Funeral rooms in Vienna and Lower Austria: Places of memory and strength

Funeral rooms in Vienna and Lower Austria: Places of memory and strength

Time around All Saints' Day and All Souls is a phase of reflection and pausing for many people. It is often shaped by memories of deceased relatives who put in the foreground. For this reason, numerous parishes and church institutions in Austria offer expanded offers in the coming days to accompany people in their grief.

A special initiative is the mourning room in the Schottenstift in Vienna. The “Torture” of the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the “Talk Island” open the door to a place to retreat and pastoral accompaniment from October 31 to 6 p.m. (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Here mourners have the opportunity to exchange ideas on hiking days, walks and creative afternoons and to draw fresh strength.

funeral offers in Klosterneuburg and St. Pölten

In the Klosterneuburg Abbey, another mourning room is available, which was set up in cooperation with the St. Martin hospice. From 1st to 4th November (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.), visitors can calm down in the vault of the pen and come into conversation with volunteer grief attitudes. An impressive ritual is the tying of white ligaments on an olive tree that is a sign of reconciliation. Doris Zeillinger, coordinator of the St. Martin hospice, describes this as "a powerful symbol for healing and new beginning".

In addition, between October 31 and November 3 (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.), further opportunities for grief coping in the main cemetery open between October 31 and November 3. Gerti Ziselsberger, head of the mourning competence center, explains that the mourning room is supposed to be a place where people are easy, remember and sort their thoughts in peace.

In Lower Austria there are other funeral rooms, e.g. in the parish church of Niedernondorf (October 31st-2.11., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and the parish church of Purgstall (30.10.-8.11. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.). These easy access to mourning support offer people the opportunity to express their pain in a protected framework.

grief as a nationwide initiative

The Archdiocese of Salzburg has selected 17 locations, including churches and chapels that support people in their grief. From October 26 to November 15, these places are available for pausing and commemoration. Br. Alexander Schröter from the pastoral office explains that the funeral rooms should offer a platform to express grief and to carry the pain together. The atmosphere is characterized by quiet music, candles and sensitive words, and there are also ecumenical pastors ready for discussions.

in Tyrol there are also ways to express grief in various ways, especially around All Saints' Day. The hospice community in many Tyrolean villages opens its doors to mourners, which offers valuable support in this emotional phase. Further information can be found at www.hospiz-tirol.at The offer is rounded off by an exhibition of the Vorarlberg Hospice, which will open in the Dornbirn hospital on October 29. Under the title "Continuation does not follow, packing a suitcase for the last trip" invites the show to reflect on important life questions and symbolically look at the "last trip". The exhibition ends on November 17th and is accompanied by the hiking exhibition "Life to the end", which is reminiscent of the 30th anniversary of the Hospiz Vorarlberg.

These diverse and creative approaches to coping with grief show how important it is to create space for physical and mental expression. Mourning in community means sharing your own despair and perhaps to come across new ways of consolation.