For several months, the peace and quiet at the Maria Eich pilgrimage site has been disturbed by excavators and construction vehicles – and this will continue for a while. Because the Augustinian monastery is currently being renovated and will receive a two-storey extension with four residential units and also a new chapel. You are well on schedule, if the responsible persons in the Augustinian convent have their way, the coming Christmas should already be celebrated in the new house. However, the actual construction target for the overall project – Easter 2023 – may not be achieved. The costs for the construction project are enormous: between four and five million euros have been set – assuming nothing unforeseen happens. You want to use a lot of wood, but the planners are already confronted with procurement problems.
The construction work also brought something surprising: when an outer wall was demolished, a window lintel came to light. Underneath, the craftsmen discovered a capsule. The content turned out to be a minor sensation: the foundation stone document was stored there, which nobody here had expected. She is about 70 years old. However, the parchment paper was hit by an excavator and slashed and torn into many small pieces. They have been collected and are to be placed in a new capsule that will be embedded in the new foundation stone.
Four Augustinian brothers currently live in the monastery. But of the four residential units that are being built, only three are currently inhabited by the Padres. The Augustinians hope for a new confrere for the fourth – if one can be found. Because in the order, as elsewhere, there is a lack of young people.