As the savior of venerable institutions, Horst Seehofer has his own experiences. In 2008, after the historical loss of the absolute majority in the state parliament, the CSU fell into a deep crisis. For the first time in more than 40 years, the party had to share power in Bavaria. A disaster that forced party leader Erwin Huber and Prime Minister Günther Beckstein to resign. Seehofer held both offices and helped the CSU regain its old strength in the years that followed. The party regained an absolute majority in the 2013 state elections. “Seehofer, the rescuer”, headlines the newspapers at the time.
Now Seehofer, who has been in political retirement since the 2021 federal elections, is once again appearing as a rescuer. This time it’s not about the CSU. But the organization that the 73-year-old takes care of is not in much better shape than the party after its election fiasco 15 years ago. It’s about the Catholic Church. Not about the whole store, that would be even for the former Prime Minister of Bavaria – in Seehofer’s dictum after all the “precursor to paradise” – one mission impossible.
The rescue mission aims at an old Franciscan church in downtown Ingolstadt. The monastery church, built in the 13th century, was threatened with extinction: since the last Capuchin monks left the adjacent monastery in the spring, no more services have been held. Even a profanation was in the room – that’s what the profanation of a church is called in technical jargon.
In view of the declining number of church members, one must consider “how we can set up pastoral care in order to combine resources and the needs of the local people,” the diocese of Eichstätt had announced. Resistance to the austerity plans formed in Ingolstadt. Around 100 believers held a vigil in May for the preservation of the Franciscan church. Seehofer came into play on the same day.
The Franciscan Church in Ingolstadt was Horst Seehofer’s confessional church in his youth.
(Photo: Hans scratches)
Because among the participants in the demo was Matthias Schickel, CSU city councilor and deputy city home caretaker. In a small group, they discussed whether a group of friends could be set up to preserve the church, says Schickel – with a prominent name at the top. “The name Horst Seehofer came up immediately.” The politician was born in Ingolstadt and lives in the Gerolfing district. Schickel asked the ex-CSU boss for help via SMS. “He immediately agreed,” says the historian. “The Franciscan Church was his confessional church in his youth.” To the Danube courier Seehofer said he had a “strong emotional bond” with the 750-year-old house.
So he met Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke of Eichstätt – and suddenly the church closure was off the table. Instead, church services are to take place again soon. A circle of supporters around Seehofer, Lord Mayor Christian Scharpf (SPD) and church representatives should collect donations for urgent repairs. The electrics have to be renewed, says Schickel. The plaster is crumbling from the wall, there is a crack in the vault. “We want to provide selective support.” A major renovation that will sooner or later be necessary cannot be managed. “That would have to be financed by the Free State and the Church.” There are no concrete plans for this yet. A long-term preservation of the church is not guaranteed.
After his triumph in 2013, Seehofer had to experience that a rescue doesn’t last forever. For too long he left open whether he would run again in the next election – and was then pressured by Markus Söder to resign. In 2018, the CSU again lost its absolute majority. Seehofer, this time savior on his own behalf, fled to the federal government in Berlin.