Information: This is an old - not maintained - article of the AEIOU. In the Austria-Forum you find an updated version of this article in the new AEIOU.
Christmas 1995
This stamp shows a small statue of Jesus, the so-called Mercy Figure, before the Church of the Christ Child in Upper Austria. The Christ Child pilgrimage began 300 years ago and dates back to the following occurrence: Ferdinand Sertl of Styria, who suffered from epilepsy, bought a small wax statue of Jesus, hoping that through his faith and prayers his affliction would be healed. When after a few years Sertl appeared to have overcome his epilepsy, more and more people began coming to him in the hope that their prayers would also be answered. Construction of a pilgrimage church therefore began in 1702, the planning of which was carried out by Giovanni Battista Carlone and its completion by Jakob Prandtauer. This church's high altar remains especially impressive even today, for it is said to reflect the secret of the Christian faith: earth will be redeemed through the power of the holy spirit and through the suffering of this God who became man.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
