Monday, March 19, 2007
Looking for Monks and Nuns in the New Millennium - Der Spiegel
German monasteries and convents are going gray. Hardly anyone wants to become a monk or nun these days. Paradoxically, though, more and more laypeople are seeking temporary refuge behind the cloister walls. But how much of the outside world can the religious orders take?
... Brother Werner is the master tailor at the Benedictine monastery of Beuron in the Danube River valley. His brightly-lit workshop occupies the second floor of a recently renovated building dating back to the 16th century. Here he sews cassocks and the full range of liturgical vestments. The monk's reputation as a gifted tailor has spread far and wide; he was once even summoned to Jerusalem.
Brother Werner is 72 years old - 54 of which were spent behind the monastery walls in remote Beuron. The village lies somewhere between Sigmaringen and Tuttlingen, in a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by steep limestone walls, at a bend forged by the headwaters of the Danube. His life could not have been happier, the monk proclaims. And that's why the Benedictine monk is still "in love" - with his monastery, his order and his faith.
Sister Scholastika serves as a sort of all-purpose manager at the Arenberg convent, which is nestled on a breezy hill near Koblenz. The dynamic 41-yearold is part of the order's directorate. She both looks after the novices - i.e. new nuns - and acts as a spiritual escort for guests. Anyone wanting to talk about their faith can come to her. And many do.
"More and more people sense an inner void and are looking for something more to their lives," says Sister Scholastika, a former grammar school teacher. "We don't offer instant happiness, but we do offer spiritual encounters." The Dominican nun with the easy laugh talks about how her faith came alive, how she suddenly "felt touched." Today she is sure: "God loves me." ...
German monasteries and convents are going gray. Hardly anyone wants to become a monk or nun these days. Paradoxically, though, more and more laypeople are seeking temporary refuge behind the cloister walls. But how much of the outside world can the religious orders take?
... Brother Werner is the master tailor at the Benedictine monastery of Beuron in the Danube River valley. His brightly-lit workshop occupies the second floor of a recently renovated building dating back to the 16th century. Here he sews cassocks and the full range of liturgical vestments. The monk's reputation as a gifted tailor has spread far and wide; he was once even summoned to Jerusalem.
Brother Werner is 72 years old - 54 of which were spent behind the monastery walls in remote Beuron. The village lies somewhere between Sigmaringen and Tuttlingen, in a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by steep limestone walls, at a bend forged by the headwaters of the Danube. His life could not have been happier, the monk proclaims. And that's why the Benedictine monk is still "in love" - with his monastery, his order and his faith.
Sister Scholastika serves as a sort of all-purpose manager at the Arenberg convent, which is nestled on a breezy hill near Koblenz. The dynamic 41-yearold is part of the order's directorate. She both looks after the novices - i.e. new nuns - and acts as a spiritual escort for guests. Anyone wanting to talk about their faith can come to her. And many do.
"More and more people sense an inner void and are looking for something more to their lives," says Sister Scholastika, a former grammar school teacher. "We don't offer instant happiness, but we do offer spiritual encounters." The Dominican nun with the easy laugh talks about how her faith came alive, how she suddenly "felt touched." Today she is sure: "God loves me." ...
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