Alois Wagner

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Alois Wagner (born March 20, 1924 in Leopoldschlag near Freistadt / Mühlviertel, † February 25, 2002 in Linz on the Danube ) was an Austrian titular Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, who was known as the "Development Aid Bishop" of the Vatican .

Life

Alois Wagner was born as the first of five children to a family of small farmers in the Mühlviertel . After attending the grammar school in Linz ( Petrinum ) and after it was closed by the National Socialists in Ried im Innkreis , he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1944 at the age of 20 . Wagner was taken prisoner by the British and did not return until 1946. He studied Catholic theology at the Catholic Theological University in Linz and at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome , where he was ordained a priest in 1952 . In 1955 Wagner received his doctorate from the Gregoriana . Wagner's first pastoral activity was in various Upper Austrian parishes. In 1958 he became a pastor of the Catholic rural youth . With these he founded the Austrian Development Service (ÖED) in 1968 . In 1962 he was appointed professor for pastoral theology at what was then the Philosophical-Theological Diocesan School in Linz.

On September 1, 1969, Pope Paul VI appointed him . as titular bishop of Siccenna and auxiliary bishop in Linz . The bishop of Linz , Franz Sales Zauner , donated him his episcopal ordination on October 26th of the same year; Co- consecrators were the Bishop of Tororo , James Odongo , and the Austrian military bishop Franz Žak . Diocesan Bishop Franz Zauner appointed Wagner Vicar General of the Diocese of Linz on August 1, 1973, and Josef Ahammer was his successor in 1982 . From 1971 to 1981, Bishop Wagner was also the press spokesman and advisor for development aid at the Austrian Bishops' Conference . On October 12, 1981, Wagner was appointed by Pope John Paul II as Vice-President of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” , the Vatican coordinating body for all church social and development aid organizations. On October 1, 1992 Alois Wagner was appointed titular archbishop pro hac vice and at the same time permanent representative of the Holy See to the international organizations of the United Nations in Rome, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN organization for Food, Agriculture and Welthungerhilfe.

On July 8, 1999, Pope John Paul II accepted his age-related resignation. Then Wagner returned to Upper Austria as a pastor. After his death in 2002, Archbishop Wagner was buried in the crypt of the New Cathedral in Linz.

Awards and memberships

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Wagner, Alois
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian Roman Catholic clergyman and archbishop of the Curia
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Leopoldschlag near Freistadt / Mühlviertel
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 2002
Place of death Linz