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St. Gregory House is run under the direction and supervision of the two boards: Board of Directors and Board of Councilors. The House enjoys an affiliation agreement with Regensburg College of Church Music and Musical Education in Germany. The Chairman of the two boards is P. Rhabanus Petri OSB, a priest of St. Ottilien Archabbey, and the Principal Veronika Chikako Hashimoto, Musician of Church Music, is in charge of the management of the House.
Liebe Besucherinnen und Besucher unserer Homepage!
Sehr herzlich darf ich Sie begrüßen und freue mich, dass sie sich für uns interessieren.
Das Haus St. Gregorio ist ein ganz besonderer Ort. Das wurde mir bewusst, als ich im Mai 2018 zum ersten Mal hier zu Besuch war. Musik und der Gesang – zur Ehre Gottes und zur Freude der Menschen – spielen in diesem Haus eine wesentliche Rolle und prägen die Atmosphäre. Aber auch gelebte Gastfreundschaft zeichnet St. Gregorio aus.
Seit nunmehr 40 Jahren werden in diesem Haus Frauen und Männer ausgebildet, die durch ihr Können in den Pfarreien die Gottesdienste musikalisch gestalten und für das Leben einer Pfarrei eine wichtige Funktion übernehmen. Ob es sich um das Singen des gregorianischen Chorals handelt, um das Orgelspiel oder polyphone Gesänge – das Haus St. Gregorio ist eine Zelle, wo Kunst und Können verbunden werden.
Aber nicht nur das. St. Gregorio spielt auch noch auf anderer Ebene für viele Frauen und Männer in Japan eine wichtige Rolle: Es ist geistliches Zentrum für jene, die als Weltoblaten ihr Leben nach der Regel des heiligen Benedikt von Nursia gestalten und in dieser Haltung Gott die Ehre geben und den Willen bekunden, „Licht der Welt und Salz der Erde“ zu sein.
Darum wünsche ich allen, die in St. Gregorio ein- und ausgehen, Gottes reichen Segen und ein frohes Herz, das Gott preist – ob mit Orgelklängen oder mit dem Klang der Stimme.
Auch Ihnen, liebe Besucherinnen und Besucher unserer Homepage, wünsche ich Gottes reichen Segen.
P. Rhabanus Petri OSB, St. Ottilien
We have been learning Gregorian chant, which is essential in Christian liturgy and its music, attempting to preserve the treasure of Christian church music, and pursuing the role and meaning of music in our praising of God. In particular, we have been looking into the possibilities of extending that praising in our Japanese culture and tradition. We believe that we shall achieve something by pursuing new approaches of adapting to the contemporary world by maintaining our own culture and tradition, yet without being bound by local customs.
“Since the very objective of church music is the glorification and admiration of God as well as the consecration of Christians, it cannot be accomplished without our worship of eternal God-Prayer. It is simply through our uninterrupted day-to-day worship, that all activities and events will follow.” These are the words of the late Gereon Goldmann, OFM, the founder of St. Gregory House, when he started this institution. He believed that liturgy work is the most sacred work of human beings and that music is born and develops out of it.
Since that time, while observing Roman Catholic Church liturgies, through trial and error we have conducted research, preservation, propagation, and educational activities. It should also be noted that, from its foundation, St. Gregory House has engaged with others in various ecumenical efforts, crossing over many religions and congregations. Art is the one asset universal to the entire human race, music is the word of mind and spirit and nourishes all people. It has no boundary, and here is where we look for the act of harmony. It is in this context that we are very happy that the 120 graduates of our School of Church Music are actively working in and contributing to various fields.
On November 30, 2005, under the authorization of the Vatican, the School concluded an ongoing affiliation agreement with the Regensburg College of Church Music and Music Education in Germany. This opened the path for local Japanese graduates to qualify for Diploma B of Musician of Church Music, equivalent to the diploma in Germany, and Diploma C of Musician of Church Music. This agreement serves as a strong milestone and foundation starting in 2006, and we anticipate that this will provide another strong motivation and rewarding experience for our students.
Veronika Chikako Hashimoto
Principal of St. Gregory House, Musician of Church Music