Bonifatius Abbey (Hünfeld)

The Bonifatius Monastery was founded in 1895 as the first establishment of the Oblate Missionaries in Germany. Construction of the monastery complex and church, designed by Paderborn cathedral architect Arnold Güldenpfennig, began in 1896 and was completed four years later. The monastery developed into a philosophical-theological college and training center for new recruits to the order, at times housing over 100 students and 50 priests and brothers. An extension was added in 1930. During the Third Reich, the monastery was expropriated in 1941 and the members of the order were expelled, but they returned in 1946. Following the closure of the college in 1971, the monastery was transformed into a retreat and conference center. Since the mid-1970s, it has served as the novitiate for the Oblates and, since 1983, has housed a nursing station for needy members of the order.