Maria Rickenbach Monastery
Maria Rickenbach Monastery (German: Benediktinnerinnenkloster Maria Rickenbach) is a Benedictine monastery of Religious Sisters. It is situated in the village of Niederrickenbach in the municipality of Oberdorf in the Swiss canton of Nidwalden. It is accessible to the public only by cable car from Niederrickenbach Station on the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg railway line, although there is a private road leading up to the village from Dallenwil.[1]
 | |
  Location within Switzerland  Maria Rickenbach Monastery (Canton of Obwalden) | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Benedictines |
| Established | 1857 |
| Mother house | Engelberg Abbey |
| Prior | Prioress Sr. Maria Jacinta Rohner |
| Bishop | Bishop of Chur |
| Architecture | |
| Status | In operation, 15 nuns in residence |
| Completion date | 1864 |
| Site | |
| Location | Niederrickenbach, Oberdorf, Obwalden, Switzerland |
| Coordinates | 46.926726°N 8.427297°E |
| Public access | Store and church |
| Website | kloster-maria-rickenback.ch |
History
Niederrickenbach has known a pilgrimage to Our Lady in the Maple since the 16th century, after a figurine of the Blessed Mother was placed in a maple tree on that site. Unable to remove the figurine, which came to be considered miraculous, a wayside shrine was erected with the figurine in it. Since 1565 a chapel for the pilgrims is attested. In 1688 it was replaced by a larger one and in 1869 the present chapel was consecrated. Noteworthy is its collection of Votive offerings.
In 1857, a small group of women who wanted to follow a monastic way of life founded the monastery. There they established the practice of Perpetual Adoration as a part of their life.[2] The monastery is often associated with Engelberg Abbey, under the guidance of which they were established and later became formally incorporated into the Benedictine Order.[2]
Sisters from this monastery founded the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Nodaway County, Missouri, in the United States, who now have their motherhouse in Clyde, Missouri.
References
- map.geo.admin.ch (Map). Swiss Confederation. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
- "Unsere Geschichte". Benediktinnerinnenkloster Maria Rickenbach (in German).
Further reading
- Achermann, Hansjakob & Haller-Dirr, Marita: “Das Benediktinerinnen-Kloster Maria-Rickenbach in Geschichte und Gegenwart.” Historischer Verein Nidwalden, Stans, 2007, ISBN 978-3-906377-10-0 (in German).