Church of St. Pantaleon, Cologne

The Church of Saint Pantaleon is one of the twelve Romanesque churches in the city and was built in the 10th century on the site of a Roman villa. The church was consecrated to Saint Pantaleon and the Saints Cosmas and Damian and is the oldest church of the cult of Saint Pantaleon west of Byzantium.

The church was expanded over time, and in 955, Archbishop Bruno the Great added a Benedictine abbey. Here, Bruno was buried after his death. The current facade of the church was constructed in the 10th century by Holy Roman Empress Theophanu, who was also buried in the church at her own request.

St. Pantaleon played an important role in the earliest stage of German Old Catholicism. In February 1872, the government authorized Old Catholics to celebrate mass there, but Roman Catholic Bishop Franz Adolf Namszanowski was enraged that the space was now "polluted."

During the Second World War, the church was heavily damaged, but it was restored after the war. An archeological survey was conducted during the restoration, and new church bells and a new organ were installed. The church underwent further restoration in the 1950s and 1960s, during which time the coffered ceiling in the nave was designed and constructed by artist Dieter Hartmann.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the church in 2005, and in 2006, a new chapel dedicated to Saint Josemaría Escrivá was blessed by Cardinal Joachim Meisner.