The Franciscans belong to Hofheim like the Bergkapelle or the Meisterturm. The retreat house on the edge of the forest with its spacious garden is an integral part of the townscape of the district town. When the Franciscans leave the district town of the Main-Taunus-Kreis in 2025 after 100 years for good, much more than a piece of Hofheim's history will be lost with them. In their educational facility, a center for silence and encounter, the friars not only offer church services, but also offer a spiritual program that ranges from seminars on silence, meditation courses, introductions to Zen to creative writing. This loss is very painful, as the offers are by no means to be equated with adult education courses,Instead, their orientation in a special place offers a refuge for all people in search of meaning, regardless of their denomination. And the stay gave many so much confidence that they would find their way back to their own faith.
It is very surprising that the diocese of Limburg, to which the house and the extensive area were offered for takeover by the order, let this opportunity slip by. In particular, the Catholic Church, which is currently in disrepute due to scandals, could have built on a meeting place that also casts its spell on a non-church clientele and attracts thousands of people every year.
So what will happen after 2025 with the 12,000 square meter area in the best Hofheimer location on the edge of the Kapellenberg? The open dialogue with the Hofheim city administration and the neighbors in the neighborhood, which the Franciscans sought very early on, gives rise to hope. One can confidently believe from the brothers who are committed to the Franciscan tradition that after the long years of solidarity with the people of Hofheim they are not interested in selling for the highest price. But even if the public or social use desired by everyone should be preserved, the imminent departure of the Franciscans is more than wistful. Sometimes there is not a special magic inherent in every new beginning: Here an intellectual local supply center is lost, for which there will certainly be no substitute in this outstanding form.