We hurried down the Karntner Strasse toward the Stephansdom at the center of Vienna. On this December Sunday, we wanted to make the church services at the famous cathedral, something we only get to attend once a year. Rounding the corner to the Stephansplatz, the call to worship bells started chiming. These are pleasant smaller bells meant to hurry your steps. We hurry some more. As we round the corner of the Dom, the deep tones of Saint Mary’s Pummerin bell started ringing the hour. We arrived at the ancient doors on the west side just as the bells stopped. The usual crowd of tourists crowded the door and vestibule and the roped off end of the nave. To get to the seats for services one has to get through the tourists and around the end of the demarcation rope passing the ushers. The two ushers saw us coming and made a way for us, we were clearly dressed for church. Letting us through the roped off gate, they directed us to the rear seats at the far side. The church was full with 800 worshipers or more. We quickly seated ourselves where we could see the pulpit hundreds of feet away. The bearded vagrant who is there every year was crouched in the center aisle with his rucksack full of , what appears to be, old post cards of Vienna. He is obviously a Roman Catholic and carefully follows all the procedures of the lengthy service. He knows when to stand and when to genuflect. No one bothers him at all. At different times he shuffles through his cards and lays one or two on the floor. This is obviously significant to him. I watch him for clues.
The priest begins with the aid of several adjuncts. He speaks in Hochdeutsch with some Latin thrown in where appropriate. There are a few loudspeakers attached to the huge columns toward the front, but the worshipers are too many and the tourists make too much noise behind us, so it is very difficult to hear. But I know what he is reading from the scriptures so I can just follow along. There are a few hymns and we can both sing those, in German.
Incense permeates the air, drifting up and up toward the stained glass windows high above. The Spirit of God moves through the congregation touching hearts everywhere. This beautiful 1000 year old dom has soaked it up for so many years, and is now letting it out.
Church services end in an hour, and we have the opportunity to take the Eucharist, or Sacrament as we term it, but we do not. This is not our church and we are not Catholics, but we do take the opportunity to greet our fellow worshipers as is traditional in Catholic churches everywhere. We make our way back to the main doors and pass from the dim recesses of antiquity to bright modernity outside. A bit dazzled, always satisfied.
We have attended numerous religious services in Europe, including at our own church in Norway and Switzerland. Some services have the spirit in attendance, some do not. All the buildings are beautiful. I recommend reading about Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, or the Stephansdom.
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