Oetting Mission was bought in 1887 and lies at the foot of the Hlokozi Mountains in the Highflats District. It is named after the pilgrimage town of Altötting which is located in the lovely Upper-Bavarian Alpine region between Munich, Passau and Salzburg.
This small town may be termed the Bavarian Loreto, and is famous for the Chapel of Grace, one of the most visited shrines in Germany. This is a tiny octagonal chapel which keeps a venerated statue of the Virgin Mary and Child and the complexion of both is black. The image which undoubtedly originates in the East, is covered with the most profuse and costly decorations of gold, brocade and precious stones, the gifts of rich and pious worshippers of twelve centuries (since 696) during which the Virgin has occupied her present abode.
During the Thirty Year’s war she was removed to Salzburg for a short period together with her treasures, to protect them from the Swedes. According to the legend, in 1489, a 3-year-old local boy who had drowned in the river was revived when his grieving mother placed him in front of the wooden statue of the Virgin Mary at the high altar. News of the miracle quickly spread, and the chapel was immediately extended by the erection of a nave and a covered walkway.
A replica of this famous image is to be found over the altar in the Oetting Mission Church, as well as a painting reflecting the miracle of the revival of the drowned child.
