by Hans Dinnendahl (1901 – 1966)
Photo: Max Schulz 2019
To the right of the side entrance, in front of the gray concrete wall, elevated on a stone slab, stands the sculpture of Brother Konrad in dark oak. He looks down humbly, often at flowers and burning candles venerated upon him. A compact wood carving of a friar with a key and a wooden hooded halo around his oversized head, designed with clear and simple forms.
Who is that standing there? Brother Conrad—Conrad of Parzham (1818–1894)—is a lesser-known saint, a saint of the 20th century. No reformed knight, no bishop, and no martyr – a doorkeeper. A mostly unappreciated and poorly paid task. Conrad of Parzham was the doorkeeper at Altötting Monastery, a pilgrimage site, for 41 years, and he was considered an exemplary man: He prayed and helped pilgrims with all his strength, wherever and however he could. "As the Lord recommends in the parable, he truly took the lowest place, as a humble porter" Pope Benedict said of him in 2007.
He was canonized in 1934. And he was invoked as a saint by the Parish of Our Lady [Liebfrauengemeinde] at a time when German Catholics were facing increasing pressure. The parish chronicle mentions interventions by the Nazi state for the first time in 1936: The penitential procession to Buchholz was banned and had to be replaced by all-night adoration in the church. This was followed in 1937 by: bans on the church gazette and parish paper, the dissolution of the young men's association, and the restriction of the orphanage's work until it was banned in 1939.
Why this saint was chosen — exact motives remain unknown. The artist's choice can direct speculations: The statue was created by the architect, painter, and sculptor Hans Dinnendahl from Telgte, who furnished and also built numerous churches in the region. Rooted in Expressionism, shaped by Catholicism, yet also controversial within church circles, he was supported and protected by the Bishop of Münster, Count von Galen. "His 'magnum opus', the large 'Resurrection Christ' for the Warendorf cemetery, [was] destroyed by the Nazis shortly after the war began in 1939 – [afterwards] the artist managed to continue working in private only with the help of the Bishop of Münster, who was himself facing hostility.“ (Jürgen Krause, 2006)
This sculpture also found a home in two churches: It was set up and blessed in the main entrance of the Liebfrauen church on August 22, 1939, for the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. In 1980, it was placed in the entrance area of the new Liebfrauen church again.
References:
N.N.: Dinnendahl, Hans, in: DeGruyter Allg. Künstlerlexikon, Bd. 27, 2000, p. 487.
Krause, Jürgen: Das Kunstwerk des Monats. September 2006. Hans Dinnendahl: Tabakspott. LWL-Landesmuseum Münster 2006, retrieved from
https://www.lwl.org/landesmuseum-download/kdm/archiv/2006/kdm_09_2006.pdf Feb. 27, 2019).
