The cathedral priest as a ski instructor

Text: Martin Obermayr Photo: Snowsports Academy

What do St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Snowsports Academy have in common? Both are located in Vienna. Furthermore, the head priest of the world-famous cathedral has strong ties to snow sports. During his student days, Toni Faber worked as a ski instructor. We chatted with him about it.

Toni Faber is a PR professional you could only dream of. After a brief discussion, he's ready to put our request into action: he should pose with skis in front of his church. Firstly, he's the pastor of this magnificent cathedral, which attracts 6.2 million visitors annually. And secondly, he taught many people how to ski when he was younger.

His statement about why he loves snow sports so much is also highly professional and perfectly suited for publication: “I work, celebrate, and pray daily in St. Stephen’s Cathedral. But the most beautiful cathedral is still the open sky when I’m in the mountains, praising God there. It’s always a very special treat, for example, when I can ski in deep powder at the Arlberg.”

First attempts at sliding and a broken leg

Even as a child in the 1960s, Toni Faber conquered the hills in Vienna's Liesing district on wooden skis. "In the Gütenbach Valley, on the Himmelswiese meadow, or on Mauerberg hill, we emulated our great idol Toni Sailer and the ski jumpers," he recalls, immediately adding an anecdote. "We were always building ski jumps, too. At the age of nine, after a bad fall, I was determined to find out what I could do. So I went full speed down again, but I fell even harder and broke my foot." The religious twist to the story: "When I had to stay in bed at home with my cast on, I even missed my first confession."

The connection between faith and sport runs like a thread through the life of the cathedral priest. As a teenager, he first became acquainted with the Arlberg region on ski trips with the parish youth group. As a theology student, he decided to train as a ski instructor for school trips. His first training course took him to the renowned Federal Sports Center in St. Christoph am Arlberg. There he also met Franz Hoppichler, practically the "pope" of Austrian ski instruction.

Ski instructor and heartthrob

After completing his training, Toni Faber was hired by another prominent Austrian for his ski school: Hubert Neuper, silver medalist in ski jumping at the 1980 Olympic Games and a level 3 ski instructor. "I then worked at his ski school for two seasons in the mid-1980s. Those four weeks each were really great," Toni Faber still raves about these unique experiences. Of course, the cathedral priest also has a humorous story from that time: "The fact that I was already preparing for the priesthood back then made a particular impression on the female skiers. I was often asked if I might reconsider. Some also asked if theology had anything to do with stones – when they meant geology."

The Arlberg as an annual adventure

To this day, Toni Faber has remained loyal to skiing. Even though his schedule is always packed, he treats himself to a week off after the Christmas festivities. He spends the days around New Year's Eve as a ski chaplain at the Arlberg Hospiz Hotel in St. Christoph. There, too, he fulfills his priestly duties. "During the day I do go skiing, but in the evenings I celebrate Mass every day in the St. Christopher Chapel. It's simply an uplifting feeling when up to 150 people come to the service here on Sundays or New Year's Eve." It is this open-minded and approachable manner that makes Toni Faber a welcome guest in Austrian politics, business, and society. Public relations appointments are, so to speak, his daily bread and butter and take up about a third of his working time. Another third is spent managing the 80 employees of the St. Stephen's Cathedral parish, and another third is dedicated to pastoral care. "Direct contact with people is truly very important to me: whether at masses, confessions, or in personal conversations. That's precisely why I never want to become a bishop or cardinal, because I would miss that."

Bungee jump of 152 meters

But just as much as his church work, the cathedral priest also loves the thrill of pushing his physical limits. In 2002, for example, he dared to bungee jump from the Danube Tower at a height of 152 meters – naturally, not without having blessed the facility designed by the German bungee jumping pioneer Jochen Schweizer beforehand. "I'm certainly no adrenaline junkie, but experiences like that simply appeal to me. The worst part was that I had to wait forever because of strong winds. And because numerous journalists from television, radio, and newspapers were there, I obviously couldn't turn back – I am that vain," he says with a broad grin.

Toni Faber calls such activities, which he consciously employs, "public relations in the service of the Gospel." "It's a way to reach the masses, because only one percent of Vienna's population attends church regularly." The fact that his PR appearances actually have an effect can even be measured in numbers: "In my parish, 100 people rejoin the church every year – and that's in times like these."

St. Stephen's Cathedral and Manner wafers

It's no wonder, then, that Toni Faber counts many prominent Austrians among his friends. In the spring of 2019, for example, Niki Lauda's widow asked him to officiate at the funeral of the legendary Formula 1 world champion. He also conducted the memorial service for Carl Manner, the "father" of the world-famous Manner wafers. Manner had been a great benefactor of St. Stephen's Cathedral and for over 35 years had fully funded two employees of the cathedral workshop – a sum equivalent to 2 million euros. He also stipulated that this support from the Manner company should continue after his death. Naturally, Toni Faber is also pleased that St. Stephen's Cathedral is depicted on the pink and red packaging of Manner wafers – as this, too, is a very appealing form of advertising for his cathedral.