1977 - 1981 Hrabanus Heddergott
1985 - 2007 Makarios Hebler
2008 - up to now Mauritius Choriol (Prior Administrator)

References
  1. Kate Brown, Rural German Monks Hope Their Abbey’s New Gerhard Richter-Designed Stained Glass Windows Will Help Convert Art Lovers to the Church, Artnet (Mar. 9, 2020), https://news.artnet.com/art-world/richter-tholey-abbey-window-1795800
  2. Kate Brown, Rural German Monks Hope Their Abbey’s New Gerhard Richter-Designed Stained Glass Windows Will Help Convert Art Lovers to the Church, Artnet (Mar. 9, 2020), https://news.artnet.com/art-world/richter-tholey-abbey-window-1795800
  • Manfred, Peter, 2005. Der heilige Wendelin - Die Geschichte eines faszinierenden Lebens. Otzenhausen: Verlag Burr. ISBN 3-9806866-5-5

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