Football, Friends, Lent

Football, Friends, Lent – the Vicar General, Father Sascha-Philipp Geissler, had to make some big leaps when he visited a school in Blankenese. The primary school children’s questions covered just about every aspect of the life of the head of the Hamburg diocesan administration. Whether it was hobbies (“reading and meeting friends”), favourite food (“sauerbraten”), Lent (“no sweets”) or his passion for football (“Borussia Dortmund”) – each answer was greeted with enthusiastic applause or unconcealed expressions of sympathy from the interested first to fourth graders as the guest toured the classes.

Seeking dialogue and engaging in conversation

Yes, this is also the purpose of the regular school visits that Vicar General Geißler and Archbishop Stefan Heße organise several times a year: to enter into dialogue, to seek dialogue and to take a fresh look at everyday life in these places of Church life. The Pallottine priest not only spent a lot of time with the youngest children, but also sought dialogue with the teaching staff, the management of the primary and secondary schools, the school pastoral team and the parents’ representatives. The focus of the exchange was on the changing pastoral concepts and structures as well as the cooperation between the parish and the school. “We have to get out in front of the wave again and give impulses,” said Geißler, referring to the major social changes and the relevance of the Church in turbulent times. “You can do a lot with less. It has to do with culture and attitude,” said the Pallottine Father.

The fact that culture and attitude are in harmony at the Catholic primary school is evidenced, among other things, by the growing number of pupils and the strong voluntary commitment of the parents. “Everything here makes a really good impression,” the Vicar General summed up during the obligatory final visit to the school’s own chicken coop. Headmistress Eike Eichmann could only agree.

Text and photos: Christoph Schommer, Archdiocese of Hamburg
Source: Archdiocese of Hamburg 16 February 2024

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