Saint Agatha Church in Moutfort

The church in Moutfort is a Catholic church that belongs to the parish of Syr Saint-Esprit, the East Decanery, and the municipality of Contern.

The patron of the church is St. Agatha, whose feast day is celebrated on February 5.

It is centrally located in the city on Éiterstrasse, the CR132.

In addition to the parish church of Moutfort, the auxiliary church of Medingen also belongs to the former parish of Moutfort.

History

The Moutfort parish is one of the oldest in the country. It is first mentioned in 898 in a document from the Abbey of St. Maximäin of Trier.

Until 1600, St. Maximaine was the patron saint. In 1641, St. Servatius and St. Agatha were added. In 1712, the church and the parsonage caught fire due to a lightning strike. Almost all church documents were burned. Due to a lack of funds, the church was only temporarily repaired. Because of a ban, no mass could be held there, and no sacraments could be distributed. The priest Nicolaus Eyden (1742-1782) therefore wanted to build a new church.

The current parish church was built in 1764/65 by the Benedictines of Trier in Romanesque style.

On February 5, 1779, the relics of St. Agatha were solemnly brought to Moutfort and enshrined in the main altar. St. Joseph became the second patron of the church. Pastor Eyden was buried in the church, as was almoner Michel Schroeder in 1814.

During the French Revolution, priest Zacharias Wellenstein (1782-1828) refused to take the oath on the civil constitution and had to go into hiding. Only in 1801 could he practice again. He was buried in the sacristy of the Moutfort church.

The first expansion of the church took place in 1875 when the choir was added. In the course of 1900, the Contern municipal council decided to build a duxall with stairs and a baptismal chapel.

On August 9, 1901, the first organ, from the organ factory Gebroeders Müller from Reifferscheid in the Eifel, was solemnly consecrated by the dean of the Méchelskierch, Bernard Haal, and the Moutfort priest Hubert Keipes.

The first major renovation

Between 1960 and 1965, many works were carried out under Pastor Maurice Beringer:

the roof of the church and the facade were renewed

the gallery was enlarged

a new floor was laid

the benches were replaced by chairs

the main altar, the side altar, the communion rail, and the pulpit were replaced by a green marble altar

Gustave Zanter installed a monumental Christ mosaic in the apse. On February 8, 1960, the 1,200 kg weighing Agatha bell was consecrated by the then vicar-general, Jean Hengen. There were already two other bells in the tower.

On November 6, 1983, the organ, which was completely renovated by the brothers Oberlinger from Windesheim (D) and expanded from 13 to 20 registers, was put into use by Bishop Jean Hengen.

Under parish manager Antoine Nimax, the monumental marble altar was shortened on September 17, 1987, and consecrated by Archbishop Jean Hengen. The relics of the previous altar were placed in the new altar.

The last major renovation

The last renovation was carried out between November 2007 and April 2009:

Double glazing of the newly installed windows

Renewal of the electrical installations and new modern lighting

Installation of valuable figures of saints from the Greef workshop

new comfortable church style

New design of the altar room

Complete reevaluation

To celebrate the completion of the renovation, a solemn mass was held in the church on June 28, 2009, in the presence of the archbishop.

Translated from Luxembourgish

Source: lb.wikipedia.org

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