Kloster, Ilanz

Mass times

Monday
07:00: Lauds + Eucharistic Celebration
17:30: Vespers + Contemplation

Tuesday 07:00: Lauds + Contemplation
17:30: Vespers + Eucharistic Celebration

Wednesday 07:00 a.m.: Celebration
of the Word of God 5:30 p.m.: Vespers + Contemplation

Thursday 07:00: Lauds + Eucharistic Celebration
17:30: Vespers + Contemplation

Friday
07:00: Lauds + Eucharistic Celebration
17:30: Vespers + Contemplation

Saturday
07:00 a.m.: Celebration
of the Word of God 5:30 p.m.: Vespers + Contemplation

Sundays and holidays:07:30 a.m.: Lauds
10:00 a.m.: Eucharistic celebration
5:
30 p.m.: Vespers

Monasteries – one often thinks of long cloisters and time-honoured church buildings. You won't find stucco and baroque angels in Ilanz Abbey. The monastery complex was rebuilt about 50 years ago by the Zurich architect Walter Moser. In 1969 he accepted the challenge of designing a building complex with an extensive range of space in an exposed location. The cubic forms are reminiscent of the work of Le Corbusier. The monastery building is U-shaped, open to the valley and includes the mountains as a meditation room. The church is a cube, plastered white, prominently placed on the edge of the terrain. The 2000-year-old Christian tradition can also be found in modern forms: the church counts twelve – the number of apostles – concrete pillars and church windows. In 1975, the expansion took place to the east with a boarding school, today's House of Encounter. With its special architecture, the modern monastery in Ilanz is one of the 52 best buildings in Graubünden.

environment

The building to the right below the monastery is the former farmers' school. To the right of the Rhine bridge we discover the pink building of the former nursing school and the regional hospital Surselva. All these institutions go back to the initiative of the nuns, who settled in Ilanz in 1865 and earned great merits in health care and education in the Surselva region.

The crawl room with its luminous windows by Max Rüedi is accessible during the day through the monastery gate.

Historical classification

The community of sisters and its social commitment goes back to the foundation (1885) of the Congregation by the priest Johann Fidel Depouz from Siat. The Superior General Maria Theresia Gasteyer (1835-1892) led the small community through the difficult early years. In 1894 the community joined the Dominican Order (founded in 1216 by St. Dominic). From 1920 they worked in missionary work in China (social tasks for women and children), together with the German Dominicans, since 1954 on Taiwan, now mainly in pastoral care.

The Dominican Sisters of Ilanz have been active in Brazil since 1952, especially in social work and pastoral care, especially among the poor.

Since its foundation, the tasks in school and adult education as well as nursing have been carried on. Today, particular attention is paid to the spiritual and personal accompaniment of seekers. The Dominican Sisters of Ilanz work in Switzerland, Germany, Brazil and Taiwan in the spirit of St. Dominic and are looking for opportunities to do good to all people.

Directly adjacent to the monastery, the House of Encounter surprises with a varied annual program on spirituality, culture and health.