Emmanuel Thomas I Monday, July 17, 2023
BERLIN – As a major heatwave drives up temperatures across Europe, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach urged churches to open their doors to provide a cool shaded space to escape the sun.
Church officials in Germany were quick to note that most churches in the country are already open to visitors during the day year-round, regardless of the weather.
“Beautiful medieval construction, but also a cool space,” Lauterbach tweeted on Monday alongside a photo of a church in Siena, Italy.
“Mr Lauterbach is pushing on open doors. Everyone is welcome in our churches, for prayer, for devotion, but also for protection from the heat,” a spokesman for the official Protestant Church (EKD), which represents most Protestants in Germany, told dpa.
The archdiocese of Cologne, Germany’s largest Roman Catholic diocese, said that the churches should always be open to everyone whenever possible – for prayer, for silence and for rest.
“This is just as important in winter as it is now in summer. The archdiocese of Cologne is therefore happy to support the initiative of the open churches.”
