Auntie Femie and I decided to visit Würzburg yesterday and St. Goar today. We followed her tour book of main cities in Germany. It does rather well for a book leading us through the highlights and revealing the best and peculiar stories. As we travel, we learn about what was damaged by World War II and what survived or was saved. I notice a trend in Germany that is well represented at St. Kilian’s Cathedral in Würzburg.
Three Irish monks, St. Kilian included, went to Würzburg with hopes of Christianizing the barbarians of Germany. In A.D. 686 they were beheaded. They are now considered martyrs and their skulls remain in a box on the high altar of St. Kilian’s Cathedral. Above this altar is a crucified Jesus. Further back is the resurrected Jesus welcoming people to a future full of hope.
The beheading of St. Kilian and his two companions is one story among Germany’s dark history that we remember, but the country is a lovely place that continues to progress. Throughout Germany you see what was destroyed in World War II that has been since restored or rebuilt to be as good, or better, than it was. This is a theme for Germany, if not the whole world: we must not forget the past but there is a bright future ahead.
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