Tragedy and transformation define the story of Maria vom Berge Karmel. This church stands in Vienna’s Favoriten district. It has a fascinating history.
Maria vom Berge Karmel began as a wooden emergency church in 1916. It honored the Mother of the Holy Scapular. This church met a fiery end on January 2, 1928. Only the monastery, built some years earlier, was saved.
Architect Hans Prutscher planned a new church. He envisioned it as a two-level structure, inspired by American designs. The lower church was completed quickly. It was consecrated on December 22, 1929.
The Carmelites served the community. They provided pastoral care at the Triesterspital. They also offered blessings at the distant Zentralfriedhof. Father Telephorus Hardt played a vital role. He led the Carmelite convent in Vienna for many years.
Maria vom Berge Karmel became a parish church on January 1, 1937. Father Hardt became its first pastor. Only the steel skeleton above the lower church hinted at the upper church to come.
Cardinal Innitzer consecrated the upper church on August 30, 1942. But dark times loomed. The Nazi regime banned and dissolved all church associations. The lower church became an air-raid shelter. On February 21, 1945, a bomb struck the church. 140 people died.
After the war, reconstruction began. The dome and roof were restored. The lower church was reconsecrated in 1951. Helene Koller-Buchwieser planned the upper church and tower. Work finished on June 22, 1958. Archbishop Franz Jachym blessed the church.
The completed altar area allowed for consecration. Maria vom Berge Karmel was dedicated on April 8, 1962. The church honored the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.
In 1965, the church windows were replaced. Construction of the bell tower started that autumn. The tower cross was consecrated on November 7. The reconstruction concluded with the bell consecration on May 15, 1966.
Liturgical changes led to a redesign of the presbytery in 1966. It was renovated again in 1996.
A Walcker organ was installed in the upper church in early 1964. The mechanical slider chest instrument has 18 registers. These are divided across two manuals and a pedal.
The Carmelite convent was dissolved in August 2003. The order entrusted pastoral care to the Archdiocese of Vienna. However, they remained owners of the parish buildings. The Archdiocese then brought the Philippine community of Vienna to Maria Karmel.
In September 2014, the Carmelite order sold the church and monastery. The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch acquired it. They moved their parish of St. Ephrem from Lainz to this location. The Catholic parish was dissolved on January 1, 2015. Its community merged with the parish of the Holy Apostles. This fusion created the new parish of Christ on the Wienerberg.
Today, Maria vom Berge Karmel stands as St. Ephrem. It is a testament to faith and resilience. It is a place of worship with a rich history. The church continues to serve its community.