St. Aegidius, Wiedenbrück, Catholic church in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany

St. Aegidius is the Catholic parish church of Wiedenbrück, built of light tan stone. Its 56-metre tower has a baroque hood and a lantern with a slender spire; the lower storeys are Romanesque, the upper Gothic. The hall nave has three square bays in each of three aisles, a shallow transept and a single-aisle choir, with rib vaults on large octagonal piers. The main portal faces the market on the south side.

The church originated around 785 as an early medieval sanctuary and was expanded and reshaped over seven centuries. Its completion around 1502 marked the end of a lengthy building phase reflecting different architectural periods.

The parish is dedicated to Saint Aegidius, a saint who lived in 8th-century France. Wiedenbrück was one of the five original parishes of the Diocese of Osnabrück, and daughter churches were founded from here in Rheda, Langenberg, Neuenkirchen, Gütersloh, St. Vit and Friedrichsdorf. The affiliated Marienkirche St. Ursula is known locally as the "Franziskanerkirche".

The church is centrally located near the town square and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors should know that touring the interior is possible outside service times, though opening hours may vary.

On the outer masonry, visitors can spot the so-called Pestrillen, grooves where people during plague times are said to have scraped off wall dust to swallow as protection against the disease. The church also keeps a wooden cross covered with tin plates, dated 1648, recalling the hardships of the Thirty Years' War.