Flashback 1973: A Novus Ordo Pentecost in the Church With the Red Dot

Why you’re not Novus Ordo anymore… 

Flashback 1973:
A Novus Ordo Pentecost in the Church With the Red Dot

We’re currently in the Octave of Pentecost, so why not take a look at how Pentecost was celebrated in 1973 in the Ludwigskirche (Church of St. Louis) in Ibbenbüren, Germany? By that time, the Novus Ordo liturgical revolution was in full swing! The image above gives a preview.

Yes, we are talking about a ‘Roman Catholic’ church, part of the diocese of Münster. The church had been consecrated in 1952 for Catholic worship of the Most Holy Trinity. But then came ‘Saints’ John XXIII and Paul VI and brought us the Second Vatican Council along with its infamous ‘spirit’, which Germany was particularly enamored with, and which was anticipated in various ways there in the years before the council, especially architecturally.

The Ludwigkirche of Ibbenbüren was built roughly ten years before Vatican II. Construction began in July of 1950 and was completed two years later. Here is a photo of the church’s exterior:

Ibbenbüren’s St.-Ludwig-Kirche in 2014
(credit: Wikimedia Commons/J.-H. Janßen/CC BY-SA 3.0; cropped)

In 1973, Pentecost Sunday fell on June 10. The pastor of St. Louis’ at that time was Fr. Bernhard Honsel (1925-2013), ordained in 1953. He can be seen in the following screenshot taken from the Pentecost ‘Mass’, which was broadcast on national German television:

Clearly, it was the 1970s — the haircuts alone give it away.

The wreckovation of St. Louis parish’s sanctuary had taken place in 1971 under Fr. Honsel and Bp. Heinrich Tenhumberg (1915-1979), whom Paul VI had put in charge of the Münster diocese in 1969.

The most striking feature of the post-Vatican II ‘renewal’ of St. Ludwig’s is the big red dot painted on the back wall. The man who created this incredibly edifying religious artwork is Rupprecht Geiger (1908-2009). Its official name is ‘Rounded Red’:

This ‘Rounded Red’ is a little bit like a car accident: It’s really nothing you want to see, but somehow you find yourself looking at it.

A brochure about the church explains: “The huge monumental field of color creates a mysterious visual space for the viewer, in which the inconceivability of God can be experienced.” Ah yes, experiencing the inconceivability of God — rather than “look[ing] on Him whom they pierced” (Jn 19:37) and who has revealed the transcendent God: “No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (Jn 1:18); “Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also” (Jn 14:9).

The red dot — pardon, the ‘Rounded Red’ — supposedly signifies Christ, among other things. According to an official explanation on the diocesan web site, the holy red dot is a “mark of orientation, light, warmth, life, symbol of Christ, resurrection, the rising sun of the new kingdom of God, [and] hope.” Must have fooled a lot of people! Originally painted in 1971 in a warm shade of red, it was updated in 1996 by the same artist to a flamboyant fluorescent pink (see a video clip showing it here).

It may be hard to believe, but there is another work from the same ‘artist’ that is very similar, although not used inside a church. It’s called ‘Rounded Blue’. There’s no need to show it; if you’ve seen the red one, you’ve seen the blue one. (Those who ‘must’ see it anyway can admire it here.)

Returning now to the televised ‘Mass’ of June 10, 1973, the following video (direct link here) contains the insufferable worship service in its entirety (beware some immodesty):

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It is very evident that less than ten years after the closing of Vatican II, there was nothing Catholic left in that church. Fifteen years prior, such a ‘Eucharistic celebration’ might have been mistaken for a Methodist service. Alas, it is by no means a unique case, as practically all Catholic parishes were transformed into dens of Modernism and sacrilege during that time, especially in the Land of Luther.

Fr. Honsel’s sermon is pretty much the same Modernist junk we’ve heard ad nauseam, especially in the last 12 years under Jorge Bergoglio (‘Pope Francis’). Recalling to mind the famous words of John XXIII at the conclusion of the council’s first session, Honsel speaks of a ‘New Pentecost’ which the vernacular liturgies are supposedly a fruit or a sign of. He criticizes both progressivist and conservative reaction to the council and its changes and warns that ecclesiastical unity in diversity can only be maintained if each camp remains open-minded, convinced that neither of them has the absolute or full truth. Honsel brings up the Jewish existentialist Martin Buber (1878-1965) relating a story told by a Hasidic rabbi to illustrate his point. The pastor ends by expressing his hope that God would lead the Church “to an ever-new Pentecost” — apparently the ‘old’ one wasn’t good enough for him.

Although the Creed was missing entirely from the service — and quite fittingly so, considering that it wasn’t Roman Catholic worship — the ‘Eucharistic celebration’ included two edifying dance performances, one in between the reading and the Gospel, the other at the end:

How many of these girls stuck around and are still part of St. Ludwig’s today? There’s no way to tell, of course, but maybe some of them can be found in this picture here.

After the missing Creed come the bidding prayers or so-called prayers of the faithful. A woman reads the following petitions, very reflective of the spirit of the age:

For Your Church: that it may serve people and not exert any pressure, nor give false security; that it may follow Your Spirit and be open to all who want to live in creativity and happiness. For this, let us pray to the Lord.

For a viable, humane society: that all may work together in trust and openness and encounter each other with patience and tolerance; that they may strive for peace, happiness, and compassion and also make room for those who are different. For this, let us pray to the Lord.

Two more petitions follow, recited by a man.

Having thus concluded the ‘Liturgy of the Word’, the Novus Ordo service continues with its ‘Liturgy of the Eucharist’, for which Fr. Honsel is joined by a concelebrant.

The distribution of ‘Holy Communion’ is particularly disgraceful. Not that it was anything out of the ordinary, no. That’s actually part of the problem: The outrageous Novus Ordo way of distribution had become quite ordinary by that time already. At least five ‘Eucharistic ministers’ (incl. at least one woman) plus Fr. Honsel distribute the hosts as if they were handing out snacks: placed in the hand, of course, with no Communion rail, no kneeling, nothing whatsoever that would signify that the communicants believe they are receiving the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Incarnate God.

In the following screenshot, we see the pastor holding at least three hosts in his hand at one time:

It is downright frightening to think that this very priest, Fr. Honsel, stood at a real altar offering the true Mass just ten years earlier.

Obviously, it does not take much to conclude: “An enemy hath done this” (Mt 13:28). Indeed, it is the very enemy whom Pope St. Pius X (r. 1903-1914) identified as operating deeply inside the Church herself:

…the partisans of error are to be sought not only among the Church’s open enemies; but, what is to be most dreaded and deplored, in her very bosom, and are the more mischievous the less they keep in the open. We allude, Venerable Brethren, to many who belong to the Catholic laity, and, what is much more sad, to the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, animated by a false zeal for the Church, lacking the solid safeguards of philosophy and theology, nay more, thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines taught by the enemies of the Church, and lost to all sense of modesty, put themselves forward as reformers of the Church….

Although they express their astonishment that We should number them amongst the enemies of the Church, no one will be reasonably surprised that We should do so, if, leaving out of account the internal disposition of the soul, of which God alone is the Judge, he considers their tenets, their manner of speech, and their action. Nor indeed would he be wrong in regarding them as the most pernicious of all the adversaries of the Church. For, as We have said, they put into operation their designs for her undoing, not from without but from within. Hence, the danger is present almost in the very veins and heart of the Church, whose injury is the more certain from the very fact that their knowledge of her is more intimate. Moreover, they lay the ax not to the branches and shoots, but to the very root, that is, to the faith and its deepest fibers. And once having struck at this root of immortality, they proceed to diffuse poison through the whole tree, so that there is no part of Catholic truth which they leave untouched, none that they do not strive to corrupt.

(Pope St. Pius X, Encyclical Pascendi, nn. 2-3)

Of course the year 1973 was a long time ago. In fact, it’s been over 50 years since then. Today, the red-dotted church building still exists, although its red dot has long been upgraded to a flamboyant fluorescent pink (that was done in 1996, in fact).

But pink or red, ultimately this church of the New Pentecost went the way all Modernist establishments eventually must: The number of people who bothered showing up every Sunday got smaller and smaller. After all, what’s the point of going to a church in which the Crucified Redeemer is replaced by a red circle, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has been supplanted by a Protestant meal service, and the priest tells you nobody really has the truth and so we should all be open to other ideas and views, lest we attach ourselves to false securities? What would make any sane man want to attend such a church? Besides, people can make their own red dot at home if they really want one — no parish membership with church tax and a weekly collection needed. And so they stopped going to that chapel of the ever-newer Pentecost, and instead lived creatively and happily ever after.

During the Easter Vigil of 2011, the parish’s confirmands — all of them female, we note — performed a ‘dance of lights’ around the sanctuary Plexiglass cross, but apparently that was not enough to keep the fire — well, embers by that time — of the New Pentecost burning. And this cool light-show event in 2020 couldn’t keep the young interested in the red-dot religion either.

For June 16, 2025, by the way, the church’s event calendar lists a “mantra circle” scheduled for 7:00 pm with yogi Sven Helbig. Maybe that will fill the project space! As this promotional flyer shows, it won’t even be the first time that yoga mantras will be used to try to produce positive vibrations in a building once consecrated to the worship of the Most Holy Trinity. And who knows, perhaps the guru will sport a red dot of his own!

In 2024, the pews of the Ludwigkirche were removed and the church was converted into a ‘multi-purpose’ building with a ‘project space’. The only purpose it is no longer suitable for, of course, is Catholic worship, but then that’s been the case for a long time actually. They are just finally now making it official.

The following 2-minute clip shows the transformation from a church full of pews facing forward to a semicircle of chairs arranged sideways:

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This multi-purpose project space was conceived as only a provisional ‘experiment’ that was supposed to end by Ash Wednesday this year, but so far at least, the pews have not been moved back. The latest parish event has been an ‘interreligious prayer for peace’, as can be seen on its Facebook page here. The Muslims are probably already eyeing the multi-purpose space for their own ‘projects’ once the remaining ‘Catholics’ vacate the building for good.

By the way: To wish people a happy Easter in 2023, the Ludwigskirche posted the following photoshopped image on their Facebook page:

It’s hard to imagine why no one would want to go to church there. Ah, it must be the pews!

And indeed, one of the latest (and probably last) experimental ideas being implemented at the parish of St. Louis (or rather, what’s left of it) is that of ‘Living-Room Church’. Yes, you read that correctly. The building’s project space is very suitable for that since there really are no rules.

The following promo flyer gives you an idea of what they have in mind (found on their Facebook page and at the official diocesan web site):

From 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm tomorrow, June 13, the church’s open space will be transformed into a cozy living room! The flyer states that the event will include sparkling wine and mulled wine, beer, and club soda; there will be story-telling and singing of pop songs. People are encouraged to bring their life questions (big and small), and of course there will be snacks as well, since “food and drink keep body and soul together” — a saying the flyer idiotically attributes to Our Blessed Lord and Savior!

All of this wickedness is ultimately the work of ‘Pope St. Paul VI’ (r. 1963-1978) in one way or another. No wonder he was rotting so fast and so badly when he was lying in state that the stench emanating from his corpse required the installation of a fan in St. Peter’s Basilica to keep people from being overwhelmed as they paid their respects.

The Novus Ordo religion and its worship are straight from hell. Just as there is only “One body and one Spirit… One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all” (Eph 4:4-6), so there is only one true Pentecost.