With deep devotion

Nuns bake the “body of Christ” before Holy Week

The baked "body of Christ" is carefully inspected.(Bild: Imre Antal)

A seductive aroma wafts through the Maria Jeutendorf convent - because "sanctified" wafers are carefully produced there. Only grain from local farmers is refined.

"The body of Christ should not and must not crumble. That's why we bake the wafers for many parishes here all the more carefully," smiles Prior Elija Kreimel from the Carmel Mater Dolorosa monastery, where the nuns of the order first moved in 1985 and have formed a special community in the diocese of St. Pölten ever since.

Every day, the pious Sisters of God get up in the early hours of the morning - to rush to the oven immediately after praying in front of the altar.

Flour and water are reverently "sanctified".(Bild: Imre Antal)

The wafers have to be cut out with millimeter precision before they are distributed at the altar.(Bild: Imre Antal)

The wafers are ready to be sent to the parishes(Bild: Imre Antal)

In any case, the recipients of the wafers can rely on their quality. This is because only water and wheat flour are used - as stipulated by strict Vatican canon law. Superior Elija is completely imbued with the spirit of preserving creation. Only grain from local farmers is spiritually refined.

The nuns implore the priests: "Obtain your hosts exclusively from communities that live in the Christian spirit. For it is something else when the bakers orient their lives in devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ ..."