Catholic priest holds Halloween service dressed as Dracula - video
Open coffin and chaplain in a Dracula cape: Church receives hate comments for "Halloween service"
A Halloween service with an open coffin, artificial fog, and a chaplain in a Dracula cape: This pleased around 50 residents of Freising – and angered many others.
Halloween and the Catholic Church, do they somehow go together? Yes, says Freising parish vicar Michael Korell, pointing to the Catholic origins of the evening before All Saints' Day and therefore advocating for a "Halloween service" on October 31 in the Mortuary chapel at St. George's Cemetery. With plenty of artificial fog, a semi-open coffin, and a touch of spooky atmosphere.
Under the Dracula cape, Chaplain Michael Korell wore his official vestments.
The result was surprising: Around 50 guests were enthusiastic about the parish vicar's approach – however, there was also some opposition from individuals who subsequently described the service as "undignified" and even "occult." "I simply wanted to reach people who might not have a connection to the church. And that worked; there were people there whom I haven't even seen at Christmas Mass," Korell explained to the FT when asked.
Hurtful and threatening comments
Nevertheless, there was criticism, albeit only from three or four parishioners, as parish priest Daniel Reichel had calculated – but this criticism, too, must be taken seriously. To contextualize the "Halloween service," the city church uploaded a comprehensive statement and apology to social media on Tuesday. The statement emphasized that some comments under the Halloween post were perceived by the church as "hurtful," even "threatening."
The specific nature of the negative comments is no longer traceable, as those responsible are remaining tight-lipped – the comments were apparently deleted quickly. The city church also apologized for this: "We regret that we overstepped the mark in some instances when filtering and blocking hate comments. As a synodal church, it is important to listen to one another and engage in dialogue."
Officials admit mistakes
Daniel Reichel has reflected on the situation and told the FT: "Yes, the name 'Halloween Service' is problematic, because it was a devotional service and not a Holy Mass – and we should have presented the concept better beforehand."
The "half-open coffin" stood in the funeral chapel as a symbol of Christ's resurrection.
"I did some research beforehand and familiarized myself with 'All Hallows' Eve,' from which Halloween is derived," Michael Korell assures us. Yes, he did wear a Dracula cape, but he wasn't made up as a vampire; he wore his official robes underneath and didn't engage in any other kind of clowning around. Instead, he gave a short sermon, sang hymns from the hymnal, and prayed the Lord's Prayer with those present—all in the funeral chapel, not in the Church itself.
Elsewhere, there was no criticism for this.
Korell also wanted to comment on the topic of "half-open coffins": "In churches, we see huge paintings depicting open coffins. I just wanted to say that we don't need to be afraid when the graves are empty. It is a sign of Christ's resurrection." Nevertheless, it is also important to him that every single criticism is taken seriously and that things are addressed and spoken about, which he has agreed to do.
Dean Daniel Reichel is surprised: "There have been services like this in Moosburg before, but there was no criticism." Incidentally, the comments under the statement have been consistently positive so far. The altar servers at St. Georg found the service very "successful" and in no way "offensive" – they just would have liked more artificial fog..
Cathcon: They no longer understand how wrong this is as evidenced by the statement from the parish.
Statement on the Halloween Service
After the Halloween service last Friday, we received a lot of feedback. Many of it was positive. However, some were concerned and described the event as "occult" and "undignified," etc. As the city church, we would like to address this:
The service did not take place in any church. This was a conscious decision, so as not to compromise the dignity of the church space. At no point was there any intention of celebrating Holy Mass.
It was a service. We prayed, sang only hymns from the hymnal, offered intercessory prayers, and recited the Lord's Prayer. At no point were there any occult acts or anything that could have given that impression.
At Easter, we celebrate an empty tomb. Christ has risen and given us the hope of the blessed resurrection. The decorations were intended to allude to this
In his short sermon, Parish Vicar Michael Korell addressed the fact that Halloween has a Christian origin that deserves to be rediscovered. Furthermore, and this was the core message of the service: Being spooky is okay, because we don't have to be afraid.
"Do not be afraid" (Luke 2:10), the angel tells us. The fear of death is defeated, because we have hope in Jesus Christ
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