English – Redemptoris Mater Wien

A seminary of the Archdiocese of Vienna
that for over 30 years
has been forming missionaries for the New Evangelisation
of Europe and the whole world.

Info

The 'Redemptoris Mater' Seminaries

The ‚Redemptoris Mater‘ seminaries were born out of the experience of the Neocatechumenal Way and are a fruit of the renewal of the Church initiated by the Second Vatican Council. They are diocesan seminaries and their goal is to form priests ready to participate in the universal mission of the Church.

The priests formed in these seminaries are ready to go not only to those parts of the world where the Word of God has not yet been proclaimed, but also where believers run the risk of drifting away or even of losing their faith due to the lack of priests.

These Seminaries put special emphasis on the formation of priests that have zeal for the ministry of the Word of God, the Liturgy and the promotion of Christian life. The universal mission of the Church is at the heart of their pastoral concern.

The Redemptoris Mater seminaries are international; the candidates come from different countries worldwide.

In 1987 the first Redemptoris Mater seminary was established in Rome; since then many bishops all over the world have established similar seminaries (e.g., in Medellin Colombia, Warsaw Poland, Callao Peru, Newark USA, Brasilia BRAZIL, Macerata ITALY, Madrid SPAIN, Lugano SWITZERLAND, Pula CROATIA, Bangalore INDIA, Perth AUSTRALIA, Berlin GERMANY, Haarlem NETHERLANDS, Copenhagen DENMARK, Douala CAMEROUN, Kaohsiung TAIWAN,…).

The Missionary Seminary 'Redemptoris Mater' in Vienna

His Eminence Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna founded the diocesan missionary seminary Redemptoris Mater on October 1, 1995 to form priests for the mission worldwide.

The priests formed at the ‚Redemptoris Mater‘ Seminary will first minister for a period of years at the Archdiocese of Vienna. Thereafter, the Archbishop of Vienna can send them to other dioceses and countries, where there is a need of priests.

Some of the priests who studied at the ‚Redemptoris Mater‘ of Vienna are already in mission in different countries worldwide.

All seminarians of this Seminary – as well as those in the other Redemptoris Mater seminaries around the world – discovered their faith and vocation in their home parish through the Neocatechumenal Way, an itinerary of faith officially approved by the Holy See in 2008.

The living expenses of this seminary are mostly funded by donations.

News

Open Day

On October 5, the first Sunday after the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Redemptoris Mater in Vienna, we opened the doors of our house in gratitude and invited many people to an “open day” at Wolfrathplatz 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
About 300 people came, and it was wonderful to see how impressed they were by their encounters with the seminarians who showed them around the house.
They also had the opportunity to meet the volunteers and formators of the seminary.
Special thanks go to Mag. Klaus Daubeck, who spent the whole day giving tours of the Bergl rooms.

30th Anniversary

On October 1st, in an atmosphere of profound gratitude and joy, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our Seminary, a significant step in our journey of formation and service to the Church.
His Eminence Christoph Card. Schönborn, founder of the seminary, presided the celebration. The Pastoral Council, the Board of Directors, together with numerous brothers from the older communities in Austria, many priests formed in our seminary, brothers who collaborate in the life of our house, formators, and all the seminarians took joyfully part in the celebration.
All together gave thanks to God for the many miracles, which happened in these thirty years, which give us courage to continue with the mission entrusted to us by the Lord.

Ordination to the priesthood

On 14 June 2025, two deacons from our seminary, together with three other candidates, were ordained priests by His Eminence Christoph Cardinal Schönborn in St. Stephen’s Cathedral of Vienna.

Image:© Erzdiözese Wien/Schönlaub

Diaconal Ordination

On Saturday, May 10, 2025, in the St. Leopold’s Church of Donaufeld in Vienna, 3 seminarians from our seminary were ordained deacons together with 4 other candidates.
The ordination was administered by Auxiliary Bishop Franz Scharl.

Image:© Erzdiözese Wien/Schönlaub