Today the Old Cathedral is the Ignatiuskirche, which is looked after by the Jesuits. Anton Bruckner was the cathedral organist here. Every year on July 31, the Jesuits celebrate the feast of their founder Ignatius von Loyola with a musically beautifully designed festival mass and subsequent agape. Only in 2020 the Agapae unfortunately failed due to Covid-19.
The Roman Catholic Jesuit Church, dedicated to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was the episcopal church of the Diocese of Linz from 1785 to 1909 and is therefore also called the "Old Cathedral", and is located in Linz's town hall district. The church building was built between 1669 and 1678 on behalf of the Jesuit order.
Since it was replaced as the episcopal church of the Diocese of Linz by the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - the "New Cathedral" - the "Old Cathedral" has been looked after by Jesuits again until 2023. Since autumn 2023 it has served the Ukrainian Greek Catholic community as a place for services in the Byzantine rite.
The foundation stone was laid in 1669 by David Fuhrman on behalf of the Jesuit order. After a construction period of just under 10 years, the building was consecrated in 1678 to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order.
The cathedral has a single nave, but impresses with its spaciousness. In keeping with the Baroque architectural style, the interior is bright and has chapel niches on the sides. Above the entrance gate there are coats of arms of the counts of Starhemberg, Weissenwolf and Kuefstein.
In 1773 the Jesuit order was abolished and the former order church in Linz stood empty. With a contract dated July 4, 1784, Emperor Joseph II forced the Diocese of Passau to give up its parishes in Upper Austria and founded the Diocese of Linz. After confirmation by papal bull of January 28, 1785 by Pope Pius VI. The Passau auxiliary bishop Ernest Johann Nepomuk Graf Herberstein was installed as the first bishop of Linz. He chose the still unused former Jesuit church as the cathedral instead of the city parish church that was initially intended for this purpose.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Linz had grown so much that there was no longer enough space in the cathedral. Bishop Rudigier then had a new, larger cathedral built (today's New Cathedral). After the New Cathedral took over the function of the Episcopal Church of Linz in 1909, the Jesuits returned to their former religious church, and it has since been referred to as the Old Cathedral. In 2023, after 400 years of presence, the Jesuits left Linz and the Old Cathedral (Wikipedia).