It was almost exactly 44 years ago that my wife, Mary, and I first heard about the amazing little Bavarian village of Oberammergau. What we learned that day sparked a dream to one day visit the village to witness a spectacle held there only once every 10 years. We are happy to report that, after all these years, our dream is finally about to become a reality.
It was while cruising on a day trip down the Rhine River in September 1978 that we met and quickly befriended a lively, little German gentleman – a Holocaust survivor, no less – who was keen to tell we young Catholic Canadians all about the attractions of his homeland, attractions that included “the Passion Play of Oberammergau.”
He told us how, over the course of almost a full day, the village stages a play that recreates the events of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, that they stage it only once every decade, and that they had been doing so for almost four centuries.
The villagers produce it, he said, as an act of thanksgiving to God for answering their prayers by sparing the town from the worst of the bubonic plague.
What a story! We were hooked.
In the decades that followed, Mary and I would often talk about visiting Oberammergau to see the play, but life, as they say, got in the way – raising a family, building careers, tightening budgets – all the usual stuff.
We were fortunate to enjoy a few other overseas trips in more recent years, and we were especially blessed to take part in a Catholic pilgrimage to the Holy Land immediately after I retired from municipal politics in 2018.
And what a trip that was: we walked in Christ’s footsteps in the Garden of Gethsemane and along the Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem, renewed our marriage vows at Cana, sailed on the Sea of Galilee, and sang Silent Night in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, to name just a few of the highlights.
But Oberammergau always remained just over the horizon. We thought about travelling there for the 2020 production, but you might have heard that another plague of sorts swept across the world that year, and the production was postponed.
Two years later we read an ad, perhaps in our bulletin, that our pastor, Father Mark McGuckin, and the pastor of nearby Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Father James Hughes, were leading a pilgrimage to Austria and Germany that would – wait for it – conclude at Oberammergau and a visit to its theatre to witness the Passion Play.
One look at the itinerary and it was a done deal! We booked our tickets, bought our cancellation insurance, and prayed that some new plague, natural disaster, or manmade calamity (expanding Russian invasion?) wouldn’t derail the trip.
As of late July, we were still good to go. In mid-August, we are scheduled to land in Vienna (where, among other things, I hope to meet with a news contact I’ve made while working with this paper, Madeleine Enzlberger, head of the Observatory of Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians). And then travel to the monastery of Heilgenkreuz, where we have the opportunity to participate in the noon-hour chants of the monks. My wife and I both sing in our parish choir, so this will be a treat.
We’ll also visit the Benedictine Monastery of Melk, and then … Actually, I won’t bore you with the full itinerary. Trust me when I say that our bus will take us to some beautiful, historic, and spiritually enriching places.
Oberammergau will be on Days 11 and 12. I’m trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I will certainly be disappointed if, after all these years, it doesn’t move me emotionally and spiritually. I also know that I can’t be just a passive viewer of a spectacle, and that it’s up to me to participate through contemplation and prayer to bring the fruits of the production to life.
I talked with Father McGuckin (who has now been transferred to another parish) about his expectations, and he told me he expects the trip to be a true pilgrimage, with a real spiritual centre – something more than just a vacation, of course.
“At the heart of it, whoa!, the Holy Spirit is bringing us together,” he said with his usual enthusiasm. “We’re engaging in this to draw closer to the Lord.” Absolutely!
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
