Our Lady of Mary Schutz

Marian vocation of Maria Schutz (Lower Austria)

According to the local traditionthe Marian devotion in this place is associated with graces received by intercession of the Virgin in the surroundings of the passage of the Semmering and to a water spring to which healing effects were attributed, especially in times of epidemics. This tradition was consolidating Mary's idea as special "Schutz" (protection) for the inhabitants of the region and for those who passed through this mountain area.

Main data

Origin and history

According to the local traditionthe Marian devotion in this place is associated with graces received by intercession of the Virgin in the surroundings of the passage of the Semmering and to a water spring to which healing effects were attributed, especially in times of epidemics. This tradition was consolidating Mary's idea as special "Schutz" (protection) for the inhabitants of the region and for those who passed through this mountain area.

As for the documented historythe sources indicate that the cures experienced during and around the epidemic of the 1679 moved the local population to build a first Pilgrimage chapel in this place. The current Baroque church of Maria Schutz was later built, which has more than 250 years receiving pilgrims and has become one of the most prominent shrines in the Semmering region. From 1925 the temple is also a conventual church of the sionast, being the only monastery of this congregation in Austria.

The image and the sanctuary

On the main altar of the church one will venerate a image of the Virgin Mary with the Child, described as a "beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary," located on the source of grace (Heiliges Bründl) located behind the main altar. The sources consulted do not safely require the material or the exact dating of the size, but emphasize its character. image of grace related to the spring. In some local contexts it is linked to the advocation of Maria Auxiliadora (Maria Schutz - "Maria Protector / Auxiliator"), but there is no official title other than that of the sanctuary itself.

The sanctuary is the Sanctuary of María Schutz (Church of pilgrimage of Mary Schutz), a temple of style baroque with two towers, known as a "jewel of the Semmering region." It is characterized by its magnificent main altar and its interior rich in sacred art, which highlights the Marian character of the place. Behind the altar is the “Holy Bründl”, the small spring to which he has traditionally come in search of comfort and help, very close to the fame of the sanctuary as a place of grace and healing. The set also includes a gruta de Lourdes at the end of a processional path that part of the church, prolonging the atmosphere of Marian prayer and pilgrimage.

Modern sources describe the temple as a "pilgrimage sanctuary" and as a "basilica" in a rather praiseworthy sense, but it does not consist of official sources that have received the legal title of minor basilica by the Holy See. Therefore, from a canonical point of view, no consta that sea basilica minor.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of Mary Schutz is especially venerated as of the Semmering region and of those who pass through this mountain pass, traditionally an important transit area between Styria and Lower Austria. The sanctuary is presented as a place where many have found comfort in diseases, family difficulties and situations of danger, strengthening the perception of Mary as protection of passengers and inhabitants from this alpine area.

No reliable references to an official appointment such as patron of a diocese, of the whole province of Lower Austria or of Austria at national level. Devotion has above all a character regional and destination of pilgrimage, very rooted in the surroundings of the Semmering.

On the canonical coronation of the image, the sources consulted (official tourist information from Lower Austria and Catholic articles) do not mention any decree or ceremony of canonical coronation granted by the Holy See or by pontifical delegation. Therefore, according to the available data, does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

The available sources do not explicitly indicate a main holiday date of the advocation of Mary Schutz. For example, there is no clear mention of a specific day of local Marian feast for this sanctuary, beyond the great Marian solemnities of the general liturgical calendar (such as the Nativity of the Virgin or the Assumption), which are certainly celebrated there with special solemnity, but without a unique date in the documentation consulted. Consequently, no consta with certainty the date of a feast of the advocation.

The place is described as a very visited pilgrimage sanctuary for over 250 years, both for their spiritual value and for their natural environment. Many pilgrims come to the church to pray to the image of the Virgin and drink or collect water from the "Heiliges Bründl"which is considered water of grace and comfort. "countless testimonies" of help and comfort obtained in this place are preserved, which feeds a simple and perseverant devotion, linked to the trust in the intercession of Mary in diseases, family difficulties and personal tests.

The presence of a procedural path which leads from the church to the gruta de Lourdes indicates the practice of Community processions and prayers in the open air, especially in time of Marian pilgrimages. The sanctuary has become a spiritual point of reference for hikers and travelers in the Semmering region, which often intercede the visit to Mary Schutz in his displacements.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not mention a specific and documented relationship of the advocation of Our Lady of Mary Schutz with the prayer of the Rosary (for example, a co-fraternity of the Rosary itself, a historic vow linked to the Rosary or a feast of the peculiar Rosary of the place). Therefore, no consta a particular historical link between this advocation and the Rosary beyond the general Marian spirituality of the sanctuary.

However, by its nature of Marian pilgrimage sanctuaryThe Rosary usually occupies a central place in the mercy of the faithful who come to Mary Schutz. Where Christians see the Virgin as Mother and Protector, the Rosary becomes in fact a school of trust and subsidiary abandonment: mystery after mystery, the main episodes of Christ's life with Mary are traveled, which illuminates the sense of suffering, disease and the dangers of the way, so present in the history of this sanctuary.

The presence of spring of grace y de la gruta de Lourdes It also strengthens a spirituality very close to that of other Marian shrines where the Rosary is the privileged prayer of pilgrims. In this way, even if there is no unique historical link, the Rosary naturally accompanies devotion to Our Lady of Mary Schutz, helping the faithful to welcome her as in the way of faith and on the journey of daily life.