Alexius of Speyer

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Alexius von Speyer OFMCap, real name Georg Friedrich Sylvius Waldner (* 1583 in Kirrweiler (Palatinate) ; † July 19, 1629 in Altdorf , Switzerland) was a Catholic priest from the Principality of Speyer , Capuchin , diplomat on behalf of the Apostolic Nuncio of Switzerland, Provincial order and closest collaborator of the canonized Fidelis von Sigmaringen .

Live and act

origin

Alexius von Speyer was born under the name Georg Friedrich Sylvius Waldner in the southern Palatinate village of Kirrweiler, a territorial exclave of the Principality of Speyer. After studying rhetoric, he decided to enter the clergy and become a Capuchin.

Capuchin Father

Allerheiligen Monastery in Altdorf . Here Alexius von Speyer entered the Capuchin order and there he died.

At the age of 19, he traveled to Altdorf , in the Swiss canton of Uri, in 1602 and entered the Allerheiligen monastery there under the religious name Alexius, the oldest Capuchin convent north of the Alps. According to the Capuchin custom, the place of origin was added to the religious name “Alexius” as a nickname; in this case "Speyer" , his home diocese. After a year of probation, he took his religious vows before the provincial, Father Antonius von Cannobio, studied philosophy and theology and was ordained a priest. Because of his rhetorical skills and his piety, Father Alexius was increasingly used as a mission preacher. In the villages of Tann , Rheinfelden , Rapperswil , Appenzell and Altorf he founded “St. Ursula Associations “to improve morality among male and female youth.

Missionary in Raetia

In 1621 the Austrians occupied the lower Engadine and the Prättigau in Switzerland and began the re-Catholicization of the parts of the country that had been wrested from the Protestant Graubünden . The Capuchin Fidelis von Sigmaringen , who was murdered in 1622 and later canonized , became head of the mission founded by the Roman Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Raetia . Father Alexius von Speyer acted as his closest collaborator and deputy. Fidelis von Sigmaringen stayed in Prättigau until Palm Sunday 1622 and then went to Feldkirch because, as the guardian of the monastery there, he had to do some urgent business and to relax a little. During his absence, Father Alexius took care of missionary sermons, Christian doctrine, and worship. On April 18, 1622, Mathias von Herbstheim, then Provincial, called him to Baden to be informed about the state of affairs and the needs of the mission. Father Alexius answered the call of his superior, went to Baden, reported to the Fathers of the Congregation gathered there about the success of the apostolic mission and asked them to increase the number of staff. He was very happy to get new comrades in arms and hurried back to Switzerland with them. In addition, he had been commissioned by the Apostolic Nuncio Msgr. Alexander Scarpi to deliver a papal letter to the Bishop of Chur regarding the arrangements for the Rhaetian mission. On this occasion the nuncio recommended Father Alexius von Speyer as an "extremely wise, cautious man suitable for converting people of other faiths" . In Ragaz , the Fathers learned of the murder of their head of mission, Father Fidelis. Alexius von Speyer succeeded him as head of the mission and provincial in Raetia.

The father returned to his mission area, where he worked as the chief pastor and missionary. In the developing Prättigau uprising , Father Alexius and his brother Pius von Kastelmaur accompanied the Austrian troops as field chaplains in the summer and autumn of 1622. After the rebels had been defeated and Austrian rule was restored by the Lindau Treaty of September 30, 1622, Alexius von Speyer had the grave of his slain friend and predecessor Fidelis von Sigmaringen zu Seewis in Prättigau searched for or inspected. In the process, clothing relics and the severed head, which is now in the Feldkirch Capuchin monastery, were removed ; Father Fidelis was beatified in 1729 and canonized in 1746. In Mastrils near Zizers , Alexius von Speyer, out of gratitude for the Austrian victory - through which alone he was able to continue his mission in the future - initiated the renovation of an older chapel and its new consecration as the church “Maria zum Siege” . There he regularly celebrated church services; it is the present Protestant church of the place.

According to a report in the work "Helvetia Sancta" (Volume 3, Pages 32 and 33), Father Alexius zu Pfäfers was attacked with the sword by a religious opponent in the canton of St. Gallen . Another man fell into the attacker's arm, so that the stab failed, penetrated through the Capuchin's wide habit and the weapon got stuck in a wall. The assassin later converted to the Catholic faith, especially since the priest did not take revenge, but listened to his insults patiently and prayed for him.

death

After a few years, due to poor health, Father Alexius returned from his mission to Altdorf Abbey . Here he worked to the best of his ability in pastoral care and nursing. During a plague epidemic in 1629, the monk became infected while caring for the victims and died of the plague himself.

souvenir

In the standard work "Helvetia Sancta or the life and work of holy, blessed and pious persons of the Swiss country" , Alexius von Speyer, under the different name "Alexius von Kirrweiler" , has a separate chapter.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Data on Father Antonius von Cannobio
  2. ^ Source on the diplomatic mission of Father Alexius
  3. ^ Page of the local parish of Mastrils, with a picture of the church
  4. ↑ On the history of the Church of Mary in Victory and the Antoniusberg in Mastrils
personal data
SURNAME Alexius of Speyer
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Waldner, Georg Friedrich Sylvius (real name); Alexius von Kirrweiler
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catholic priest, Capuchin, diplomat on behalf of the Apostolic Nuncio and Order Provincial
DATE OF BIRTH 1583
PLACE OF BIRTH Kirrweiler (Palatinate)
DATE OF DEATH July 19, 1629
Place of death Altdorf , Switzerland