Zu den heiligen Engeln (To the Holy Angels) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish and church in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

- Kirchrode,

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, Germany. The church was built in 1964 on a design by Josef Bieling, and was remodeled in 2014. It is now the parish church of a larger parish, serving the district

Kirchrode-Bemerode-Wülferode Kirchrode-Bemerode-Wülferode (; Eastphalian: ''Kerkreoe-Beimeroe-Wülferoe'') is the sixth borough of Hanover. , it has 32,625 inhabitants and consists of the quarters Kirchrode (12,222 inhabitants), Bemerode (19,453 inhabitants) and Wülferode ( ...

. It belongs to the deanery of Hanover and the Diocese of Hildesheim. The church is dedicated to the

angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

. In 1977, the church served for a

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by the

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for nation-wide regular live broadcasts of services on television. The parish collaborates in ecumenical partnership with Protestant parishes in the neighbourhood. It was certified for ecological awareness and management.

History

The parish Zu den heiligen Engeln was split off the parish in Kleefeld on 1 July 1964. At that time it had 1,850 members, increasing to 3,400 by 1990. The church was completed in 1964, including a parish hall (''Pfarrheim'') in 1998.

Church

The church was designed by Josef Bieling, a prolific designer of churches, in the shape of a tent, as a symbol of the tent of God with men (''Zelt Gottes unter den Menschen'') with a steep roof almost to the ground. The groundbreaking was in 1962, the ceremonious laying of the cornerstone in 1963. The church was built in 1963 and 1964, and was consecrated on 30 May 1964 by Bishop . The church was among the last, before the liturgical reform (''Liturgiereform'') after the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, to have a

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

(''Baldachin'') above the altar. The interior featured a statue of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, the

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, and the windows, which show the

Burning bush The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament and Islamic scripture). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb ...

behind the altar, and an organ built by in 1987. For the celebration of the 50th anniversary, the church was restored, including a new lighting system. The former baptism chapel was converted to a room of silence (''Raum der Stille''), accessible from the entrance hall even when the church is closed. The area around the altar was remodeled by , but the unique ''Baldachin'' was retained, making the church the only one in the diocese with this feature. The total cost was around €400,000. Bishop Norbert Trelle held the reopening on 12 April 2014.

Parish

From 1969, Norbert Joachim was the parish priest, serving until 2007. He focused on ministry for families and youth, inclusion of voluntary lay people in the parish activities, and on ecumenical exchange. He was instrumental in using digital media. From 1977, the parish was the testing place for a series of live broadcasts of services by the

, which resulted in regular weekly broadcasts from different locations from 1979. The parish collaborates with the Protestant parishes around, St. Jakobi in Kirchrode, in Bemerode, and St. Martin in Anderten in ecumenical partnership. In 2016, it was the second parish in the diocese to be certified for ecological awareness and management according to the European standard EMAS.

Gallery

Zu den heiligen Engeln, Kirchrode, interior from entrance.jpg, Interior from the entrance Zu den heiligen Engeln, Hannover, glass windows.jpg, Glass windows Zu den Heiligen Engeln, Hannover, altar area.jpg, Altar area Marienkapelle, Zu den Heiligen Englen, Hannover.jpg, Chapel to

, in May

References

External links