Reflection by: Kinnon
The Churches in Salzberg – Day 12 – SALZBERG
#sequelachristi2025
Today, our first stop was the Salzburg Cathedral, which is the largest and main church in Salzburg. It is made in baroque style, characterised by intricate interiors and a more subtle colour scheme compared to the other churches we had seen previously.
Although this church wasn’t as large and fresco-filled as some of the other basilicas we had visited, it nonetheless felt just as grand. The baroque style of design was not afraid to speak up in its own way—with dynamic poses of angels and prominent church figures, bold altars, and a relatively simple colour scheme that expressed more with less.
It was there that Fr JP celebrated mass, and to our surprise, we got the privilege of doing so in the main church with the high altar, an almost surreal experience. Today’s mass reading was about the indifference of the people towards Jesus’s and the prophet’s teachings, and Fr JP invited us to delve within ourselves: where were we being selective with the church’s teachings, and where does our heart lie? He invited us to look towards St Francis and St Claire, and how they had an absolute love for God.
As I reflected, I began to think of my own heart and life as a church. What did it look like? How dashing and bold was I willing to make my life reflect God and his kingdom? And I thought back to how Fr JP mentioned while we were in the basilica of St Francis that in those times when these churches were built, people were poor, but their wealth was in these basilicas. People donated what little they had to build the church, and it made me think to myself, how was I building my own church? Did I consider much of my wealth to be in my spiritual church?
Next, we visited a Franciscan church in Salzburg, one that was originally built in the gothic style and then later re-renovated as baroque. The overall structure here is gothic with high arches and stained glass windows, while the lower portion with intricate detailing was the later-renovated baroque portion. Around the beautiful altar were side chapels dedicated to different Franciscan and religious figures.
Subsequently, we visited a church that belonged to the university in Salzburg, and which was often used as an exhibition space (hence the lack of pews). Its interior was largely pristine white in the baroque style. There, what struck me most was that the designers had sculpted clouds into the walls above the main altar. These clouds overlapped the usual baroque detailings that were around the church. Initially when I observed them, I was a little disappointed that the clouds tended to replace the detailed baroque intricacies with comparatively bland clouds at some places. However when observed as a whole, the clouds were a beautiful representation of heaven, and I found this to be a reminder of how God works: at times we may believe that our own plan and methods are better, but God always has his own plan, which is always better than our own.
