'In god's hands': Catholics assemble in numbers at Austrian church for 'free' tattoo

Vienna: Several of the tattoos inked at a free session over the weekend, which was hosted by Austria’s top organisation representing Catholic nuns and monks, read “In God’s hands.”

Christopher Paul Campbell, director of Quo Vadis, said: “It’s important for the church to look at how people express their piety, including on their bodies.”

He continued by saying that the church needed to “learn to be sexy” if it wished to continue drawing members—parts of which had disapproved of tattoos.

An all-time high of about 91,000 people left the Catholic church in Austria last year, setting a record.

Nine million individuals, or almost half, of the Alpine EU member are Catholic.

Hundreds of Christians were eager to attend the first such tattoo session on Saturday near Vienna’s famous St. Stephen’s Cathedral, according to Quo Vadis.

In the end, a lottery was used to distribute the many slots that were available.

The German tattooist, his needles, and everyone else planning to get inked were blessed in a mass the evening prior to the appointment.

A selection of elaborate Christian symbols, such as crosses and fish, were available for believers to choose from.

Ursula Noe-Nordberg, an Austrian, requested to get a tiny cross tattooed on her wrist.

The grandmother of five told AFP that the cross would be a surprise for her family and that it would make her think of her tattooed grandchildren.

However, the campaign was not well welcomed; according to the organizers, they got hate mail.

Despite the centuries-old tradition of tattooing stigmata or monuments to pilgrimages, some people think body art is diabolical. Even well-known Austrians, like the Empress Sisi in the 19th century, had tattoos.

“We’ve been accused of converting the church into a disco, and I heard that. Father Sandesh Manuel retorted, “I say: okay, then I’m the DJ.

The Franciscan monk, who enjoys rapping and sports a baseball cap, also had the tattoo “Humanity is the greeting of religion.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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