The pope's visit to Germany this month includes a notable 25-hour stop in the eastern state of Thuringia - a historical stronghold of the Protestant reformation, where presumably no pope has set foot since 1512. Martin Luther, the father of the reformation and one-time Thuringia resident, went so far as to label the pope the antichrist.

How times have changed. While Pope Benedict XVI may not encounter the hostility toward Catholicism that existed in the region 500 years ago, he will encounter an apathy toward all religion, compounded by four decades of Communism and 12 years of Nazism before that. Only one out of every four people in eastern Germany belongs to a church, and the percentage of Catholics in Thuringia is in the single digits.

In light of these facts, Joachim Wanke, bishop of the state's capital, Erfurt, said it is clear "that a visit by the pope cannot change anything essential."

"It has undoubtedly come into common knowledge that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will not come again soon," he added. "A papal visit won't come again for a couple hundred years. So in that way, it's marked with curiosity.

Apathetic population

But such curiosity is only visible among a minority. In a straw poll around the Erfurt Cathedral, hardly anyone was interested in commenting on the upcoming papal visit. Some only did so in the tone of one older man: "He doesn't have to come here for me. I don't need him, and I have nothing to do with him."

Bishop Wanke said this means the Catholic diocese of Erfurt has to translate its message into words any German can understand. He did so using the analogy of a Baroque mirror room.

"When you shut all the doors and windows, all you see is yourself," he said. "I think that's a picture that people nowadays no longer perceive - that behind the mirrors, there may be another horizon."

Opening those doors and windows to find God is "the essential task of the Church's preaching," he said, adding that Benedict XVI's visit could breathe new life into the diocese's efforts.

A Catholic enclave

Despite the distance at which Erfurters keep themselves from the church, the area outside the Erfurt Cathedral and adjacent St. Severi Church is likely to be full on September 24. Thirty thousand people are expected to attend when the pontiff celebrates the Eucharist.

That number could be even greater the day before, when Benedict XVI leads evening prayers at the rural Etzelsbach chapel, in the Eichsfeld district northwest of Erfurt. A Catholic enclave during the Communist era of East Germany, the pope's visit could be interpreted as a kind of honor to the faithful of the region.

Common meeting, common prayer

For many, the highlight of the visit to Germany will be the pope's meeting in Erfurt with leaders of the Protestant Church in Germany, an umbrella organization comprising several Protestant denominations.

Bishop Wanke said in such times of uncertainty in the church, he sees no alternative but to cooperation with non-Catholic Christians. But he added that the pope could not possibly resolve all the differences with Protestants.

"You can't expect that Benedict will suddenly and abruptly swoop in and perform miracles," he said.

Still, the pope's meeting with Protestant leaders - and the planned ecumenical church service they are to celebrate together - is a sign of a willingness to improve ecumenical relations. Those have been significantly damaged since the Vatican twice since 2000 declared Protestant communities are not real churches and their pastors have no right to give communion.

The place for the meeting is historically significant - the now-Protestant Augustinian Monastery, where Martin Luther himself lived and studied from 1505 to 1511. There the young monk's skepticism toward Catholic beliefs and practices ripened, eventually leading to his split with the Catholic Church. And there now the two sides can come back together spiritually, said Bishop Wanke.

"It gives me joy that we're not only talking together - Protestants and Catholics - but that we're also praying together," he said. "That could be a real encouragement for the prayer that the unity of Christians does not die away."

Author: Klaus Krämer / acb
Editor: Rob Turner