The impressive pilgrimage church of Mariahilf with its baroque monastery complex towers above Passau’s city centre. The monastery was reserved for the Capuchin Order until the 19th century. Since 2002, it has been home to the Pauline Fathers. In the 17th century, the Baroque church with the adjoining monastery gained great importance as a place of pilgrimage to Mary. The image of Mariahilf ob Passau, which is on the high altar, was particularly revered. However, this is only a copy – the original is in the Innsbruck parish church of St. Jakob. According to legend, the Habsburg Emperor Leopold I once prayed before the image of Mary in 1683 for the liberation of Vienna from the Turks.
