The Franciscan Church (), also known as the Church of St. Jerome, is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church dedicated to

Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

and located in the historic city center of Vienna, Vienna's 1st district (

Innere Stadt The Innere Stadt (; ; "Inner City") is the 1st municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the I ...

). It is the church of the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Interior

Erected in 1603 the outside facade of the Franciscan Church is Renaissance in style. However, its interior is

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

. The high altar depicting the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

was designed by

Andrea Pozzo Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fresc ...

in 1707. The church holds the oldest organ in Vienna. The carved Baroque organ was designed by Johann Wockerl in 1642. * Capristan Chapel: painting of the "Martyrdom of St Capristan" by

Franz Wagenschön Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

* Francis chapel: picture of the church's

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

by Johann Georg Schmidt * Crucifixion chapel: painting of the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

Carlo Carlone Carlo Innocenzo Carlone or Carloni (1686–1775) was an Italian painter and engraver, active especially in Germany. Biography He was a native of Alta Valle Intelvi, Scaria, near Como, in Lombardy, but may have been from the Carloni family of Ge ...

History

The Franciscan Order had its first monastery in Vienna from 1451 with St. Theobald ob der Laimgrube in the Mariahilf district, which was destroyed in 1529. Two other monasteries (at St. Rupert until 1545, St. Nikolaus in Nikolai and Grünangergasse) soon became too small. In 1589, after prolonged negotiations, the municipality of Vienna ceded to the Franciscans the empty convent of the Penitents, which had been built from 1383 to 1387. About forty years earlier, the Counter-Reformer Petrus Canisius had preached regularly in the church. When the Franciscans took over the building - in which former strumpets lived as penitents - the church was rebuilt, incorporating old components. As a result, Vienna's only sacred building in the Renaissance style is still often adorned with Gothic elements. The church was completed in 1607, the monastery for 200 brothers in 1630. The design of the interior of the church was completed only around 1720. Today the monastery belongs to the Franciscan Province of Austria.

Gallery

Franziskanerkirche Giebel.JPG, Gabel Wien - Franziskanerkirche, Innenansicht.JPG, Interior Wien - Franziskanerkirche, Innenansicht2.JPG, High altar Franziskanerkirche-IMG 5989.JPG, Altar piece Wien - Franziskanerkirche, Orgel.JPG, Organ Franziskanerkirche Wien-IMG 1531-Reliquie hl Hilaria.jpg, Reliquary of Saint Hieronymus

Notes

External links

Church of St. Jerome, Franciscan Church
{{Authority control Franciscan churches in Austria Roman Catholic church buildings in the Vicariate of Vienna City Roman Catholic churches completed in 1611 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Austria Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt 1611 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 17th-century establishments in Austria Establishments in the Archduchy of Austria