The monastic community follows the example of Jesus with his disciples and the early church. Christ is the true head of the monastic community. In faith, they see the abbot as the vicar of Christ in the monastery. In his leadership role, he has assumed a spiritual fatherhood.
The monks dedicate time to God, regularly setting aside hours for communal worship. Through prayer, God sanctifies people. In keeping with ancient tradition, the Psalms play a central role in this form of prayer.
The atmosphere of silence and reflection is distinctly monastic. A monk must first find inner stillness, so that he can be fully present for God and for others.
Monastic life
The monastery is a place of work and diverse activities, all guided by a healthy daily rhythm. Work is both a necessary service to the community and a means of participating in God’s ongoing work of creation and salvation.
The monk does not live in a life partnership. Celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is a precious gift of grace. Together with chastity of body and mind, it frees the heart for undivided love of Christ and for love of all people.
The monk sets an example and bears witness: he believes in eternal life and can therefore do without purely earthly values such as wealth.
Under the chairmanship of the President of the Swiss Benedictine Congregation, Abbot Vigeli Monn from Disentis, the monks of the Benedictine monastery of Mariastein SO elected Father Ludwig Rudolf Ziegerer as Abbot of their monastery for a term of office of six years on June 18, 2025.
Abbot Ludwig, born in Maienfeld in 1956, graduated from the teacher training college in Chur and worked as a teacher in Graubünden for eight years. In 1985, he joined the Benedictine monastery in Mariastein. He completed his theological studies in Chur and Jerusalem with a licentiate. He was ordained a priest in 1992. Since then, he has taken on various roles within the monastic community, including prior (deputy to the abbot), novice master and leader of the pilgrimage. Outside the monastery, Abbot Ludwig worked as a teacher of religion, as a pastor in the Solothurn Leimental pastoral area and on various church and diocesan committees.
Inspired by the ideas of Viktor E. Frankl, he completed a training programme in logotherapy in 2013.
The Mariastein community currently (summer 2025) has 12 monks.
Standing from left to right Subprior Br. Martin Maria Planzer, Abbot Ludwig Ziegerer, Fr. Lukas Schenker (former abbot), Fr. Peter von Sury (former abbot), Prior Fr. Armin Russi, Fr. Markus Bär, Br. Stefan Kurmann, Fr. Leonhard Sexauer, Fr. Norbert Cueni
Seated from left to right Fr. Nikolaus Gisler, Fr. Augustin Grossheutschi, Fr. Ignaz Loyola Hartmann (†, 2025), Br. Anton Abbt (†, 2025), Fr. Notker Strässle (†, 2024)