Pilgrimage Church of St. Gallus

Pilgrimage has a tradition of more than 600 years in Heiligenbronn. The pilgrimage church of St. Gallus, however, was only consecrated in 1873 - it is built in the simple Franciscan style. A lightning strike in 1869 had damaged the former pilgrimage church so badly that it had to be demolished. But the then pastor and founder of the Franciscan convent of Heiligenbronn, David Fuchs, was not discouraged by this setback.The central component of the pilgrimage church of St. Gallus is the carved wooden image of the Sorrowful Mother of God, which had already been erected in 1442. In the crypt under the image of grace flows the "Holy Spring", still today a symbol of the source of life. Pilgrims, both sick and devout, have been making pilgrimages to this spring since the middle of the 14th century because they hope it will have a healing effect. Motif panels at the entrance to the crypt bear witness to the belief in Mary's intercession.The church interior is characterised by the wood sculpture work of Karl Rieber, professor at the Munich Art Academy. The oak carving of the Last Supper dominates the high altar and the church. Rieber also created the depictions on the altar of the Chapel of Grace and the design for the half-relief of St. Anthony. The Madonna on the left side altar is the former image of grace from the Urspring monastery near Schelklingen. The Chapel of Grace features fresco paintings by the deaf artist Paul Hirt, who also designed the stained glass windows of the church's chancel.The pilgrimage church of St. Gallus is the centre of Heiligenbronn Monastery. In 1856, the founder of the order, David Fuchs, had an orphanage built near the church to "provide shelter and a home for orphaned, neglected hearing and visually impaired children". He entrusted the management to sisters of the Third Franciscan Order. In 1935, the community of Franciscan Sisters had reached a peak of 323 professed sisters. Since 1991, the St. Francis Foundation has been responsible for the many different social services in the Heiligenbronn district.