The developments mentioned are basically not new and are similar everywhere: people's ties to the church are dwindling, the church service and the community are losing importance for many.
And in Rio, the situation is aggravated by the fact that the German-speaking foreign parish is no longer growing. On the contrary: the parish is gradually dying out, with almost all members aged 80 or older.
Yet St Boniface has had a flourishing past. It was founded by Pastor Bernhard Hagedorn from Warendorf, who was sent to Brazil in 1934. Hagedorn remained in Brazil until 1959, founding the "Deutsche Wochenblatt", a German-language newspaper, organising film evenings and founding a church choir.
In March 1959, he was recalled home from Rio against his will, where he died just a few weeks later in the sacristy of his home parish.
In the 1950s, the parish, which was based in Rua do Bispo near the Maracana stadium, founded a Caritas centre there, which included a crèche and a hotel. 38 employees worked there and looked after up to 200 guests.
In the 1960s, the St Boniface parish expanded its commitment and took over the "Lar da Criança" orphanage under Father Otto Ammann. In the 1970s, a kindergarten, the "Colegio Cruzeiro", was added. The house in Rua Sao Clemente, bought by Pastor Hagedorn and until the end the parish hall with chapel, was at that time the clergyman's home.
The pastor and management never re-appeared
The parish prospered.
There were many members and it also received financial support from the foreign department of the German Bishops' Conference, which also provided the clerical staff in Rio.
"That's ancient history," says Dieter Buschle today. He has been associated with the parish for decades, celebrated many family celebrations there and has been an active member of the church council since 1981.
This came to an end shortly before the turn of the millennium. The reason given was that they had too few staff to send abroad. The last pastor to be sent, Bernhard Volkmer, and a member of the management team left the parish in 1995 with a bang and never turned up again.
But without a pastor, things are not going well and so the Bonifatius parish starts looking for staff itself. This was successful time and again, albeit usually only for a short period of time - in the end it became increasingly difficult, and from 2003 it was no longer possible.
Jürgen Wischermann, however, does not give up and continues to search and always finds priests to help out. Currently, the service is still conducted once a month by a friar, after Father Josef Hortal read the masses until his 90th birthday a few years ago.
In the north zone around the Caritas centre, however, crime increases over time, guests stay away from the hotel and income falls. The board decides to sell the building to the "Casa do Portugal" hospital, which sets up an oncology ward in it.
In 1990, the community makes another attempt and builds an orphanage. To cover the costs, Pastor Franz Neumeyer begins construction of the "Solar do Amanhecer" hotel in the town of Niteroí, which lies opposite Rio de Janiero on the Guanabara Bay: Morning sun. However, even these facilities will not remain in operation for much longer.
The parish's goal remains the same despite downsizing
The St. Boniface parish is beginning to downsize and is concentrating on developing the former priest's house in Botafogo as a community centre. Dieter Buschle, director of the parish and engineer, is developing a master plan for the conversion and refurbishment of the more than 100-year-old building in the immediate neighbourhood of the German school Escola Alema Corcovado and the Donna Marta favela. The old community centre in Rua do Bispo in the city centre was sold to finance the renovation.
Despite downsizing, the aim of the community remained the same. "In all these years, the community has endeavoured to provide life support and compassion to children, young people and families in the neighbourhood. And that's how it should remain," says Buschle. The favela was now also at the centre of the youth work. 60 children regularly received tutoring at St Bonifatius, played there or learnt to play a musical instrument.
However, the community is now lacking new members and is ageing. "We are getting to an age where the ailing are piling up and the municipality's financial situation is changing dramatically," says Jürgen Wischermann, describing the current situation. "We no longer have any new members."
This means that the Bonifatius House in Botafogo is now also too big and too expensive. At some point, it would have swallowed up the community's money and a forced sale would have been unavoidable. Buschle, Wischermann and the parishioners prevented this by putting the building up for sale on the property market.
Public school instead of Pentecostal church as property buyer
There were soon interested parties: the evangelical Pentecostal church Igreja Universal, which has been expanding in Brazil for years, was interested in the building and submitted a contract-ready offer. Their plan was to demolish the building and build a temple for 2,000 worshippers.
A strange thought for the members of the Bonifatius parish .
Shortly before the notary appointment approached, a call came from a friend, the director of the Cruzeiro School in Rio de Janeiro, a public school specialising in German. The school had been looking for a building for its own kindergarten for some time. They had heard that the municipality wanted to sell the building? They quickly came to an agreement.
All that was needed now was a new location for the church services.
Buschle and Wischermann found one: 200 metres up the road, in the school of the Sisters of Lourdes. And what happens next? "Our task now is to find out what needs to be done to breathe new life into the church," says Dieter Buschle.
That doesn't sound like a task.