Rupert Grill was born in 1975 as the youngest of ten brothers on a farm in Konradsheim. After secondary school in Seitenstetten, his path led him to HTL Waidhofen in the department of mechanical engineering and automation technology. The idea of wanting to become a priest did not arise for him in a religious context, but as an intern at the Forster company, where he had to inspect the snow groomers.
Two years after this formative period of undisturbed activity in the open air (for the “first retreat”), after having obtained the classical high school diploma in 1994, he even decided to enter the seminary of St. Pölten. Naturally, this decision was also favored by the inspiring youth vespers in Seitenstetten monastery with Father Laurentius Resch or the work of the youth leadership of the dean in Waidhofen/Ybbs with Lucia Deinhofer. “My years of study in Rome from 1996 to 2001 were the most formative period of my priestly formation,” enthuses Grill, who was also ordained a deacon and priest there. During his studies, trips with the “Schacherhof” youth center also took him to Taizé. After three years as chaplain in Ybbs, he continued his theological studies in Freiburg/Breisgau for three years before leading the Zeillern-Oed parish association until 2020 and also worked in Krems in religious teacher training and eight years in training of deacons in the diocese was responsible. “My habilitation project focused on theological ethics with an emphasis on ‘weak will’ in the scientific exchange with psychology, whereby in addition to my interest in science, the connection with pastoral work has always remained important to me “, says the moral theologian.
Grill sees twofold challenges for a pastor for his five parishes: “We are currently three active priests, but we have no pastoral assistants and many have yet to get used to the restructuring in the parish association. Also, there are post-pandemic effects in terms of attendance in church”. being a Christian for yourself and for others can live well.
“The need to talk is greater than the time”
“Even in small towns and rural areas, the need for discussion is greater than the time to do it”, reports the son of the former farmer from Einschichthof, shaped by the internationality of the city of Rome: “It is important to strengthen one’s identity as a Christian and at the same time to be open to care for the outside world, one must be able to live one’s freedom in faith”. In the sacrament of infant baptism he sees the promise of God’s love expressed with particular force without having to do anything for it.
Grill would like to see the Advent season as a preparation time for the actual festival and to know it separately from the Christmas season as a festival time. “Christmas is becoming more and more important to me, because the incarnation of Jesus underscores God’s special love for every life on earth. It’s not just about us humans, it’s also about making our environment visible, like the ox and the donkey or the sheep in our cribs. God enters our earthly life with all the fields of relationship that exist. It is about God-ordained life on earth!”
