Deadly floods in Central Europe damage famous monasteries, seminary

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CNA Newsroom, Sep 18, 2024 / 11:52 am

Severe flooding has ravaged large parts of Central Europe, claiming at least 20 lives as numerous Church institutions have suffered significant damage.

Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Romania have been particularly hard hit. Authorities and volunteers are racing against time to fortify flood defenses.

In Austria, the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz in the Vienna Woods, one of the world’s oldest continuously occupied Cistercian monasteries, was severely affected earlier this week. The stream on the monastery grounds burst its banks, flooding large parts of the area.

The Leopoldinum seminary, located on the same grounds and known for its role in priestly formation, also suffered massive damage.

“The damage is considerable,” Martin Leitner, director of the seminary, told CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, on Monday.

“All floors are destroyed, the cabinets in the refectory and breakfast room as well as all cabinets in the kitchen are soaked and need to be replaced.” A complete ground-floor renovation is “unavoidable,” Leitner added, noting that the full extent of the damage is still unknown.

Statue of Our Lady saved in Poland

In Poland, the historic Franciscan monastery in Klodzko was severely affected. The church interior and the entire ground floor of the baroque building were flooded.

“It was just five steps away from reaching the first floor,” monastery custodian Ignacy Szczytowski told OSV News in Polish, as reported by Domradio. He expressed gratitude that volunteers managed to save valuable items, including a baroque statue of the Virgin Mary, by moving them to higher floors.

The damage is expected to run to several million dollars.

The Polish city of Wroclaw is bracing for floodwaters that are expected to peak on Thursday. Volunteers and emergency personnel worked through the night, passing sandbags to fortify riverbanks and protect buildings.

Addressing a crisis meeting in Wroclaw, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “A lot happened tonight. We will need urgent information from those places that received high water,” Reuters reported.

In Hungary, authorities opened a dam in the northwest to channel water from the Lajta River into an emergency reservoir, protecting the city of Mosonmagyarovar, according to Reuters.

Pope Francis offers prayer for victims

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Pope Francis addressed the “tragic hardships” caused by the floods during his weekly general audience on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square.

“I assure everyone of my closeness, praying especially for those who have lost their lives and their families,” the pope said.

The Holy Father offered a prayer for the victims and encouraged local Catholic communities working to provide relief to those affected by the flooding.

Caritas has set up a nationwide flood hotline in Austria to provide swift assistance to those affected.

According to CNA Deutsch, Vienna’s telephone counseling service reported a significant increase in calls for help.

“Our staff are volunteering at the phones to be there as pastoral counselors for all those affected,” director Carola Hochhauser explained.

The counseling service is provided by both the Catholic Church and the Lutheran community in Austria’s capital.

AC Wimmer is founding Editor-in-Chief of CNA Deutsch. The multilingual Australian, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, held senior roles at Australia's SBS and served as editor-in-chief of the historic Münchner Kirchenzeitung. A graduate in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, Anian Christoph Wimmer — Chinese name 刘威猛 — sat on the jury of the Media Award of the German Bishops’ Conference, is a former Honorary Research Fellow in Communications at the University of Melbourne and served on the Board of Caritas in Munich.

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