Communion wine for all from a vending machine

Probably the world's first "Communion wine filling station" opens in Austria

Those who are thirsty in the Austrian Burgenland now have reason to rejoice: the world's first "Communion wine filling station" has opened there. The idea came from a tech-savvy Franciscan priest who is pursuing a strategy with this provision

Cool Communion wine from the vending machine: In front of the baroque basilica of Frauenkirchen in Burgenland, Austria, pilgrims can now tap something to quench their thirst. For one euro, a vending machine dispenses one-sixteenth of a liturgical wine cooled to six degrees, as reported by the newspaper Kurier (online Monday evening).

The yellow box is equipped with a touch screen, bank card reader and two small refrigerated compartments with taps. Payment and age checks are made via the pilgrims' ATM cards. The idea for the "Communion wine filling station" came from the technology-savvy Franciscan Father Thomas Lackner. According to information from the manufacturing company, it is the first of its kind in the world, he told the newspaper.

Admittedly not consecrated

The four wines in the vending machine come from regional vintners who fulfil the criteria for Communion wine: Natural without additives and approval by the diocese for ecclesiastical use. Of course, the wine is not consecrated, that is, according to the Catholic view it has been changed into the blood of Christ during the Eucharist. The samples from the "Communion wine filling station" are merely good Burgenland wine, as it is used in the celebration of Mass.

According to Father, he does not only want to earn money for the Basilica with the filling station. He sees the vending machine as part of a strategy to get more people into the church. Lackner: "Such an attraction can motivate people to visit this place. It can be the first step towards coming over the threshold to faith." The pilgrimage church in Frauenkirchen is not only a popular pilgrimage destination, but also a stop for bicycle tourists, sometimes hundreds per day.

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Such a holy place needs no gimmicks.