Saint Martin's Monastery Church, Disentis (Mustér) – Grisons

Seven tonnes of LASA VENATO ARABESCATO^® for the monastery church

The monastery church of Saint Martin is the focal point of the Benedictine monastery of Disentis (Mustér) in the Canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in Switzerland. It was renovated over a four year period. The comprehensive structural repair measures were crowned on the 11th of November 2019, the patron saint's day of the monastery church, with the consecration of a new 7-tonne altar made of LASA marble.

The monastery management under Abbot Vigeli Monn OSB (Order of Saint Benedict) and former Abbot Daniel Schönbächler OSB commissioned the Swiss artist, sculptor and church interior designer Kurt Sigrist from Sarnen (Obwalden, south of Lucerne in Switzerland) to redesign the central Eucharist table. In order to show off the black choir grille particularly well, the builders and the artist decided from the beginning on a new People’s altar in a light colour. After a visit by the Disentis (Mustér) convent in 2018 to the Lasa Marmo factory, the choice fell on a block of LASA marble in the characteristic colours of the LASA VENATO ARABESCATO^® variety. The variety integrates itself particularly well into the baroque choir apse with its blue-grey streaks and clouds running parallel over the entire surface of the pearl-white marble. In addition, the Marienberg Abbey in Burgusio (Burgeis), which is located near Lasa (Laas), belongs to the Benedictine Order and the Vinschgau Valley (Val Venosta), was also part of the diocese of Chur until 1816, which created an additional connection to the Disentis (Mustér) monastery. The seven-tonne block of marble was first transported to Herisau (Appenzell Outer Rhodes). There, in the halls of the Schmitt Natural Stone Works, it was cut to size with computer precision according to the Obwald artist's design. After completion by Kurt Sigrist, the new main and celebration altar of the church consists of four parts, which in its simplest form represents two hands supporting the altar slab.