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The Venserbild Saints

by Theresa König last modified 2007-11-07 11:26

Besides the Virgin Mary, the Vens Pilgrimage Chapel is also dedicated to a number of other saints.  Three of the most important are St. Lucius of Chur, St. Sebastian and St. John of Nepomuk.  These three saints each have a very specific connection to the region.

St. Lucius is the patron saint of the diocese of Chur.  There are a number of paintings of this saint in Vorarlberg because the southern part of the state belonged to the diocese of Chur until 1816.  On the predella of the left side altar in the chapel there is a painting of St. Lucius portrayed as a king painted by an unknown master in 1631.  While St. Lucius reminds us that the Montafon once belonged to Chur, St. Sebastian reminds us of the plague that raged here.  Sabastian is the patron saint of plagues whereby the arrows in his body symbolize God‘s punishment.  After the Virgin Mary and Joseph, St. Sebastian is the saint that you will see most often in this region.  St. Sebastian was the most popular in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries during the times when the plague struck the region.  The third saint, St. John of Nepomuk was probably the most popular Baroque saint and is the patron saint of bridges, shipping, the ships and rafts as well as a protector against the dangers of the waters.  This is the reason that he is depicted on the right side wall of the Vens Chapel.  In the past, Vandans suffered a lot from floods and mud slides.  The effects were often catastrophic for the inhabitants who therefore put all of their trust and hope in a saint who would perhaps protect them from the dangers of the water.1


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1 vgl. Rudigier/Schallert 1998: 72

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P03-2_Venserbild Saints.mp3
 


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