Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan (Theatine Church of St. Cajetan) in Munich, Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Theatinekirche; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan (Theatine Church of St. Cajetan), which this writer has visited, is a Roman Catholic church located in Munich in the German state of Bavaria. The church was founded by Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (reigned 1651 to 1679) and his wife Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, in gratitude for the birth of a long-awaited male heir. Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide had married in 1650. Henriette Adelaide had a daughter in 1660, a stillbirth in 1661, and finally gave birth to a male heir, the future Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, in 1662, twelve years after her marriage.

The Theatinekirche has two patron saints. Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (1480 – 1547), known as Saint Cajetan, was an Italian Catholic priest and co-founder of the Theatine Order and was canonized as a saint in 1671. Saint Adelaide (Adelheid) of Italy (931 – 999) (also known as Saint Adelaide of Burgundy) was the wife of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. Adelaide was devoted to charitable work and supported the founding of monasteries. Because of her charity, Adelaide was widely revered after her death and was canonized in 1097.

Italian architect Agostino Barelli introduced Italian Baroque architecture to Bavaria with his design for the Theatinekirche. The design was modeled after the mother church of the Theatine Order, Sant’Andrea della Valle in Rome. Construction began in 1663. Barelli completed the shell of the church and left Munich in 1674 because of arguments with the site manager Antonio Spinelli and Henriette Adelaide’s confessor. The incomplete church was consecrated in 1675. Barelli’s successor as the chief architect of the Bavarian court, Enrico Zuccalli, actually Johann Heinrich Zuccalli, a Swiss architect, added the two towers which were not in the original plans, from 1684 -1692. The interior was completed in 1688 and the dome in 1690. For a long time, the outer facade of the Theatinerkirche remained unfinished. Despite many discussions, no agreement was reached. Finally, in 1765, the Bavarian court architect François de Cuvilliés the Elder designed a facade in the Rococo style which his son François de Cuvilliés the Younger completed.

During World War II, the Theatinekirche was bombed four times by the Allied Forces and suffered great damage. An altarpiece by Italian painter Antonio Zanchi was destroyed, along with the choir (the area between the nave and the sanctuary), the altar, and the south chapel. Reconstruction began in 1946 and was completed enough by 1955 to allow church services to resume.

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Interior of the Theatinekirche

Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Stucco Decorations

Stucco decorations; Credit – By marsupium photography – https://www.flickr.com/photos/hagdorned/10382855675/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57528584

The interior of the Theatinekirche is richly decorated with stucco in the Baroque and Rococo styles with Corinthian columns decorated with acanthus leaves, ornaments, and religious figures.

The Pulpit

The pulpit; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62189862

The 1686 black oak pulpit is the work of Austrian sculptor Andreas Faistenberger (link in German).

The High Altar

The high altar; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62189854

Before the World War II bombing, over the high altar hung a 1675 painting (below) by Italian painter Antonio Zanchi that depicted the patron saints of the church St. Cajetan and St. Adelaide, the founders of the church Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and his wife Henriette Adelaide of Savoy with their children, and two pages holding a model of the Theatinekirche. Sadly, the painting was destroyed during a bombing in 1944.

A draft of Antonio Zanchi’s destroyed painting: Credit – Wikipedia

The high altar now contains a 1646 painting (below) by Flemish painter Gaspar de Crayer showing an enthroned Mary holding the infant Jesus surrounded by saints.

Gaspar de Crayer’s painting; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62189858

Statues of the Four Evangelists

The statues of the four evangelists on the high altar can be seen in this photo; Credit – Von © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62189657

In 1722, Bavarian sculptor Balthasar Ableithner (link in German) created the larger-than-life statues of the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which were placed around the high altar. Only the statues of Mark and John survived the World War II bombing intact. The statue of Luke was able to be reconstructed. A new statue of Matthew was created by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ducrot and placed on the altar in 2017.

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July 11, 2011: Requiem Mass for Otto von Habsburg

 

Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria and later in his long life, a member of the European Parliament, was the eldest and the longest surviving of the eight children of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. Otto and his wife Regina of Saxe-Meiningen lived at Villa Austria in Pöcking, Bavaria, Germany, and Otto died there on July 4, 2011, aged 98. Multiple requiem masses were celebrated for Otto von Habsburg including one at the Theatinekirche in Munich, in Bavaria, Germany.

On July 11, 2011, a requiem mass was celebrated in the Theatinekirche by Cardinal Reinhard Marx and his predecessor Cardinal Friedrich Wetter. Munich’s Chief Rabbi Steven Langnas recited a Jewish funeral prayer. At the end of the requiem mass, the “Kaiserhymne” (Emperor’s Hymn), the old Austrian imperial anthem, was sung.

The requiem mass was screened on big screens at the Odeonsplatz, the large square in front of the Theatine Church, and was broadcast by Bavarian Television. Following the requiem mass, the Prime Minister of Bavaria Horst Seehofer hosted a reception for 700 invited guests in the Kaisersaal of the Munich Residenz, the former royal palace of the Wittelsbachs. Among the royalty and nobility attending the requiem mass and reception were Otto von Habsburg’s seven children: Andrea von Habsburg (born 1953), Monika von Habsburg (born 1954, twin of Michaela), Michaela von Habsburg (born 1954, twin of Monika), Gabriela von Habsburg (born 1956), Walburga von Habsburg (born 1958), Karl von Habsburg (born 1961), and Georg von Habsburg (born 1964). Also attending were members of the House of Wittelsbach – Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria and his wife Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria – and Gloria, Princess Dowager of Thurn and Taxis.

On July 16, 2011, following a requiem mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, Otto was interred in the Crypt Chapel of the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, the traditional burial site of the House of Habsburg. His mother Zita of Bourbon-Parma was interred in the Crypt Chapel in 1989. At the time of his burial, Otto’s wife Regina who died in 2010, was also interred in the Crypt Chapel.

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Royal Burials

Coffins in the Princely Crypt of the Theatinekirche; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Besides the Theatinerkirche, rulers of the House of Wittelsbach have been interred at the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Munich, Michaelskirche (St. Michael’s Church in Munich, and Andechs Abbey in Andechs. In 1977, Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, Head of the House of Wittelsbach and pretender to the former Bavarian throne from 1955 until his death in 1996, set up a Wittelsbach private family cemetery near Andechs Abbey due to the lack of space in the other Wittelsbach burial sites. The cemetery complex is now the main burial place of the Wittelsbach family.

The Theatine Church has two burial areas.

The side chapel with the tombs of Maximilian II, King of Bavaria (on left) and Marie Friederike of Prussia, Queen of Bavaria (on right); Credit – By User:Mattes – Self-photographed, CC BY 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40079208

Interred in stone sarcophagi in a side chapel of the main nave:

Sign for the Princely Crypt; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

When I visited the Theatinekirche, my husband did not want to pay the two euros admission to the Princely Crypt, and so I went into the crypt alone – just me and 47 coffins of members of the House of Wittelsbach – no one else was there. Being alone was a fairly creepy experience. I looked around, took photos, and exited quickly!

A view of the dark and creepy (if you are alone!) Princely Crypt; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Interred in the Princely Crypt:

  • Luise Margarete Antonie of Bavaria (1663 – 1665) – daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Ludwig Amadeus Viktor of Bavaria (born and died 1665) – son of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Stillborn son (1666) – son of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Kajetan Maria Franz of Bavaria (born and died 1670) – son of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, Electress of Bavaria (1636 – 1676) – wife of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
  • Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (1636 – 1679)
  • Leopold Ferdinand of Bavaria (born and died 1689) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Anton of Bavaria (born and died 1690) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Wilhelm of Bavaria (1701 – 1704) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Alois of Bavaria (1702 – 1705) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maximilian Emanuel Thomas (1704 – 1709) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maximiliana Maria of Bavaria (born and died 1723) – daughter of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (1662 – 1726)
  • Therese Kunigunde of Poland, Electress of Bavaria (1676 – 1730) – 2nd wife of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Josef Ludwig of Bavaria (1728 – 1733) – son of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maximilian Joseph Franz of Bavaria (1720 – 1738) – son of Ferdinand Maria Innocenz of Bavaria and grandson of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Ferdinand Maria Innozenz of Bavaria (1699 – 1738) – son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, Elector of Bavaria (1697 – 1745)
  • Maria of Bavaria (born and died 1748)
  • Unnamed prince (born and died 1753)
  • Maria Anna of Bavaria (born and died 1754)
  • Unnamed prince (born and died 1755)
  • Maria Amalia of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (1701 – 1756) – wife of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor
  • Clemens Franz de Paula of Bavaria (1722 – 1770) – son of Ferdinand Maria Innocenz of Bavaria and grandson of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
  • Maria Anna of Bavaria, Margravine of Baden-Baden (1734 – 1776) – daughter of Karl VII, Holy Roman Emperor, wife of Ludwig Georg, Margrave of Baden-Baden
  • Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria (1727 – 1777)
  • Maria Anna of Pfalz-Sulzbach, Princess of Bavaria (1722 – 1790), wife of Clemens Franz de Paula of Bavaria
  • Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, Electress of Bavaria (1728 – 1797) – wife of Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria
  • Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria (1724 – 1799)
  • Maximilian Joseph Karl Friedrich of Bavaria (1800 – 1803) – son of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria
  • Maximiliana Josephe Karoline of Bavaria (1810 – 1821) – daughter of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria

Tombs of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his 2nd wife Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Theatinerkirche (München) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatinerkirche_(M%C3%BCnchen)> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Death and Funeral of Otto von Habsburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_funeral_of_Otto_von_Habsburg> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Theatine Church, Munich – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatine_Church,_Munich> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2012. Royal Burial Sites of the Kingdom of Bavaria. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/german-royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-kingdom-of-bavaria/> [Accessed 6 January 2022].
  • Theatinerkirche.de. 2022. Theatinerkirche München. [online] Available at: <http://www.theatinerkirche.de/> [Accessed 6 January 2022].