Silent Night Chapel -- Oberndorf, Salzburg, Austria

Destination: The Christmas song “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night”) may have put the town of Oberndorf, Austria, on the map, but it’s the chapel memorializing the beloved carol that is the town’s main attraction.

Best seen blanketed in snow, the small octagonal-shaped chapel, just 13 miles from Salzburg, is a tourist destination any time of year.

Photo: The Silent Night Chapel is best seen blanketed in snow. (CNS photo/courtesy www.stillenacht.com)

Why to go: With a storied past, the song plays a key role in a small Alpine town, a brief ceasefire during World War I and a beloved local debut.

The poem of “Silent Night” was written in 1816 by Father Joseph Mohr while living in Mariapfarr, Austria. The song, with music written by Francis Xavier Gruber, made its debut Dec. 24, 1818, at St. Nikola Church. The church’s organ was broken, so Father Mohr played guitar while he and the parish organist Gruber sang. 

The Silent Night Chapel marks the site where St. Nikola Church stood before floods in the 1890s. Construction on the memorial chapel began in 1924 and it was completed  Aug. 15, 1937, the feast of the Assumption.

On Christmas Eve in 1914, during World War I, the song prompted a cease-fire as French and British troops faced off against German troops in Flanders, Belgium. “Silent Night” was the only carol they all knew. The soldiers met briefly to sing, play games and trade goods.

The town is very walkable; check out the Salzach River, the Silent Night Post Office and more. Depending on when you visit, you can go to the Christmas Market starting in mid-November.

You can also take in the sights and sounds of the Silent Night Chapel without stepping on a plane. Hear “Silent Night” being sung in the chapel at bit.ly/3WpnvTV and view a 360-degree panorama for “Stille Nacht Kapelle Oberndorf” at https://www.salzburgerland.com/de/stille-nacht-kirchen-360-panorama/

When to go: If you’re planning a Christmas visit (and are ready to brave crowds), make sure to get to the chapel by 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Since 1953, the chapel has commemorated the song with an annual performance. 

Admission: There is no admission fee, though the Silent Night Museum nearby has a gift shop with Christmas ornaments, books and postcards. 

Accessibility: The chapel is reached by steps and sits on a slight (non-fenced) hill. With another person’s help, those using wheelchairs or strollers may be able to visit.

(Grand) Kid friendly: Of course! You may want to check with the museum beforehand if your little ones want to sing inside, though. 

Info: Address — Stille Nacht-Platz 1, 5110 Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria  

Phone — +43 6272 4422 

Website — https://www.stillenacht.com/

— By Ann Augherton, OSV News. Send Destination ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org

Virtual Visits Catholic Holy Sites Online

(CNS photo/Debbie Hill) 

 Destination:  There are several places important to Catholics that are offering some kind of virtual visit or live streaming service. Many of these online sites are also appealing for donations since lockdowns and restrictions have seriously reduced a major source of income from pilgrimages and tourism.

Online Masses may be available at some of these places. Check the individiual websites.

Photo: A worshipper wearing a protective mask lights a candle as she visits the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City May 26, 2020, the day it reopened after being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Where to go: 

• The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land oversees 55 sanctuaries in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan. Visitors at www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries can get a more in-depth look at these sacred places, especially the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus’s tomb, in Jerusalem.

• The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal offers a livestream of the chapel and live daily broadcasts of praying the rosary and Mass at www.fatima.pt/en/pages/online-transmissions. The same link also provides a gallery of pictures, videos and “sounds,” including an audio library of Marian hymns.

• The website of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi offers a huge list of online opportunities, all in Italian, but still visually enriching, like a livestream of the tomb of St. Francis with an option of sending a prayer petition at www.sanfrancescopatronoditalia.it/web-cam-cripta-di-san-francesco-assisi and a livestream of daily Mass in the basilica at www.sanfrancescopatronoditalia.it/messa-diretta-streaming-oggi.

There is a 360-degree virtual tour of the basilica at www.sanfrancescopatronoditalia.it/basilica/ and of the tomb at www.sanfrancescopatronoditalia.it/visita-virtuale-tomba-san-francesco/. The 13th-century basilica had to be painstakingly restored, including its frescoes by Giotto, after a devastating earthquake in 1997.

• While a special online exposition of the Shroud of 

Turin was held April 11 for prayer and contemplation during the coronavirus epidemic, the recorded event, with commentary in English, can still be found online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7BmsSE_4Wk.

Accessibility: Everything is accessible online.  

(Grand) Kid friendly: Watch along with them.

Info: See websites with locations in descriptions.

— Carol Glatz, CNS; Sharon Boehlefeld compiled this story.

Send Destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org

‘Friars on Foot’ - New Orleans, La. to Memphis, Tenn.

(CNS photo)

Destination: For Dominican Fathers Francis Orozco and Thomas Schaefgen (shown in the illustration above), a 478-mile, one-month pilgrimage actually began May 29 after the 11 a.m. Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Orleans. The pilgrimage will end June 29 at St. Peter Church in Memphis, the National Shrine of St. Martin de Porres. For the rest of us, it will be a virtual journey on line.
Why to go: The idea of making a walking pilgrimage in the United States took root about four years ago when Dominican Fathers Francis Orozco and Thomas Schaefgen were studying together for the priesthood.
They saw the movie, “The Way,” featuring Martin Sheen, who portrayed a father honoring his late son’s memory by completing the 450-mile Camino de Santiago, the “Way of St. James,” a pilgrimage route across Spain taken for centuries by pilgrims.
“We had both studied abroad in Spain, but we thought, why don’t we do something more local, something in this country?” said Father Orozco, chaplain of the Catholic Student Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “We looked up places, and there really weren’t any established pilgrimages in the U.S., so we said, ‘Let’s make up our own.’”
The friars will carry no money and hope others will join them for a few hours to pray or discuss the faith. They plan to stay overnight at churches along the way. Most will be Catholic, but in two Tennesee towns, they may stay at Protestant churches.
“We will have a pilgrim rule, and part of it will be to the pray the rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours every day, but that won’t take up the entire time,” Father Orozco said. “If there are people with us, we can talk about whatever they would like to talk about.”
Walking along interstate highways is prohibited, so the route will basically track Highway 51 north to Memphis.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Sure, they may even be able to help you follow the friars online.
Info: Twitter— @friarsonfoot
Facebook — Friars on Foot
Blog — https://friarsonfoot.wordpress.com/ 
— Compiled by Sharon Boehlefeld from CNS  information
Send Destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org