International Congress Renovabis

Congress topic 2024

St Corbinian is considered to be the first bishop of the city of Freising. He was initially a hermit but then lived and testified to the Christian faith as a missionary. Inspired by this saint, the congress will look at how the Christian message can be positively perceived today as an individual resource of meaning and hope as well as a socially effective force – especially through credible people. It will be about analysing the situation and the question of how the church can deal with secularisation and the religious indifference that is widespread in large parts of Europe, because basically everyone wants to lead a successful life. However, for many, this is obviously also possible without reference to a higher power.

In addition to similar developments in East and West, the – in some cases quite different – experiences with church reconstruction, sometimes in an anti-religious or areligious environment in the former communist countries in Eastern Europe, and the different relationships between church and state today will enrich the discussion, making it interesting and certainly fruitful.

We cordially invite you to lectures, panels and discussions in dialogue groups. Dr Doris Reisinger, Archbishop Dr Gintaras Grušas, Archbishop Dr Heiner Koch, Prof. Dr Jan Loffeld, Prof. Dr Tomáš Petráček, Prof. Dr Detlef Pollack and Sr Dr Marie Pavlína Kašparová OP have confirmed their participation as speakers and contributors. All contributors and the congress programme can be found in the PDF in the purple info box.

In a public evening event taking place as part of the congress in cooperation with the Domberg-Akademie Freising, moderated by Dr Claudia Pfrang, Bishop Dr Tomáš Holub and the Bavarian cabaret artist Christian Springer, among others, will discuss the topic „Where is God today?“.

For guests arriving on 10 September, we will be offering guided tours of the Bavarian State Exhibition „Tassilo, Korbinian and the Bear – Bavaria in the early Middle Ages“, starting at 3 p.m. At 7 p.m., we will celebrate a Vespers in the Byzantine rite with Weihbischof Dr. Volodymyr Hrutsa CSsR in the city parish church of St. George. This will be followed by the opening of the exhibition „Icons against war“.