Alois Kothgasser

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Archbishop Alois Kothgasser (2004)

Alois Kothgasser SDB (born May 29, 1937 in Lichtenegg , then Feldbach district , Styria ) is retired Archbishop of Salzburg .

Life

Kothgasser received his doctorate in Rome from the University of the Salesians

After graduating from the Don Bosco Gymnasium Unterwaltersdorf of the Salesians Don Bosco in Lower Austria , Alois Kothgasser joined the order of the Salesians Don Bosco in 1955 . After three years as an educator in Unterwaltersdorf and Klagenfurt , he began to study theology in Turin- Crocetta at the Pontifical Athenaeum of the Salesians , from 1940 to 1965 the seat of the theological faculty of the order. On February 9, 1964, Kothgasser received the sacrament of ordination in Turin . He completed a doctoral degree at the Pontifical University of the Salesians in Rome, which he finished with the dissertation “Development of Dogmas and the Function of the Spirit Paraclete according to the statements of the Second Vatican Council” .

From 1968 to 1978 he worked as a lecturer in dogmatics (focus on theological anthropology) and the history of theology in Rome. Furthermore, from 1978 he worked for two years as an associate professor at the Pontifical University of the Salesians, where he also acted as head of the Institute for Salesian Spirituality. Initially also working as a guest professor for dogmatics in Benediktbeuern ( Diocese of Augsburg ), he held a full professorship at the Philosophical-Theological College of the Salesians Don Bosco Benediktbeuern from 1982 to 1997 . He was rector there twice, from 1982 to 1988 and from 1994 to 1997 .

On October 10, 1997 he was appointed as the successor of Reinhold Stecher as the third bishop of Innsbruck for the diocese of Innsbruck, and on November 23, 1997 he received the episcopal ordination by his predecessor. Co- consecrators were the Bishop of Graz-Seckau , Johann Weber , and the Bishop of Bozen-Brixen , Wilhelm Egger .

On November 23, 2002, Alois Kothgasser was elected to succeed Georg Eder as the new Archbishop of Salzburg . He took office on January 10, 2003. Alois Kothgasser was the 90th Bishop of Salzburg, the 89th successor of St. Rupert and the 78th Archbishop as well as Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg, which included the dioceses Gurk, Graz-Seckau, Innsbruck and Feldkirch belong. He also has the honorary title of a permanent legate of the Pope (“Legatus natus”) and a “ Primate Germaniae ”.

Since 2001 Kothgasser has been an honorary member of the K.Ö.St.V. Teutonia-Innsbruck in the middle school cartel association and honorary member of the three Salzburg ÖCV connections Rheno-Juvavia, Rupertina and Lodronia.

On April 18, 2012 it was announced that Archbishop Kothgasser had submitted his age-related resignation, asking not to extend his term of office. On November 4, 2013, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Alois Kothgasser and at the same time appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Salzburg.

Pope Francis appointed Franz Lackner as his successor on November 18, 2013 - following a proposal by the Salzburg Cathedral Chapter - who took over his office on January 7, 2014.

On December 29, 2013, Kothgasser was bid farewell to his archdiocese in a solemn service. Numerous dignitaries from church, state and society took part. Following this celebration, the Governor of Salzburg, Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP), awarded him the Grand Cross of the State of Salzburg, the highest honor in the State of Salzburg.

The official handover of the office of bishop to Franz Lackner took place on January 12, 2014 in Salzburg Cathedral. 4,000 believers attended this celebration.

Coat of arms and motto

Kothgasser's coat of arms as Bishop of Innsbruck
Kothgasser's coat of arms as Archbishop of Salzburg

Bishop of Innsbruck

The coat of arms was divided into the main shield with the personal coat of arms and the main field with the coat of arms of the diocese. The head of the shield, split, showed a green deciduous tree with a golden trunk in the front of the red field and golden branches, which symbolized the membership of the Order of the Salesians of Don Bosco . The rear white (silver) field showed a five-petalled red rose with a golden, rounded stamp and is taken from the municipal coat of arms of his place of birth Sankt Stefan im Rosental .

The split main field of the coat of arms showed the coat of arms of the diocese of Innsbruck, in front the Tyrolean eagle in red on a white (silver) background and behind a white (silver) cross on a gold background.

Below in the semicircle is the motto: VERITATEM FACIENTES IN CHARITATE - Doing the truth in love .

Archbishop of Salzburg

The split main field of the Archbishop's coat of arms showed the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Salzburg, in front in gold an upright black, red-tongued lion facing to the right and in the back in red a white central bar.

In contrast to the four equally large fields, Kothgasser placed the diocese he led in the foreground and withdrew his personal coat of arms.

As Legatus Natus , Kothgasser wore the legate purple, which is similar to the cardinal red. However, his coat of arms only showed 10 tassels hanging from his hat, not 15 like a cardinal.

Act

Archbishop Kothgasser dedicated his Lenten pastor's letter 2005 to the subject of the protection of life. He called for people to oppose those laws that legitimize abortion or euthanasia . Although the church has admitted to obedience to the state authorities from the very beginning, at the same time it demands that one must obey God more than people.

In memory of Cardinal Franz König , Archbishop Kothgasser, on behalf of the Archdiocese of Salzburg, initiated the Cardinal König Art Prize , which has been awarded every two years since 2005.

In a statement in 2009 on the witch trial of the “witch” of Mühldorf in 1749/50, Archbishop Kothgasser stated: “ The judicial murder of Maria Pauer, who was convicted as a“ witch ”in the last trial of this kind on the soil of the then archbishopric of Salzburg, is discontinued terrible crime, in which the church of that time is not only interwoven because of the characters involved. There is nothing to gloss over it, but to face the inhuman historical reality and ask God and people for forgiveness for this atrocity. "

Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

In 2001 Alois Kothgasser - as Bishop of Innsbruck - was appointed Grand Officer of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem by Cardinal Grand Master Carlo Cardinal Furno and on July 30, 2001 in the Basilica minor Mariä Himmelfahrt in Maria Plain by Maximilian Fürnsinn CanReg , Grand Prior of the Austrian Lieutenancy, invested. The Grand Master of the Order of Knights, Cardinal John Patrick Foley , appointed Alois Kothgasser as Grand Prior of the Austrian Lieutenancy in 2008. In 2017, Raimund Schreier OPraem, Abbot of Wilten, became his successor.

honors and awards

  • Appointment as Grand Officer of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (2001)
  • Grand Cross of the Medal of Honor of the State of Salzburg (awarded on December 29, 2013 by Governor Wilfried Haslauer)
  • Golden Palm of Jerusalem (2017)
  • Honorary Grand Prior of the Austrian Lieutenancy of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (2017)
  • Silver Cross of the Diocese of Žilina, 2018 ( Slovak : Strieborný kríž Žilinskej diecézy ).

Fonts

  • with Walter Kasper , Albert Biesinger: Because sacraments have a future: New ways of initiation in congregations , Matthias Grünewald Verlag 2008 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-3-7867-2711-8
  • with Walter Kasper, Albert Biesinger, Jörn Hauf: Because baptism gives a future - milestones for a further development of baptismal pastoral care , Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag 2011, ISBN 978-3-7867-2903-7
  • with Clemens Sedmak: There is magic in every farewell: From the art of letting go , Topos plus 2015, ISBN 978-3-8367-1022-0
  • with Martin Kolozs : Alois Kothgasser: My life in stations. , Tyrolia 2020, ISBN 978-3-7022-3837-7

literature

Web links

Commons : Alois Kothgasser  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinz Wieser: Archbishop Dr. Alois Kothgasser is 70 , published in: Osttiroler Bote , edition of May 31, 2007
  2. ↑ a b Franz Lackner is the new Archbishop of Salzburg ( Memento of December 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Vatican Radio , November 18, 2013
  3. ↑ Salzburg's Archbishop Kothgasser submitted his resignation in Rome , Der Standard, April 18, 2012
  4. ↑ Salzburg Archbishop Kothgasser submits his resignation in Rome. religion.orf.at, accessed on April 18, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Archbishop submitted his resignation - Festive thanksgiving service for the archbishop's birthday in the cathedral. Archdiocese of Salzburg (kirchen.net), archived from the original on July 31, 2012 ; Retrieved April 23, 2012 .
  6. ^ Austria: Archbishop of Salzburg resigns . Vatican Radio website. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  7. ^ Salzburg: Pope appoints Franz Lackner archbishop , religion.orf.at, accessed on November 18, 2013
  8. ^ Message from the Archdiocese of Salzburg ( Memento from December 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ^ Page of the homepage of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau , accessed on November 18, 2013
  10. ↑ Fastenbrief 2005 (archive.org) ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ http://www.anton-praetorius.de/opfer/orte.htm#Stellungnahme
  12. ↑ Heinz Wieser: Archbishop Kothgasser's resignation accepted , OESSH, accessed on November 18, 2013
  13. ↑ a b c "Mayor Abbot Mag. Raimund Schreier OPraem appointed the new Grand Prior of the Lieutenancy Austria" on oessh.at, March 18, 2017
  14. ↑ www.tkkbs.sk: Biskup Tomáš Galis udelí pri výročí diecézy 16 vyznamenaní za zásluhy. Retrieved February 10, 2018 .
predecessor Office successor
Reinhold Stecher Bishop of Innsbruck
1997-2002 		Manfred Scheuer
Georg Eder Archbishop of Salzburg
2003-2013 		Franz Lackner OFM
Maximilian Fürnsinn CanReg Croix de l Ordre du Saint-Sepulcre.svg Grand Prior of the Austrian Lieutenancy of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
2008–2017 		Raimund Schreier
personal data
SURNAME Kothgasser, Alois
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian clergyman, retired Archbishop of Salzburg, retired Grand Prior of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in Austria
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Lichtenegg , Styria, Austria