The Cistercians did not enjoy their magnificent pilgrims church for a long time. After more than 30 years things changed completely for the convent of Langheim and the church of Vierzehnheiligen. The decisive date was 1803.
The Secularisation took off all possessions of the Cistercians at Langheim which were widely spread. After the expropriation the abbe-church and parts of the convent were demolished. Pilgrimage was prohibited by the state. In 1835 a flash of lightening burnt down the two steeples, the organ, and the roof. Appiani`s frescos were badly damaged by the water. The roof was restored under the direction of the Franciscans who had taken over the pilgrimage since 1839 ordered by King Ludwig I. The roof, however, was not as steep as it was before. The steeples which had been restored provisionally got back their original form at the beginning of the 20th century. In the course of the first restoration Augustin Palme a history-painter from Munich had replaced all altar pieces, Appiani`s frescos by his own creations. During the 1st World War those who took charge of the church ordered to remove Palme's frescos. This, of course, damaged also many remainders of Appiani`s frescos. Those who restored the church tried to repair the colours of the former frescos created by Appiani. After some decades the walls and the vaults were so sooty that they had to be repainted again (1957 - 1959). Not long before the Franciscans had replaced Palme's pictures on the two front-altars by two pictures by Paul Plontke. The previous Malachias-altar on the right side shows now St. Antonius of Padua, the patron of the Bavarian Franciscans. (St. Malachios was the patron of the abbot who was witness of the consecration of the church in 1772.)
On the left side the Franciscans put up a picture of their founder: St. Franciscus receiving the stigmas by the seraph on the Alverna. After an exact investigation (1982 - 1990) the interior of the church was restored in a way that the previous appearance was given back. At the same time the monochrome pictures with the remainders of Appiani`s 8 beatitudes in the main fresco could be restored. The proper completion of the restoration was the solemn blessing of the new main-organ by Archbishop Dr. Karl Braun on September 26th, 1999.
