30 Years as Vienna’s Archbishop: Cardinal Schönborn Bids Farewell

30 Years as Vienna’s Archbishop: Cardinal Schönborn Bids Farewell

APA/FLORIAN WIESER

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn was bid farewell on Saturday at a thanksgiving service in St. Stephen’s Cathedral after nearly 30 years as Archbishop of Vienna. During the service, he was honored by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen as the “Pontifex Austriacus.” In his sermon, Schönborn appealed for “a heart for refugees” and emphasized “the good coexistence of religions” in Austria. Schönborn will turn 80 on January 22, at which point the Pope is expected to formally accept his resignation.

The service in St. Stephen’s Cathedral was attended by around 3,000 people, including Van der Bellen, who was celebrating his 81st birthday on Saturday, and Federal Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP). Representatives from the two federal states that are united in the Archdiocese of Vienna were present, including State Governors Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) and Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP).

A Heart for Refugees “Belongs to Humanity”

In his sermon, Schönborn reminded the congregation that he himself had come to Austria as a refugee in 1945 as a toddler. Austria had since become his home. “I see with gratitude how year after year people—like I once was—find security, work, and often a new life here.” These people, despite the inevitable tensions, enrich the country and shape its future. A look at the demographics of Austria and Europe should make it clear that this will not change in the future. “Living in peace is not a given. Having a heart for refugees belongs to humanity. It could also become our destiny.”

He praised Austria’s religious legislation, which enables good coexistence among religions. However, he expressed disillusionment with people’s knowledge of foreign religions, but also their own. “We are approaching a widespread religious illiteracy.” Nonetheless, he remained optimistic: religious illiteracy could also be an opportunity for a new search for meaning and a rediscovery of faith.

Schönborn Hopes for “Goodwill”

Schönborn’s “greatest wish,” he stated at the end, was that “mutual goodwill should never be lost, even when we have conflicts with one another.” If it is true that God is love—”then He can only be goodwill.” In the face of so much hardship, suffering, and hatred, when asked where God is, he said: “He is in our goodwill that we offer each other.”

Van der Bellen noted that despite differing views on certain issues, there has been a good relationship between the traditionally separate institutions of church and state. It is not a given that, as Federal President and also a Protestant, he was able to speak at Schönborn’s farewell service. He recalled the “Groer affair,” the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, which marked the beginning of Schönborn’s tenure.

With the establishment of the Archdiocese of Vienna’s ombudsman for victims of sexual abuse in the Church, followed later by the Independent Victim Protection Commission under Waltraud Klasnic, Schönborn had pioneered within the Church and symbolically steered the Church ship into calmer waters. In a recent interview, Schönborn had said that it takes people with the ability to shake hands, who seek dialogue. He himself was described as such a “bridge builder.” “Pontifex Austriacus would indeed be a fitting name.”

“Thank You, Eminence!”

On the occasion of Schönborn’s departure, numerous associations and institutions paid tribute to the Archbishop, led by the Chairman of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Franz Lackner. “At the threshold of the 21st century, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn decisively influenced and shaped all the major developments and decisions of the Church in Austria and worldwide,” said a statement to Kathpress. “Thank you, Eminence! We all wish you the rich blessing of heaven and all the best for the years to come!” Lackner had taken over the chairmanship of the Bishops’ Conference from Schönborn in 2020.

Mikl-Leitner called Schönborn a “partner with handshake quality” in the implementation of numerous projects for the preservation of churches and monasteries in Lower Austria, as well as an “outstanding pastor.”

According to Kathpress, Schönborn will now divide his time between the convent of the Sisters of the Lamb in Vienna-Brigittenau and Retz, where he has an apartment in what was once a Dominican monastery.

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