A simple church stands on a hill. It is St Thomas Morus. This unassuming building holds a fascinating history. It wasn’t always a church. Before 1930 a barracks stood here. It served as a makeshift tuberculosis sanatorium. Later it became a children’s home. Then during the era of Austrofascism services began in 1934. During World War II the building functioned as a hospital.
After the war in 1947 the parish of Dornbach acquired the land. Construction of St Thomas Morus began in 1950. It was largely funded by donations. The driving force behind its construction was Father Petrus Grader. He was already active in the interwar period. His enthusiasm for Thomas More led to the church’s namesake. The British statesman and author of Utopia is revered as a martyr in Catholicism.
Every year around the memorial day of Saint Thomas More a Jurists’ Mass takes place at St Thomas Morus. Lawyers from Vienna are invited. This is why the locals call it the Jurists’ Church. St Thomas Morus was inaugurated in 1970 as a branch church of the Dornbach parish. It houses Vienna’s “Jurist community”. The “Jurists’ Mass Committee” aims to connect Christian-minded lawyers in Vienna.
The architecture is simple with elements of neo-Romanesque style. It’s the work of architect Franz Graf. It features a south choir tower and a recessed apse. A sacristy and a baptistery are attached to the east. The interior is indirectly lit. The apse is lined with mosaics. They depict Isaiah’s prophecy of the seven wise and seven foolish virgins. A stone from Thomas More’s tomb in Canterbury is used for the tabernacle door. Several stained-glass windows are by Lucia Jirgal. One is called the “Marriage Window”. It depicts Saints Thomas More and John Fisher.
Outside a bust of Thomas More stands. It was created by Hans Stidl around 1970. There’s also an iron Madonna. It’s a copy of a Tilman Riemenschneider figure made by Franz Staffler. St Thomas Morus stands as a testament to faith community and history. It’s a quiet place of worship with a rich past. A place worth visiting.