Saturday in Salzburg

Today we followed Rick Steves' self-guided tour through the city. The highlight of the day was the beautiful Cathedral dedicated to Saints Rupert and Virgil. Although the Church was first built here in the 8th century, the present building was constructed during the 30 Years War in the sixteenth century. We were very impressed by the theology present in the very architecture itself. For example, the three doorways into the Church have representations of faith, hope, and charity, respectively, showing that entry into the Church is only by way of the supernatural and theological virtues. Below is the nave leading to the high altar.


After seeing churches of such beauty (the Franciscan Church and the Church of St. Peter's Abbey were also very impressive), we were frankly shocked and scandalized to see what has been done with the University church, the English speaking parish in Salzburg. Below is a picture of the "people's altar".

"The turning of the priest toward the people has turned the community into a self-enclosed circle. In its outward form, it no longer opens out on what lies ahead and above, but is locked into itself. The common turning toward the East was not a "celebration toward the wall"; it did not mean that the priest "had his back to the people": the priest himself was not regarded as so important ... As one of the fathers of Vatican II's Constitution on the Liturgy, J.A. Jungmann, put it, it was much more a question of priest and people facing in the same direction, knowing that together they were in a procession toward the Lord. They did not lock themselves into a circle, they did not gaze at one another, but as the pilgrim People of God they set off for the Oriens, for the Christ who comes to meet us...." (Joseph Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, 80).