Quirinus-Oktav Neuss

Festival Week for the City Patron

The Quirinus-Oktav is one of the most traditional religious festivals in the lower Rhine region. For eight days (an "Oktav" in the liturgical sense), the city of Neuss celebrates its patron saint, Saint Quirinus of Neuss, whose relics have been kept in the Quirinusmünster since the 11th century. The Romanesque basilica with its striking crossing tower is one of the most important sacred buildings in the Rhineland and has always been a pilgrimage destination in the region.

Opening on 25 April

The 2026 opening on Saturday, 25 April at 5:30 PM will be a youth mass on the theme of "own vocation" in the Quirinusmünster. This will be followed by a Nightfever evening with music, candles, and prayer – a modern format of Catholic youth pastoral care that involves the younger generation in the festival week. The opening mass traditionally brings together youth groups from surrounding parishes and students from Catholic schools.

A Week Full of Prayer and Pilgrimage Offerings

Throughout the festival week, the parish offers a packed programme: daily prayer times, pilgrim masses, confession services, guided tours of the Quirinusmünster and the Quirinus relics, as well as star pilgrimages, where groups of pilgrims arrive in Neuss from all directions. Kindergartens, schools, women's groups, Kolping families, CV associations, marksmen, and other church associations shape individual days. The combination of tradition (station services, relic veneration) and modern formats (Nightfever, youth mass, family mass) makes the festival attractive to different generations.

Highlight: Pontifical High Mass and Shrine Procession on 3 May

Sunday, 3 May 2026 is the main festival day. At 2 PM, the family mass "We Celebrate Jesus" will be held with a Quirinus play by the Goerresschule. The highlight follows at 6 PM with the pontifical high mass, celebrated by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne, in the Quirinusmünster. Afterwards, the shrine procession with the richly decorated Quirinus shrine winds through the city centre – accompanied by clergy, marksmen, brotherhoods, associations, and thousands of believers. A special moment is the fulfilment of the Neuss Vow of 1475: two large wax candles are lit at the shrine, commemorating the successful defence of the city against Charles the Bold in the Burgundian War.

Pilgrim Meal and Joint Conclusion

The conclusion is the pilgrim meal on Münsterplatz – an open festival with jazz music, food, and drinks, which transitions the church festival week into civic life. The combination of deep liturgy and a popular city festival is a hallmark of the Quirinus-Oktav.

Quirinus and Neuss Identity

Saint Quirinus, a tribune from Rome whose relics came to Neuss around 1050, shapes the city's identity: his shrine in the Quirinusmünster, the city's most important pilgrimage site, is as much a landmark as the annual Schützenfest. The Quirinus-Oktav 2026 is a central date in the liturgical calendar of the Archdiocese of Cologne and an important anchor in the religious and cultural life of the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district.