Kaiserslautern: Maria Schutz

1928 – 1929

Architect: Hans Seeberger

Bismarckstraße 63, Kaiserslautern, Germany

The Gelöbniskirche Maria Schutz is a Roman Catholic parish and pilgrimage church and a Minorite monastery church in Kaiserslautern.

It was built from 1928 to 1929 according to plans by architects Hans and Fritz Seeberger.

Historical Background

Bishop Michael Faulhaber of Speyer made a vow at the outbreak of the First World War on August 2, 1914, which led to the construction.

He promised to build a church in honor of Maria Schutz if the Palatinate were spared severe destruction.

Faulhaber’s successor, Bishop Ludwig Sebastian, fulfilled the promise with the help of numerous donations from the diocese.

The church was consecrated on October 20, 1929, and the Minorites took over its care.

Prior to that, the Minorites had built the convent buildings on the land acquired by the Kirchenbauverein Sankt Antonius for the church and convent in 1926/27.

Building

The foundation stone for the church was laid on June 10, 1928. It was consecrated one year later.

The church is a three-nave basilica with a double-tower façade made of brick and sandstone.

Narrow, slit-like blind arches divide the tower facades. The original pointed spires were destroyed during World War II and replaced with flat pyramidal roofs.

The sculptures of St. Michael the Archangel, St. Mary, and St. Louis above the portal were created by the sculptor Simon Höpfel.

Inside, the nave has a flat roof, and the coffered ceiling was added after the war.

Narrow lancet windows with pointed arches illuminate the central nave.

The apse, with its expressive pointed arches rising from the floor, frames an image of the Virgin of Mercy. On the right and left beneath Mary’s mantle, Bishops Michael von Faulhaber and Ludwig Sebastian can be seen.

The church suffered severe damage during World War II in 1944. Restoration began in 1947.

Columbarium

In December 2021, the church was given a columbarium.

During a pontifical Mass, the new urn walls were blessed and put to their intended use.

Prior to that, the worship space was renovated and redesigned during a six-month remodeling phase.

The architectural firm Bayer und Uhrig from Kaiserslautern drew up the plans for the columbarium and the redesign in consultation with the parish of Maria Schutz.

The columbarium is located in the two flat-roofed side aisles. The ten chapels can accommodate 1,320 urns.