The resettlement of the South Tyrolean monastery Säben is becoming more concrete. The Austrian Cistercian abbey of Heiligenkreuz Abbey near Vienna wants to send four confreres to Säben for a few weeks this year in order to be able to re-examine the agreement in detail and then make a final decision, quotes the news agency Kathpress (Friday). a joint release by the Abbey and Diocese of Bozen-Brixen.
With the departure of the last two Benedictine nuns from Säben in 2021, the monastery was entrusted to the Diocese of Bozen-Brixen. For several months she had been in talks with the leadership of Heiligenkreuz Abbey about a possible branch. Abbot Maximilian Heim emphasized that a possible foundation in Säben must be considered carefully. “In recent decades, our monastery has already founded two priories in German-speaking countries: Bochum-Stiepel in the Ruhr area (1988) and Neuzelle in Brandenburg (2018), both still dependent on the parent abbey of Heiligenkreuz.
Until around the year 1000, Säben was the episcopal seat of the diocese of Sabonia, from which the present-day diocese of Bozen-Brixen emerged. In the 17th century the buildings already in ruins were rebuilt and a Benedictine monastery was built. The monastery remained under the control of the Bishop of Brixen for centuries, which is why it has now been returned to the diocese. 100 years ago, 80 nuns lived in the monastery grounds near Klausen, in the middle of the Eisack Valley, before occupancy drastically declined in recent decades due to deaths and childlessness. (KNA)