FSSP Seminary at Buxheim Charterhouse

Here’s something that has been sitting in my “to do” file for while, partly because there are so many good photos in this set that it was really difficult to make a selection. This past December, the FSSP’s German seminary celebrated Mass on the Immaculate Conception at the Charterhouse of Buxheim, whose early 18th century church is famous for its incredibly elaborate Baroque choir stalls. (Buxheim is located in Memmingen, about 33 miles to the northeast of Wigratzbad, the home of the Priesterseminar St Petrus, both within the Bavarian diocese of Augsburg.) Since the German secularization (a fancy legal term for “theft”) of ecclesiastical properties in 1803, the Charterhouse has remained in use as a church, but not as a monastery; it is marvelous to see such a young community putting the choir back to the purpose for which it was built. (Photos reproduced by permission, courtesy of FSSP Wigratzbad; see the complete album by clicking here.)