07-022 German prayer cards

07-022
German prayer cards

If you are a Christian, you must have heard of Martin Luther. Or if you are familiar with world history, you should also know who he is. Martin Luther was born in 1483. He was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and Augustinian friar. He was also the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation.

However, during the time of the Reformation, Bavaria remained firmly Catholic. Catholic churches and cathedrals are everywhere in Bavaria. Many of them are famous tourist attractions, but all of them are still places for worship.

As I was in a city with so many Catholic churches around me, I definitely did not miss the chance to broaden my prayer card collection. But to my disappointment, I found that prayer cards are not common in Germany.

St. Peter’s Church of Munich

Right inside the city center of Munich is the Peterskirche, or St. Peter’s Church. Built in 1368, Peterskirche is Munich’s oldest parish church and also one of the oldest churches in Germany. Its tower (Alter Peter) offers panoramic views of Munich, and its treasured Baroque high altar is adorned with a golden figure of St. Peter.

Statue of St. Anthony inside Peterskirche

Today, Peterskirche is more of a tourist attraction. But the church also distributes prayer card. However, there is only one, a card devoted to St. Anthony. And it is not free. The church charges 25 Euro cents for one.

Prayer card of St. Anthony

Since the card is in folding design, I did not buy.

Church of the Holy Spirit, Munich

During my trip, I discovered additional prayer cards at the nearby Heilig-Geist-Kirche, also known as the Church of the Holy Spirit. Similar to Peterskirche, Heilig-Geist-Kirche houses a statue of St. Anthony. Additionally, prayer cards are positioned next to the votive candle stand. These cards were available for purchase at a cost of 10 euro cents each and did not have a folding design.

St. Anthony's statue inside Heilig-Geist-Kirche

Prayer cards of St. Anthony

Intrigued, I acquired one, and below, I’ve included an image of what the card looks like.

Prayer card of St. Anthony in German language

Like many other churches, Heilig-Geist-Kirche hands out religious pamphlets to visitors. And among them was a distinctive piece of card featuring a young man called “Seliger Carlo Acutis”.

Free pamphlets for visitors

I did not know who he was. I thought it was a church youth group invitation card and “Seliger” was one of their group leaders. Thanks to google, I then realized that the word “Seliger” actually means “Blessed”. Carlo Acutis was the name of the young man. The card was not a Bible study invitation card but a prayer card.

Prayer card of Blessed Carlo Acutis

Born in 1991, Carlo Acutis was an English-born Italian Catholic website designer. He was best known for documenting Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 15 due to leukemia.

Back side of Blessed Carlo Acutis prayer card

Miracles started to happen immediately after his death. In his funeral, Carlo’s body was said to have the odor of sanctity. Two women who attended his funeral were miraculously healed. Two days before the 14th anniversary of his death, Carlo was beatified by Pope Francis on 10 October 2020. He is now called “Apostel des Internets”, or “Apostle of the Internet”. The card asks for prayer for his canonization.

Translated by google camera

I have heard of St. Anthony. I have many of his prayer cards at home, in Italian, in English and in Chinese languages. There is also a church built under his name located very close to my living place. But I have not heard of Carlo. Canonizing a teenager website designer? Are you serious?

Anyway, I am happy to add some German prayer cards to my collection.

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