Petrus Canisius. Pilgrim's Way
Petrus Canisius (born 1521, died 1597), theologian and writer, joined the Jesuit order, which had only been founded a few years earlier, on May 8, 1543 at the age of 22. Canisius covered thousands of kilometers on horseback and on foot in early modern Europe. He commuted between Rome, the Jesuit branch in Messina, Sicily, to commitments at numerous universities, imperial conventions or as a cathedral preacher between Augsburg, Ingolstadt, Innsbruck, Vienna and Prague, until his last place of work in Fribourg, Switzerland, where he died in 1597. When he was in Tyrol, he often traveled between Innsbruck and Hall, where a college and grammar school were founded under his direction.
There is a very special installation at the cemetery in Hall in Tirol: the floor plan of the famous Ghent Altarpiece by painter Jan van Eyck is depicted here by artist Kris Martin. The metal outer lines of the empty altar panels depict the Bettelwurf, a place of power in the Hall-Wattens region. Our place of power thus goes hand in hand with this special masterpiece, which is intended to broaden the view in order to give space to the longing in the many human questions. This work of art, which has already made several stops in Europe, is one of many in the exhibition commemorating the 500th birthday of Petrus Canisius. The entire exhibition route not only presents fascinating works of art, but also brings us into a dialog with our own search for a fulfilled spiritual life.
