Locus iste

Locus iste is the Latin gradual for the anniversary of the dedication of a church (Missa in anniversario dedicationis ecclesiae), which in German is called Kirchweih.

[1] The incipit Locus iste a Deo factus est translates to "This place was made by God".

The text is based on the Biblical story of Jacob's Ladder,[3] Jacob's saying "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not" (Genesis 28:16), and the story of the burning bush where Moses is told "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5).

A translation closer to the Latin is: This place was made by God, a priceless sacrament; it is without reproach.

Bruckner completed the motet for unaccompanied SATB choir in 1869 for the dedication of a votive chapel at the New Cathedral in Linz.