Priest criticizes

“What kind of sick things do young people do?”

Vystrcil always comes up with something "suitable for everyday life" for his sermon.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus/Markus Wenzel)

Attnang-Puchheim has had a new priest for three weeks now. Fritz Vystrcil is a man who gave up his job as a computer scientist, criticizes the church and sees himself more as a psychologist than a confessor. He talks about colleagues who suffer from burnout, says what he thinks of TikTok and says: "Unhappiness begins with comparisons."

Wrapped up in a winter jacket, a sporty man in his mid-fifties jets towards us. Fritz Vystrcil has already taken his e-bike with him from Würzburg, the "normal" one is still in his old home. Three weeks ago, the priest moved from his old place of work to Attnang-Puchheim. Now he is the new priest there. "I used to run sometimes four times a week, but unfortunately I don't have the time at the moment. Running gives you lots of good thoughts for the sermon, which perhaps also have a benefit for people's everyday lives," Father Fritz tells us and doesn't seem a bit stressed despite his move. Just behind the monastery is a beautiful park, and the native of Lower Austria shows us the Church of St. George. "Empress Zita's mother is buried here."