Our Lady of Steinhausen

Patrona de Bad Schussenried’

La Steinhausen pilgrimage church (in German, generally cited as Pilgrimage church Steinhausen o Church of pilgrimage of Our Lady and parish of St. Peter and Paul) is located in Steinhausen, a district of Bad Schussenried, in Alta Suabia, state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The local tradition presents it as an important place of Marian pilgrimage, which is why the temple is popularly known as Our Lady's pilgrimage church in Steinhausen.

Main data

Origin and history

La Steinhausen pilgrimage church (in German, generally cited as Pilgrimage church Steinhausen o Church of pilgrimage of Our Lady and parish of St. Peter and Paul) is located in Steinhausen, a district of Bad Schussenried, in Alta Suabia, state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The local tradition presents it as an important place of Marian pilgrimage, which is why the temple is popularly known as Our Lady's pilgrimage church in Steinhausen.

From the point of view documented, modern sources above all highlight the artistic value of the building as one of the most beautiful pilgrimage churches in the world, the paradigm of the suabo rococo. It was built in the 18th century (it does not contain an exact date in the sources consulted) within the flowering of the pilgrimage shrines of Suabia, and combines parish function (St. Peter and St. Paul) with the function of the Marian sanctuary of Our Lady. A detailed historical narrative of the origin of the pilgrimage (foundational miracle, apparition or concrete event) has not been found in the accessible sources; therefore, no consta a precise and documented foundational history.

As regards tradition or legend, different pages of tourist and cultural dissemination refer to the place as a church of pilgrimage to the Virgin Mary from the Baroque era, but without offering concrete accounts of initial apparitions or miracles or citing verifiable historical sources. Since these elements are not supported by clear ecclesial or historiographic documentation, it must be said with rigour that does not contain a precise and well documented foundational tradition, beyond the continuity of the Marian devotion of the Suabos shrines since the Baroque era.

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The image and the sanctuary

The available sources describe the church mainly as a Rococo sanctuary of extraordinary decorative wealth, but offer very few specific data on the Marian image It's just that it's being venerated there. It does not contain a detailed description of the type of image (size, painting, relief), its specific material, style or iconography (for example, if it is a Virgin with Child, Dolorosa, Immaculate, etc.); therefore, from a strictly documented point of view, no consta the precise description of the image of Our Lady of Steinhausen.

However, there are clear data on the temple. The church is known as Church of pilgrimage of Our Lady and parish of St. Peter and Paul in Steinhausen, located in Bad Schussenried district, Alta Suabia. It is considered one of the most beautiful pilgrimage churches in the world, a sign of rococó suabowith an extremely bright interior architecture, covered decoration, fresh and a very unitary spatial conception, aspects that have made it famous in the history of art. It is not recorded in the consulted sources that the sanctuary has the title of minor basilicanor that it is officially recognized as a national sanctuary; therefore, it can only be said with certainty that it is regional / diocesan Marian pilgrimage church.

Nor does it contain, in the verified sources, a formal statement by the corresponding diocese on its specific canonical rank as "diocesan Marian sanctuary"; however, the stable use of the name "pilgrimage church" reflects a actual function of sanctuary for the faithful of the area.

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Sponsorship and coronation

In relation to the patronazgo, the sources consulted indicate that the temple is the Church of pilgrimage of Our Lady and parish of St. Peter and Paul in Steinhausen, which implies a double approach: on the one hand, the Virgin Mary as the focus of the Marian pilgrimage; on the other, St. Peter and St. Paul as parish headlines. There is no official proclamation of Our Lady of Steinhausen as patron of Bad Schussenried, of the diocese or of any wider civil entity; therefore, it can only be said that the Virgin is Marian titular of the local pilgrimage churchwithout a more extensive civil or diocesan patronage.

As regards a possible canonical coronationwith its corresponding decree and liturgical celebration, does not contain a documented canonical coronation in the sources consulted. No reference has been found to the year, pontiff or pontifical delegate who has presided over or authorized a solemn coronation of the image of Our Lady of Steinhausen; therefore, any statement in that regard would be speculative and, in rigour, cannot be formulated.

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Party and devotion

The sources focused on the architecture and art of the temple do not usually mention in detail the liturgical calendar of the Marian pilgrimage in Steinhausen. The date of a specific main party of Our Lady of Steinhausen (for example, a particular day of the year marked as a great Marian pilgrimage in historical character). It is to be assumed, by analogy with other Marian shrines of the region, that there are local celebrations linked to Marian parties of the Roman calendar (for example, Asunción, Natividad de María, etc.), but because they are not explicitly documented in the available sources, it must be strictly stated that no consta a date of feast of the advocation.

On the devotion and pilgrimagesthe very fact that the temple is designated in a stable way as Our Lady's pilgrimage church indicates the continued practice of pilgrimages of the faithful from the Baroque period to today. However, the sources consulted do not provide inflow figures (approximate number of pilgrims per year) or describe specific popular traditions (processions, promises, exvotes, etc.); therefore, no quantitative data or precise descriptions of devotional practices, beyond the general purpose of pilgrimaging to the sanctuary and participating in the liturgy.

It is reasonable to think that devotion is expressed mainly by the participation in the Eucharistthe prayer before the image of the Virgin and the reception of the sacraments, as is usual in the Marian shrines of Germany; but by not being explicitly described for Steinhausen in the verified sources, it can only be considered as a general context and not as a specific data of this advocation.

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Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted on the Steinhausen pilgrimage church do not specifically mention a particular association between this advocation and the prayer of the Rosary (for example, the Rosary's cofradies erected in the place, the Rosary's parties linked to the sanctuary or promises related to this Marian prayer). Therefore, with the degree of rigour required, it must be said that there is no specific and documented link between Our Lady of Steinhausen and the Rosary.

However, in the Catholic tradition, all Marian sanctuary It is naturally a privileged place for the prayer of the Rosary. Where the faithful pilgrim into an image of the Virgin, they often meditate on the mysteries of the life of Christ from the hand of Mary, whether in a personal or community way. In a sanctuary like Steinhausen, whose artistic beauty is at the service of the liturgy and the contemplation of the mysteries of faith, the Rosary is presented as a very appropriate form of prayer:

– ayuda a to contemplate Christ with the eyes of Mary, – acompaña la peregrinación como camino interior de conversión y confianza