Church of Saint Boniface, Cultural heritage monument in Freckenhorst, Germany

St. Bonifatius is a former secular women's abbey whose collegiate church in Freckenhorst retains major building parts from the 11th and 12th centuries. South of the church, part of a 13th-century cloister survives; excavations in 1967 uncovered sections of the earlier Carolingian cloister and abbey buildings, and a 10th-century tree-coffin cemetery was identified in the open space between cloister and church.

Founded around 854 by the Saxon nobleman Everward and his wife Geva, the abbey received relics of Saint Boniface from Bishop Liutbert of Münster. In 1116 a fire destroyed the predecessor church during Lothar of Süpplingenburg's siege of Münster; the present church was consecrated in 1129. In 1495 it became a noble secular abbey, and it was dissolved in 1812 under French orders.

The abbey's name honours Saint Boniface, whose relic Bishop Liutbert of Münster placed here around 854. The first abbess, Thiathildis, was reputedly a niece of the founders and was venerated as holy; her feast was celebrated on 30 January until the Reformation, and in 1669 Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen had her bones moved into a silver shrine. From 1785 to 1793 Therese-Louise von Haxthausen, mother of poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, lived here as a canoness.

Visitors can view the building from outside and examine its architecture from the street, with interior access available during special events or organized tours. It is helpful to check opening times in advance and be prepared for uneven ground in the area surrounding the church.

The church's baptismal font dates from the first half of the 12th century; its inscription records the consecration of the church for 1129, after the previous building burned in 1116 during Lothar of Süpplingenburg's siege of Münster. The abbess Thiathildis, said to be a niece of the founding couple, was venerated as holy, and in 1669 Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen had her bones placed in a new silver shrine.