LUNEXUS as you know it today begins with a find and with a farewell – both in December 2024. The roots reach further back: to a name from 1889 and to a life's work that we are privileged to carry on. Here we tell you how the two came together.
Connected in light
The name LUNEXUS is made up of two Latin words: lumen, light, and nexus, connection. Together that means “connection in light”. We could hardly say more aptly what we set out to do: to connect people through a sign of faith – the godmother with the child being baptised, the parish with its volunteers, you with someone you are thinking of.
A name from 1889
The LUNEXUS Devotionalien-Compagnie was founded in 1889. For decades the name lay dormant, and in 2025 we revived it. Our coat of arms, which you can see at the top of this page, also goes back to this first root.
The beginnings in the Hamburg free port
The story of the LUNEXUS Devotionalien-Compagnie begins in 1889 in the Hamburg free port. It was founded by two merchants: Konrad Elias Morgenstern (1857–1922) and Salim Khoury (1869–1937), a Maronite Christian from Bethlehem.
Their aim: to supply parishes, monasteries and the faithful with devotional items – with crosses, rosaries and sacred art from the Holy Land and from European monasteries.
A name as a sign
As early as the end of the 19th century, LUNEXUS was protected as a trade mark. Wooden crates branded “LUNEXUS” went from Bethlehem via Jaffa to Hamburg and from there to parishes, monasteries and churches across Europe.
The Compagnie worked with workshops in Bethlehem and Jerusalem (olive wood crosses, rosaries), in Nazareth (rosaries), in Oberammergau and in the Gröden Valley (woodcarving) as well as in the Ore Mountains.
Good years and hard times
- 1890–1914: A first period of growth. Kaiser Wilhelm II's journey to Jerusalem in 1898 caused demand for devotional items to rise.
- 1914–1918: The First World War interrupted the trade routes; the Compagnie switched to German and Austrian workshops.
- 1923: During the hyperinflation it kept going through foreign accounts and bartering with monasteries.
- 1933–1945: During the Nazi era, trade in devotional items was severely restricted; the Compagnie was able to continue only on a small scale.
- 1945–1959: Rebuilding at the Brooktorkai, supported by Marshall Plan loans and new supply routes.
- 1960–1973: In the years of the Second Vatican Council demand for liturgical furnishings was high; showrooms in Cologne and Vienna were added.
- 1979: After the death of Bernhard K. Morgenstern (1928–1979), a grandson of the founder, and because of sharply rising freight costs, the Compagnie ceased trading.
Decades of rest
From 1980 until the end of 2024 the name lay dormant. The coat of arms, the chronicle and the memory of the Compagnie were preserved – until the documents came to us in December 2024.
December 2024: a find and a farewell
A lawyer friend drew the attention of eMarkets Consulting GmbH, under whose roof LUNEXUS stands today, to an estate sale in Hamburg. Among old business papers lay the historic coat of arms and the trade name “Lunexus Devotionalien-Compagnie”. A name waiting to be carried again.
At the same time a man who had helped shape Christian online trade in Germany ended his working life: Gerold Jäger retired. He already knew us, as he had been a customer of eMarkets. And so what belonged together came together: the old name LUNEXUS and the established online business of Gerold Jäger.
A pioneer with a travelling bag and a big heart
In 1991 Gerold Jäger began as a field sales representative. He visited small specialist shops, monastery shops and church sales outlets in person, shop by shop. By the year 2000 he had built up a far-reaching network across the whole German-speaking region – long before anyone thought of trading in sacred items digitally.
He recognised early on what the internet made possible. In the early 2000s he launched motivationsgeschenke.de, one of the first Christian online shops in Germany. At that time hardly anyone ordered church goods online. He did the persuading and in doing so opened the way for a new generation of Christian online shops.
Würzburg and the things that touch us
From Würzburg he sent out christening gifts and gifts for Communion and Confirmation, guardian angels, crosses, rosaries, and statues of saints and of Mary. As early as 2009 he introduced himself personally on his site: “Hello, I'm Gerold Jäger – your contact here at Motivationsgeschenke.de”, with a direct extension number and the offer: “Just give me a call.” This closeness was his hallmark.
He described what guided him himself like this: human values “lovingly distilled to the essentials”. For him, Christian gifts were not mere merchandise but comfort, faith and togetherness. On his site was the sentence:
“It is the beautiful things that make life worth living.”
Gerold Jäger
2025: revived
An important step was the renewed registration of the brand with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). Since then LUNEXUS has appeared again under its historic name: LUNEXUS Devotionalien-Compagnie, founded in 1889, revived in 2025.
During 2025 we brought the range, contacts and content of motivationsgeschenke.de across to LUNEXUS piece by piece. At the end of 2025 the shop was completely absorbed into our brand. In this way two roots join with us: the legacy of an old name and the life's work of Gerold Jäger. For us this is a bridge between past, present and future.
Preserving tradition. Living innovation.
What does that mean in everyday terms? A Catholic priest blesses many of our items in our own warehouse; a certificate card showing the date of the blessing is enclosed. We explain how this works on the page How we bless.
Before an item goes to you via Amazon's logistics network, it comes to us first: we check the goods that arrive with us and prepare them for dispatch. The technology is modern, the standard is old: what you unpack should bring you joy.
What remains
What has remained is the empathetic eye for gifts, the focus on faith, comfort, encouragement and blessing, and warm, personal service. Whoever calls us speaks to a person – just as Gerold Jäger showed us.
If you used to order from motivationsgeschenke.de: it is good to have you here. If you are discovering us for the first time: you have arrived in a good tradition. You can find out who is behind LUNEXUS under About us. Feel free to call us on +49 30 2178 2502 (German and English) or write to hallo@lunexus.world.
Thank you, Gerold.
Denis & Belinda