Consecration of the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in Oberriet

In 1978, the seminary of the Society of Saint Pius X in Weissbad close to Appenzell (Switzerland) moved to Zaitzkofen in Bavaria. So, it was necessary to find a new solution to continue the apostolate in the region, starting with a priory.

A priory could finally be established in a former factory in Oberriet (in the canton of St. Gallen). One of the machine rooms on the ground floor was transformed into a chapel, and the priory was set up on the third and fourth floors of the building.

The Rhine valley location, close to Liechtenstein, Austria, and Germany, proved to be strategic. The parish rapidly developed, and the priory became the largest one in the German-speaking region at the time. Many of the faithful regularly had to stand in the priory entryway, outside the chapel.

Another inconvenience was added to this: the chapel had a low ceiling. Even if everything had been done to beautify this place of worship with a carved altar and an altarpiece, a solution was needed.

It was in June 2001 that the project of a spacious church with 300 seats was introduced, to be dedicated to the patron saint of the priory, St. Charles Borromeo. It was a long road that led to the obtainment of a construction permit on March 22, 2004.

Some concessions had to be made—among others, giving up the ringing of bells due to opposition. On August 21, 2004, the groundbreaking officially inaugurated the construction of the new church.

Among the important stages of construction were the laying of the cornerstone by Bishop Tissier de Mallerais on the feast of St. Joseph in 2005, the erection of the cross on the roof of the bell tower on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in 2005, and the blessing of the church by Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta on May 17, 2007.

16 years later, this beautiful work was able to be completed. Over the course of the last few months, the whole sanctuary was decorated with magnificent frescoes and a new major altar was erected, as well as two stone side altars.

That is how, on Saturday, November 18, 2023, Bishop Vitus Huonder, Bishop Emeritus of Chur (Switzerland), could carry out the consecration of the church, with a large attendance and clergy from all over Switzerland, as well as Austria and Germany.