Activities

For over 50 years, the Association of Friends of Mariastein Monastery has provided both material and non-material support to the abbey and its pilgrimage site. It is a longstanding tradition and institution, offering financial assistance for the abbey’s restoration and structural maintenance.

The fortunes of the association are closely tied to those of the monastery. The aging and shrinking community of Benedictine monks has led to reflections on the future structure of the monastery, particularly regarding which tasks it can continue to undertake. This has also prompted the association to reconsider its own structure, with the primary focus on how to increase available funds. It is expected that the friends and patrons of the monastery will need to contribute a larger share toward the costs of the pilgrimage and construction projects. The association is ready to take on these challenges in close cooperation with the monastery. It currently has around 2,500 members.

The spirituality and great openness to pilgrims, who visit the Benedictine Monastery daily, characterise this place of pilgrimage and power to this day.

The association is happy to accept people of any denomination, as well as legal entities, into its ranks.

You can register here.

Completed projects

• Information point in the Church foyer, Monastery shop and Kreuz Monastery Hotel
• Renovation of the corridor in the Chapel of Mercy
• Restoration of the columns on the Monastery Square
• Renovation of the bells
• Renovation of the Basilica façade
• and more

Projects for the future

• Design of the Monastery Square meeting area
• Chairs for the church (replacement of the folding chairs)
• etc.