Christian Feurstein, (born Georg Maria Feurstein; 14 October 1958 – 12 March 2017) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

Heiligenkreuz Abbey Heiligenkreuz Abbey () is a Cistercian monastery in the village of Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria, Heiligenkreuz in the southern part of the Vienna Woods, Vienna woods, c. 13 km north-west of Baden bei Wien, Baden in Lower Austria. It is the ol ...

Stiepel Priory Stiepel Priory is a Cistercian monastery in Stiepel in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in 1988 at the instigation of Franz Hengsbach, first Bishop of the Diocese of the Ruhr. It is a dependent house of Heiligenkreuz Abbey ...

, Rein Abbey in

Gratwein-Straßengel Since 2015 Gratwein-Straßengel () is a market town in the Graz-Umgebung District of Styria, Austria. The town took effect as part of the Steiermärkische Gemeindestrukturreform, Styria municipal structural reform, from the end of 2014 with the me ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. He served as

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of the Rein Abbey from 2010 to 2015.

Biography

Early life and education

Georg Maria Feurstein was born on 14 October 1958 in

Hohenems Hohenems (High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Ems'') is a town in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg in the Dornbirn (district), Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a populat ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

, to Guntram and Antonio Feurstein. After

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

, he entered

as a novice on 15 November 1977. He studied theology at the

Benedict XVI Philosophical-Theological University The Pope Benedict XVI Philosophical-Theological University (German language, German: ''Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Benedikt XVI. Heiligenkreuz''), colloquially referred to as Hochschule Heiligenkreuz, is a private, Catholic Church, Rom ...

, which is located at the abbey, from 1977 to 1983. Taking the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

''Christian'', he made his solemn profession on 1 November 1981, and was ordained a deacon on 26 December 1981 by Archbishop

Franz Jachym 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 ...

. On 23 May 1983, he was ordained in Heiligenkreuz by Cardinal

Paul Augustin Mayer Paul Augustin Mayer, OSB (23 May 1911 – 30 April 2010) was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He held various positions in the Roman Curia from 1971 to 1991. Biography Mayer was born in Altötting, Germany, one of three children ...

, OSB.

Priesthood

In 1983, Feurstein began his priestly ministry as pastor of a parish in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

, a position he held in 1987, and until 1988 he was an assistant teacher at Heiligenkreuz Abbey. In 1988, he was sent with three other monks to the newly reestablished

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He was subprior there from 1988 to 1991, pilgrimage director from 1988 to 2001, novice master from 1999 to 2002, and prior from 2001 to 2004. In 2004, he returned to Heiligenkreuz Abbey, where he served as prior and novice master until 2009. During his time in that position, 26 novices entered the abbey, the most in 200 years. In 2009, he once again left Heiligenkreuz, this time to live at Rein Abbey in

, Austria. On 8 June 2010, he was unanimously elected abbot, and was confirmed by the congregation on 21 June. His benediction took place on 21 August 2010, performed by Bishop

Egon Kapellari Egon is a Danish variant of the male given name Egino. It is most commonly found in Central and Northern Europe. Egon may refer to: People * Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (1588–1635), Imperial Count of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (161 ...

. As abbot, he was concerned with the stability of the monastic community and the pastoral care of the parishes the abbey is entrusted with, as well as monastery renovations and improving the abbey's financial situation. The abbey basilica was restored and renovated during his tenure. In 2013, Feurstein was accepted into the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to: * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church) * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...

with the rank of Knight Commander with Star, and was invested by Grand Master Cardinal

Edwin Frederick O'Brien Edwin Frederick O'Brien (born April 8, 1939) is an American Catholic who headed the Order of the Holy Sepulchre from 2011 to 2019. He previously served as Archbishop of Baltimore from 2007 to 2011 and as Archbishop of the Military Services ...

on 21 September 2013 at the Mondsee Abbey basilica. He resigned from the office of abbot on 9 March 2015 due to his severe heart disease, and returned to Heiligenkreuz Abbey, where he spent the last two years of his life. He died on 12 March 2017 in a hospital in

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. ...

after a heart transplant. Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl said about his death: "Abbot Christian was a special phenomenon in all his meetings with his kind and sympathetic charisma. We will be grateful to him for his work here in Styria." His motto was ''Christum semper ante oculos'', which is Latin for "Christ always before our eyes."

Awards and honors

Knight Commander with Star of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feurstein, Christian 1958 births 2017 deaths People from Hohenems Cistercian abbots Austrian Cistercians 20th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre 21st-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests People from Styria Benedictine priors 21st-century Christian abbots