Altötting Photographs (1)

This picture shows a classic view of the Chapel of Grace (in the centre) and surrounding churches. The nave and its spire were added to the Chapel after the first miracles in the 1400s to accomodate the first groups of pilgrims. The large church to the right is the Collegiate church of Saints Philip and James, which is served by a chapter of canons who are priests of the Diocese of Munich and Freising. The church with the dome, to the left of the Chapel, was built by the Jesuits. It is dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalen. After the supression of the Jesuits in the eighteenth century, it was in the care of the Knights of Malta and then the Redemptorists. It is now in the care of the Capuchins. The building to the left of this church is the so-called Congregation Hall, built for the use of the Jesuit “Congregation” or Sodality of Our Lady.

This is a picture of the Collegiate Church (Stiftskirche) taken from the inside of the cloister. The tower-like chapel in the foreground is the burial place of the canons, whosr bodied are inserted into the wall on the lower level.

In the cloister there are a number of scenes from the Passion of Christ; the figures are about half life-size.

This figure of Christ is in a chapel off the cloister; there is also a chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Opposite the Collegiate is this fine building which houses the pilgrimage office, the parish centre and the residence of the parish clergy. There is a similar, but slightly older, house beside it for the canons.

The Pieta figure in front of the parish house is a war memorial for the people of the town of Altötting.

This picture shows the interior of the “Congregation Hall”; it’s a long way from the Confraternity Room in Mount Argus (-for those who know it).

One of the numerous representations of Our Blessed Lady in the “Congregation Hall”

This bronze of Pope John Paul II on the outside of the “Congregation Hall” recalls his visit to Altötting in 1980