About the Church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg:
One of the oldest churches in the city of Augsburg the Church of St. Peter am Perlach dates back at least to the 11th century. The Church of St. Peter am Perlach has two special features: a small terracotta figure of Jesus just inside the church and, most notably, the original image of “Our Lady, Undoer of Knots”.
Painting of Our Lady “Undoer of Knots”
A main point of interest is a painting by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtnerthat that was created around 1700 and shows the Virgin Mary as the “Madonna of Knots” (many around the world call it “Mary Undoer of Knots) . This image has remained in Augsburg, Germany since its completion and is on display here at the Church of St. Peter am Perlach.
A copy of the painting is in San José del Talar, a church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Not surprising once you read the information below regarding Pope Francis.
Many from these countries come to Augsburg on their European tour to see the original and to pray in front of it.
Devotion to Our Lady Undoer of Knots
While studying in Germany in the 1980s, Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) was impressed by this image. When he returned to Argentina with a copy of that image on a postcard, had an icon struck with this same title. The world’s attention was drawn to the icon when Vatican Radio revealed that Pope Francis had championed the devotion decades before in Argentina.
Today, devotion to Our Lady under this title has grown tremendously. Those with sudden problems such as illness, financial trouble, etc. ask for her intercession.
Pope Francis declared September 28 to be the Feast of Our Lady Undoer of Knots.
You can find a prayer to Our Lady Undoer of Knots on the Aleteia website here.(external link..this page will stay open)
Women and men from different professions and statuses in 1780 founded a citizens’ association, (“We from Sankt Peter”!) that has succeeded in preventing the church from being demolished after secularization, and even today the members of the citizens’ association are responsible for all matters relating to this church.
Finding the Church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg:
Perlach is a district of Munich, about 50 miles west of the city itself. The Perlachturm, or belltower (originally a watchtower) is in front of the church and dates from the 10th century, before the church was built. The church itself was built in the 1610s by Elias Holl, who also designed the nearby Town Hall.
Address: Peutingerstrasse 16, 86152 Augsburg
email: sankt-peter@am-perlach.de
Click here for the official website of the Church of St. Peter am Perlach (in German).