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Stefan Oster, Diocese of Passau

»On special occasions there is also musical accompaniment from our brass band in our toilet.«

This video is currently going viral - more than 700,000 views in two days. The reason: an Easter joke - a tradition in the diocese of Passau for years. Bishop Stefan Oster recited the joke last Sunday and was increasingly unable to contain his laughter. Which in turn infects people in the church. Look for yourself:

Stefan Oster, Diocese of Passau

»So, the whole thing takes place in the Bavarian Forest in the 1920s, where tourism was starting slowly but there wasn't yet running water everywhere. Towards the beginning of the 1920s, a city woman wrote to the small rural community where she planned to vacation. Concerned, she asked whether there was a toilet available. The mayor and local council were completely perplexed by the strange request and abbreviation. Finally, the village priest was even questioned and he suspected that it could actually just be the forest band that the new-fangled townspeople now write with a “c”. So the members of the local council, together with the priest, wrote the following letter in response to the concerned tourist: Dear Madam, thank you very much for your pleasant inquiry, to which we are pleased to reply that you will find everything at our location to your complete satisfaction. Of course, our village also has a toilet and has had this for over 300 years. The toilet is conveniently located in the middle of the idyllic forest and can be easily reached on foot in a quarter of an hour. It has around 30 seats, is constantly open during the day and is at your disposal. Most of the time people use our toilet alone, but on festivals and public holidays several people often gather there to pay homage to the purposes for which our toilet was built. This usually happens under the expert guidance of the priest, who can often be found in the toilet during the week.

On special occasions there is also musical accompaniment from our brass band in our toilet. At the suggestion of the pastor, we keep notes available in our toilet on these occasions so that it is more convenient for you to follow the event. We hope that nothing stands in the way of your stay in our beautiful place. We are always happy when people come from far away just to use our toilet. Yours sincerely, the local council.”