A religious with a great love of music: Mourning for the Salesian Georg Schieder

Created: 11/28/2022, 11:00 am

By: Christiane Mühlbauer

Brother Georg Schieder also became known in the region through his book “Hinter Klostermauern”.

© arp

The religious community of the Salesians of Don Bosco and many people in the Loisachtal mourn the death of Brother Georg Schieder.

As the monastery reports, the popular religious died on Thursday at the age of 86.

Benediktbeuern - Georg Schieder was the author of the book "Hinter Klostermauern" and very musical.

For decades he taught students how to play the dulcimer, zither, guitar and accordion.

Schieder was a lay brother and had not received priestly ordination, so he did not bear the title "Father".

He came from the Upper Palatinate, and the earthy dialect was always noticeable in his voice.

Schieder was not only a very sociable person, but also dutiful and modest.

He liked to start the day at 4 a.m. to pray the rosary.

Came to the monastery as a teenager because of my career aspirations

At the age of 14 he joined the Salesians of Don Bosco because he really wanted to be a locksmith.

In 1950, against his father's will, he was able to start his apprenticeship.

During his apprenticeship he found pleasure in religious life, joined the Salesians and after a few years made his final profession.

Schieder knew the monastery better than almost anyone else.

Shortly after the end of the Second World War there were blacksmiths, gardeners, wheelwrights, tailors, shoemakers, saddlers, butchers, farmers, mills and bakeries in Benediktbeuern in addition to the metalworking shop.

Dedicated Craftsman

Schieder's commitment belonged to the craft from the very beginning.

He lent a hand when a biogas plant was built in the Maierhof in 1955 and later even gave an interview to the "Bunte Illustrierte" as its manager.

Title: "I don't give a damn about the oil".

He was also the head of the metalworking shop and made clocks, chalices, candlesticks and crosses in his free time.

In 1968 he became a master locksmith.

He was the caretaker in the monastery until old age.

There is hardly a corner of the monastery that Schieder did not know.

However, after the major fire in 1979, the sensitive alarm system in the attic had particularly “fucked” him.

"It struck every bat," he reported at the time.

He had to go up to three times a night to turn them off.

A few years later, every room got a smoke detector - and Schieder was able to sleep better again.

Taught music for decades

But generations of people in the Loisachtal know Schieder above all through his music: he taught himself the zither and dulcimer as a self-taught student, and he also played the guitar and accordion.

Music was an affair of the heart for him, even into old age.

The fact that he was no longer able to play music really affected him, reports monastery director Father Lothar Bily.

In recent years, Schieder has had back problems and has been confined to a wheelchair.

He thrived when former students would visit him for a chat or some music.

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2014 Book "Hinter Klostermauern" published

Schieder was known to a larger circle through the book "Hinter Klostermauern", which he published in 2014.

In it he reported on earlier years in the monastery and told many anecdotes.

Something special was his "friendship" with a deer that he had found injured in a meadow in front of the monastery.

He nursed the animal back to health and then released it back into nature.

What happened next was a rarity: the deer, called "Liesl", came to him every spring for 15 years and showed his young fawns.

The requiem will take place on Wednesday, November 30th at 2 p.m. in the Benediktbeur basilica, followed by burial in the Salesian cemetery.

The rosary will be prayed on Tuesday, November 29 at 6:15 p.m. in St. Mary's Church.

You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.