Ecumenical Mass
On Thursday, September 24, the ecumenical Oktoberfest and memorial service took place in the Marstall-Festzelt. The service is traditionally intended for the carnival operators and tavern owners of the Wiesn. At the same time, all festival guests were warmly invited to pause together and pray for a peaceful and safe Oktoberfest.
Fairground operators, innkeepers, and churchgoers gather together at Oktoberfest
All carnival performers, innkeepers and market vendors, as well as the faithful from Munich and the surrounding region, were cordially invited to the festive Mass. The festival grounds and the Marstall-Festzelt opened to visitors half an hour before the start of the Mass.
The Mass was presided over by Auxiliary Bishop Matthias König. Auxiliary Bishop König is a member of Commission XIV of the German Bishops’ Conference, which focuses on the universal Church and migration, and which also oversees pastoral care for circus performers and showmen.
He was assisted by Father Sascha Ellinghaus, the national chaplain and director of the Catholic Pastoral Care for Circus and Fairground Workers of the German Bishops’ Conference, as well as by regional chaplain Monsignor Manfred Simon and Father Martin Fuchs. On behalf of the Protestant churches, Father Torsten Heinrich, director of the Protestant Pastoral Care for Circus and Fairground Workers of the EKD, delivered a welcoming address.
Fairground Workers' Service at the Marstall: Praying Together Instead of Celebrating
The ecumenical service has been an integral part of the Oktoberfest tradition for many years. Its origins date back to 1956, when Father Heinz Peter Schönig, then director of the Catholic Pastoral Care for Circus and Fairground Workers, celebrated the first service at the Wiesn. To this day, the service is ecumenical in nature and led by both Catholic and Protestant clergy.
From 1956 to 2013, the service took place at the Hippodrom. In 2014, the venue moved to the Fischer-Vroni. Since 2015, the Marstall-Festzelt has been the permanent home of the service. There, carnival operators, innkeepers, and guests come together to pray for a peaceful and safe Oktoberfest.
